Control: Complete Edition: PS5 Review

Control: Complete Edition: PS5 Review

Developed by Remedy and 505 Games
Platform: PS5

A game that keeps you mystified and bemused throughout, Remedy’s CONTROL is not your typical IP.

Meshing supernatural TV show Fringe with a shooter and wrapping the whole thing up in an enigmatic riddle, the game’s adherence to Nolan-esque shifting visuals and one location make it one of those games that almost makes you wish you mapped it as you go along - were it not for the fact that everything keeps shifting and changing.

You are Jesse, who heads into the Federal Bureau Of Control to find out what happened to your brother who went AWOL.

But upon entry, you’re thrown into a world of confusion and supernatural edges as you work your way through the levels.

Part of the joy of Control is the unknown, and it’s not this reviewer being coy to not reveal what the Hiss is, what the story is and where it lands - that’s simply respectful of Remedy’s efforts to bring something new to an ever saturated and easily spoilt gaming world. It's refreshing that it plays differently, and slowly reveals like an onion of excitement.

The game rewards you as it unfolds as it pushes its third person shooter and investigative MO to its limits. (Although at its heart, Control is a shooter and meshed with Infamous character abilities).

Astral planes are involved, strategy is needed and a non linear approach to the game will be rewarded - albeit in due course.

While there are some gaming similarities with their own Quantum Break and the aforementioned Infamous, the graphics work well to create an atmosphere of unease and uncertainty, as befits the story.

They look particularly stunning in the PS5 version, with reds bleeding from the screen, overlays and rainbow colour effects more than striking. This game just looks and feels polished in this new version, and it stands above - yet  builds - on its original.

Occasionally there are some jarring overloads in the action on the screen but mostly it’s clear and unfussy workmanship that stands out to produce the structures and the cut scenes which add to the intrigue.

It also rewards the player for the effort they put in and the time that they enjoy trying to work out the head scratching sensibilities of the game itself.

While most of the cut scenes are of a static nature, the HD qualities of the characters themselves make them superlatives in their execution.

This is a game which takes its time to unfold unless all more and enticing because of it, simply put Control would not be the game it is not without Remedy's careful and meticulous touches and commitment to unnerving and atmospheric thrills.

Do yourself a favour and experience Control the way Remedy wanted you to - unspoiled and unsure what’s happening next; it’s the best way to evolve your experience within and get the most out of the shorter main story.

It is rare for a game to appear on the scene without any elements completely and spoiled.

Control offers a unique and edifying experience that is worth acclaiming - sure, its brevity and some of the load issues cause a few red flags, but all in all, this is Remedy firing at their cerebral best, and gaming at its most intriguing and rewarding.