Confusing yet intriguing…..

Remedy first released Control back in 2019 and it was widely praised by players and press alike. It’s probably no surprise that they have decided to bring it back, this time with it coming to the new generation of consoles. What is even better is that Control: Ultimate Edition is completely FREE of charge during the February 2021 line up for PlayStation Plus so this is a great chance to jump in. I had an early look at Control on the PlayStation 5 and whilst I really enjoyed it, I can’t help but feel confused.

Not confused on how good this game is, as it is a pretty solid psychological third person shooter. What confused me with Control was the story that was on offer, this isn’t a game that builds up slowly. You are thrown it right at the deep end and many will find it rather confusing. I will say, stick with it. The longer the game goes on, the easier it is to understand but even so, I can’t help feel like there will be a lot of gamers. You play as main protagonist Jesse Faden. She arrives as what is called ‘The Oldest House’, determined to get answers to what happened to her in her childhood and to seek revenge for her brother, Dylan. It’s quickly apparent that you’re not alone. Jesse seems to be having back and forth conversations with ‘herself’. I won’t spoil it at all, but it’ll all seem clear as the story goes by.

Running on the PlayStation 5, you have the option to choose between performance or graphics. You should check out what graphics offer over performance to choose. Performance will give you a solid 60fps whilst graphics will lower the frame rate but enable ray-tracing. I went for the graphical option and whilst it looked superb, I found that the frame rate suffered at times, and it kind of stuttered along the way at times. It’s a little disappointing but I fully expect Remedy to iron these problems out down the line.

On to the gameplay, this is where ultimately, Control: Ultimate Edition shines. I really enjoyed the combat, whether it was with guns, or using some of your psychic abilities, you could approach it how you wanted. Enemies, also known as ‘The Hiss’ have a number above their heads. The higher the number, the more difficult the enemy will be. Loved using telekinesis to help me defeat my enemies, but there are different styles. There are also RPG elements in Control as you can upgrade Jesse’s weapons and abilities in what are called control points. Here, you’ll spend ability points. Make sure you do this at a regular occurrence as the game does get very difficult, very quickly.

Overall, I enjoyed what was on offer with Control: Ultimate Edition. As well as the base game, the game also includes the expansions so there is plenty of content here to keep you busy. For a game that is free on PlayStation Plus this month, I do recommend that you give it a go.

A PlayStation 5 review code was provided by 505 Games