Hey there everyone, and welcome to the first part of my Control playthrough. I’ve been looking forward to this game even though I knew very little about it – I saw the initial announcement trailer for it and then pretty much kept away from it. I’d heard positive buzz, and that it has a vague link to Remedy’s 2010 title Alan Wake (does a 2010 release date count for Nostalgia Nation?), but other than that I’m going into the game very blind.
In this first stream, I get to grips with our protagonist, Jesse Faden, and the mind-bendy nature of the Federal Bureau of Control. I explore the FBC’s first area/floor, gaining my Service Weapon (a shape-shifting device that can serve as several different types of firearm) and psychic powers from a tennis ball-launching floppy disk (yes that is as weird as it sounds). I also fight against the enemies of this game, the Hiss, a…supernatural? entity that can possess humans and turn them against me.
Until next time…buh-bye!
About Control
Control is an action-adventure video game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by 505 Games. Control was released on 27 August 2019 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It will be released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The game revolves around the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), a secret U.S. government agency tasked with containing and studying phenomena that violate the laws of reality. As Jesse Faden, the Bureau’s new Director, the player explores the Oldest House – the FBC’s paranormal headquarters – and utilise powerful abilities in order to defeat a deadly enemy known as the Hiss, which has invaded and corrupted reality. The player gains abilities by finding Objects of Power, mundane objects like a rotary phone or a floppy disc imbued with energies from another dimension, that have been at the centre of major paranormal events and since recovered by the FBC.
Upon encountering the body of the FBC’s previous Director, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Jesse hears voices telling her she is now the Director, with the Oldest House instantly changing to reflect this. She also gains his Service Weapon, a shape-shifting weapon with the initial appearance of a handgun, and a direct reflection of her position as the Bureau’s Director. Armed with her new powers she investigates the Hiss, as well as the FBC’s role in a cover-up event in her hometown of Ordinary several years prior that led to the disappearance of her brother.