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Control was intriguing...then decent...then mediocre.
- Thread starter DominicanGlory
- Start date
Really enjoyed how Control plays, even if the upgrade system felt totally out of whack for me (felt like I barely ever got any). Stuff exploding and blowing away around you adds so much to the kinetic feedback of combat.
Did not care on iota for the world, characters or the story though. I barely read the things you pick up, they're just so damn boring.
Did not care on iota for the world, characters or the story though. I barely read the things you pick up, they're just so damn boring.
I was intrigued about the story at first but at the end it was pretty much nothing, that was a bit disappointing. Also the amount of exposition in the collectables its overwhelming, there are more than 140/150 of them, I stopped reading/listening/watching them after the first couple of dozens.
The gameplay is good tho, I did enjoyed it and the pistol is great, too bad you can only have two modes available at once. Good game, probably not in my top 5 o last year but good nonetheless.
The gameplay is good tho, I did enjoyed it and the pistol is great, too bad you can only have two modes available at once. Good game, probably not in my top 5 o last year but good nonetheless.
Control is the first Remedy game I have stuck with after the first hour or so. I think Max and Alan were boring and douchey.
Is it possible to adjust the difficulty in Control? I'm a short way in and I'm enjoying everything except the cover and navigating. I like that there are more abilities opening up but I have already repeated samey combat so many times.
I would pay extra money for a gps and a line to follow. I can never find my way around the map.
Is it possible to adjust the difficulty in Control? I'm a short way in and I'm enjoying everything except the cover and navigating. I like that there are more abilities opening up but I have already repeated samey combat so many times.
I would pay extra money for a gps and a line to follow. I can never find my way around the map.
This game is amazing. It's like playing a late 90's Dark Horse comic. The lore, the world building, the mystery all scratch an itch I didn't know was there. Using the service weapon, powers and levitation in smart strategic ways has made me feel more capable and badass than any game since Ninja Gaiden Black.
I have finished Control 2 weeks ago and it was my favourite game in quite some time. I will definitely play the expansion pass and I hope that a sequel will be created one day. I loved the way the story was told, the atmosphere, how you could adjust the combat system to your like.
Sorry OP, I can't agree with you as well. :)
Sorry OP, I can't agree with you as well. :)
Can't say I agree with OP. Control was my GOTY last year and while I don't think it's perfect (a couple of the encounters towards the end are a bit much and the checkpointing could be a little better), there is so much I love about it. The world building is fantastic, I think it's easy to get the impression that the game is about Jesse looking for Dylan but it really is so much more than that and Dylan becomes a bit of a footnote. The Oldest House itself is the main character and you're a part of it.
It definitely does help if you're already knee deep in the House of Leaves / SCP / X-Files / Twin Peaks sea though.
I'm a sucker for brutalist architecture and weird surreal kind of visual shit happening, so this game really felt like a game designed for me, warts and all.
I still need to play the DLC but I'm very excited to see where AWE goes when that comes out. Finding all the easter eggs was a real treat.
It definitely does help if you're already knee deep in the House of Leaves / SCP / X-Files / Twin Peaks sea though.
I'm a sucker for brutalist architecture and weird surreal kind of visual shit happening, so this game really felt like a game designed for me, warts and all.
I still need to play the DLC but I'm very excited to see where AWE goes when that comes out. Finding all the easter eggs was a real treat.
Do not use cover, the game is not a cover shooter and you will get dropped. You really need to stay on the move and use all your powers.
Navigation is always heavily sign posted in the environment and you will get your head around it eventually.
Reading the last two pages has been wild for me. As I said before I just found it super enjoyable and fun. I did do every single side mission that popped up and really took my time. So always had skills and weapons levelled up.
OP
OP
Might as well cut your losses now. Everything gets aggravatingly worse.
Yeah this is important I'm pretty sure the game brings it up at one point but moving around is very useful. Also the game has weirdly good auto aim which helps you stay more mobile too.
I actually feel almost exactly the same. Alan Wake was really my first foray into Remedy games and i fell in love with it. I also really enjoyed Quantum Break despite the weird TV show thing and some other shortcomings that I don't remember at this point lol. When Control was announced I was really excited to play it because I enjoyed there other story games so much. I'm probably about 75% through the campaign and I don't think I'm going to continue. I realized that I was plaything through the game to just finish it rather than enjoying it. The story is kind of flat, the map system is weird and frustrating sometimes and I think overall it feels a little repetitive.
It's not a bad game by any means it certainly has some cool levels (ashtray, fridge duty) but it's not for me.
I also really hated/would get anxiety when I would be about to continue the story or do something major and I would get an alert from the agency for a mission and would have to decide if I would want to dredge back to that or continue the mission I was already on.
It's not a bad game by any means it certainly has some cool levels (ashtray, fridge duty) but it's not for me.
I also really hated/would get anxiety when I would be about to continue the story or do something major and I would get an alert from the agency for a mission and would have to decide if I would want to dredge back to that or continue the mission I was already on.
One of my faves of the generation. The core gameplay is excellent and its wonderfully weird in all the best ways.
I'm looking forward to replaying it will all the dlc on next gen.
I'm looking forward to replaying it will all the dlc on next gen.
I am totally on board with this classification. It starts incredibly. Just so strong and so unique. Then the environmental storytelling fades a bit and they become super reliant on text and in-game video. That's a little frustrating but the game is still amazing. Then it just gets really uneven from a difficulty perspective at the end and I hated it towards the end.
But I would say the maze thing is like a super high point and that is very late.
But I would say the maze thing is like a super high point and that is very late.
I've been playing it on and off as I got stuck on some of the enemy encounters. Love the atmosphere and characters, hate the grenade/explosive spam and the finicky controls in grabbing them and sending them back. That said I Just gave up on this game today.
I've realized for a while the storytelling treads on one of my gaming pet peeves, the chain of going from one person to the next with a simple question only to be told that I have to do some task for them first and their answer is to go to the next person in the chain. I wanted to stick with it, force my way past that but I hit a point where I feel it's more of an issue that the story/game design doesn't respect my time.
I've realized for a while the storytelling treads on one of my gaming pet peeves, the chain of going from one person to the next with a simple question only to be told that I have to do some task for them first and their answer is to go to the next person in the chain. I wanted to stick with it, force my way past that but I hit a point where I feel it's more of an issue that the story/game design doesn't respect my time.
So after going from person to person basically doing their jobs for them while they stay put in a long line of control centers, I finally get to Dylan's cell and get the call that he just walked in to the starting area. Fun! Storywise I could have just stayed put and acomplished my main (at this stage of the game) objective.
I then thought you know what I've been really wanting to save the guy at the fridge since I first found him, I'll do that before I quit. Get back to him and am told I have to go to the start of the area to talk to the guy to open the door. I begrudgingly do this and when I get back the second door doesn't open until the fridge kills him. What was the point. There is an intercom right there. I have been talking to people in whole other parts of the complex. Why make me go to a different area just to hear a line of dialog that has no point since their isn't any actual interactivity to the event. Lousy busy work added onto a progress gated door. I actually laughed in hysterics when I realized even in this small thing they were wasting my time.
I then thought you know what I've been really wanting to save the guy at the fridge since I first found him, I'll do that before I quit. Get back to him and am told I have to go to the start of the area to talk to the guy to open the door. I begrudgingly do this and when I get back the second door doesn't open until the fridge kills him. What was the point. There is an intercom right there. I have been talking to people in whole other parts of the complex. Why make me go to a different area just to hear a line of dialog that has no point since their isn't any actual interactivity to the event. Lousy busy work added onto a progress gated door. I actually laughed in hysterics when I realized even in this small thing they were wasting my time.
Fair enough points but you don't need to do those agency alerts. I found them only helpful to get certain mats (for weapon upgrades) and getting the trophy :) just play the game how you want.
I feel that.
Combat was way too easy and honestly I expected more from the abilities. Game doesn't feel that great to control and I'm all for making my own fun in games but it just didn't hit the spot for me. I liked the presentation and some of the character moments but all in all it felt pretty hollow to me.
Combat was way too easy and honestly I expected more from the abilities. Game doesn't feel that great to control and I'm all for making my own fun in games but it just didn't hit the spot for me. I liked the presentation and some of the character moments but all in all it felt pretty hollow to me.
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I'm really enjoying it, currently playing through the first DLC. I see what you mean for sure, but so far I've enjoyed all the memos and documents, gives off a very SCP vibe. I think Dylan is a trash character and the ending pre-DLC was a huge "that's it?"
It felt like they took all the scenario about the SCP Foundation, but since the SCP vibe is really not "mass market" they neutered it into the ground. The objects of power are just...power ups. The only really weird and "SCP-ish" mission was the Clock one, and I dont even remember if its optional or part of the main story.
All the characters are also cardboard-made, with the exception of the Janitor. And the story just goes nowhere. It "Ends" but everything in the Oldest building its still the same.
On another note, Remedy has to stop creating these outlandish sci fi scenarios where you fight...human soldiers. I imagine they have a lot of code already made for these enemies, but "highly armored dude with a granade launcher" as a boss is something I expect from The Division, not a SCP-Lite Cosmic Horror story game.
All the characters are also cardboard-made, with the exception of the Janitor. And the story just goes nowhere. It "Ends" but everything in the Oldest building its still the same.
On another note, Remedy has to stop creating these outlandish sci fi scenarios where you fight...human soldiers. I imagine they have a lot of code already made for these enemies, but "highly armored dude with a granade launcher" as a boss is something I expect from The Division, not a SCP-Lite Cosmic Horror story game.
My retrospective game of 2019 (didn't play it until this year) and I played on a base PS4!
As soon as I was done I went back and replayed the last handful of Remedy games, I was surprised at how bored I was with Alan Wake as I remember really enjoying it.
Alan Wake dropped massively for me the moment you come across the everyday objects that launch themselves at you.
Quantum Break though, I enjoyed it far more the second time around, possibly because I was playing it on pc this time.
As soon as I was done I went back and replayed the last handful of Remedy games, I was surprised at how bored I was with Alan Wake as I remember really enjoying it.
Alan Wake dropped massively for me the moment you come across the everyday objects that launch themselves at you.
Quantum Break though, I enjoyed it far more the second time around, possibly because I was playing it on pc this time.
Control and Death Stranding are tied for the absolute best games of 2019. Control is probably Remedy's best game. It's sublime.
I recently started playing through PS Now and I'm very much enjoying it. The presentation is top notch, and I love the level design. I feel like I rarely have to pull the map up, and it's a lot of fun blowing up office environments, but I suppose working in an office for the past 15 years may have something to do with that.
I'm not sold on Courtney Hope's performance. Don't care for her in Bold and the Beautiful, and I don't care for her in this. Just flat. I get a kick out of the supporting cast, however. Game is more about mood than what is actually transpiring.
I'm on Chapter 8 at the moment, doing clean-up with side quests, and I think the combat is engaging and a lot of fun. Flying around, chucking office chairs, throwing up rock shields, possessing enemies--it's all good stuff. The game requires constant movement, which I tend to enjoy over a cover shooter.
Anyway, I haven't played a Remedy game since Max Payne 2, and I'm glad I gave Control a shot.
I'm not sold on Courtney Hope's performance. Don't care for her in Bold and the Beautiful, and I don't care for her in this. Just flat. I get a kick out of the supporting cast, however. Game is more about mood than what is actually transpiring.
I'm on Chapter 8 at the moment, doing clean-up with side quests, and I think the combat is engaging and a lot of fun. Flying around, chucking office chairs, throwing up rock shields, possessing enemies--it's all good stuff. The game requires constant movement, which I tend to enjoy over a cover shooter.
Anyway, I haven't played a Remedy game since Max Payne 2, and I'm glad I gave Control a shot.
I don't know if I'd agree. The times I would die would be the times I was not in cover. The issue with constantly being on the move is that your energy pool is shared between defending, dodging, and attacking, and with it sometimes not being clear where attacks are coming from, I found that cover is usually safest. Since there's no easy way to recover health, cover was essential.
Agreed OP. The game gives you so many badass abilities, but it is so improperly balanced half the time I'm running around scared to die from the enemies. Or you get the ability to fly but guess what you can fall into abyss in a hot second if you're not looking. What should I do, fly around looking at the ground or shooting at the enemies?
The story stopped being intriguing after a while. Interdimensional mumbo jumbo. I stopped reading every file because of [redacted] in every line. So annoying.
The story stopped being intriguing after a while. Interdimensional mumbo jumbo. I stopped reading every file because of [redacted] in every line. So annoying.
OP
OP
As far as difficulty goes, two of the best mods are Energy recovery and Launch efficiency. make sure you use those and you are usually set.
the only encounter in Control that gave me a problem was the 1st battle with The Former and that was mainly because of the arena.
Also keep in mind that 3 abilities are optional if I'm not mistaken.
the only encounter in Control that gave me a problem was the 1st battle with The Former and that was mainly because of the arena.
Also keep in mind that 3 abilities are optional if I'm not mistaken.
Seize really got me through the late game encounters. They draw fire and takes out at least one bad guy.
red sands? if so, you are pretty close to the end, current mission is to save Polaris, once you open the large gates you enter a huge area.
I think early on you can get away with using cover, for instance I used it in the first boss battle and it worked well enough.
But as the game goes on and you gain the other abilities the game introduces enemies that will push you out of cover. You can pop behind something for a few seconds if you need a clutch recharge but staying in it would get me killed. Also by staying in cover you will not be able to pick up any of the health enemies drop (another way the game forces you out of cover). Being mobile worked much better for me.
The fun I had with the game was always being on the move and mixing up your powers, gun, air stomp, take over an enemy, launch etc.
I had no problem with using the energy pool, that is part of the fun in deciding in the moment what is more important. Personal mods should help a lot with energy usage as well.
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I will say there two things that once I played around with made a huge difference to how hard I found certain encounters. Which also ties into some issues maybe people are running into?
Skill Unlocks:
Later skill unlocks really change how effective they are but you might not have enough skill points to unlock them if you don't do side missions and you spread your points too far. For instance I avoided using seize for a long time, once I equipped a mod that doubled the speed to seize an enemy, then respecced and invested in to the tree so I could take over large enemies it was a huge difference.
Being able to seize the big ball things who usually heal enemies so they heal you through out a battle was awesome.
there is also the skill that recharges your energy awhile you use the shield. So not only do you have mobile cover your energy recharges as you reposition.
Stuff like that makes made a big difference in combat.
Mods:
The weapon and personal mods make a huge difference. So an average weapon like Spin with mods like 'more ammo + damage mod + headshot damage'
just melted enemies. I found the mod system flexible enough to tweak my load out depending on my issue.
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With those two things factored in I can see how some people might have issues though as:
Maybe the game wasn't generous enough with skill points?
By the end of the game having done every side mission, mission and found a bunch of hidden areas I still had trees (like melee and float time) where I had hardly any investment in.
The mod system is based to a degree on luck in the drop quality.
Weapon and personal mods made a huge difference as well. Though mods are based a bit on luck, so you could play through and never find a mod I found invaluable. So if you only skim through the game you won't get as many opportunities to play around with these as you will get less drops.
Related to this I would also say that some mods where just much better than others. The Damage+ mod outclassed most mods on nearly every gun. Especially as they stack, so 2x Damage+ mods would nearly always be better than other combinations.
So maybe less mod types but that were more useful and thought out, so it forced you to choose might have been more interesting as well?
Just trying to think on why some people had such different experiences. Sorry for the long post :)
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Annnnnnddddd beaten. Great execution. Amazing graphics and atmosphere (it's cool that the oldest house has biomes that distinguish it from other areas). That sudden thrist trap Dr. Swole showing up with his cryptic message.... and it was over after a brief fight with all those dudes from every other combat encounter.
Post-game, I wasn't given enough incentive to do the clean up detail if it wasn't going to advance the story in any significant way.
I hope the Foundation fleshes out the story more because I loved this world and want to see more of it.
Post-game, I wasn't given enough incentive to do the clean up detail if it wasn't going to advance the story in any significant way.
I hope the Foundation fleshes out the story more because I loved this world and want to see more of it.
Gotta agree with OP. The story and world were incredibly intriguing at first but then just didn't really go anywhere. Gameplay was top notch though..at least when it wasn't stuttering.
One of my favourite games this gen. Pretty intriguing and weird story line, fantastic graphics and combat mechanics. My favourite Remedy game and can't wait to see what they bring next.
Besides the upgrade system I loved everything else about the game. Can't wait for the AWE DLC and eventually Control 2.
I can see why and how people might not like it and that's okay as well. The game def isn't for everyone.
I can see why and how people might not like it and that's okay as well. The game def isn't for everyone.
The Foundation focuses nearly exclusively on the past of the Bureau. There may or may not be a subtle hint in Central Research.
For what it's worth, I enjoyed the extra lore the Foundation provided.
I feel you op, played for a bit, it starts so strong. Then I dunno, it's just nothing. I stopped playing after the second or third floor I unlocked.
Foundation was super fun. I loved the visual change it gave you compared to the base game and just knowing more about Bureau was very intriguing.
Best combat design of any Remedy game by a significant margin, and that's admitting 90% of the fighting is throwing rocks. The throwing absolutely rules. A game doesn't need to have 100 different weapons and attacks if it really nails the core move. Shooting guns just great enough to fill in the spaces between rock throws.
Narrative is cool but I'm a sucker for that Lynchian approach. Characters that almost know they are in very weird stories, quirky behavior in the face of objectively terrifying situations, and bizarre mysteries that don't necessarily get solved so much as float there for your consideration.
Speaking of which, no better visual from AAA game in 2019 than the poor possessed employees hovering silently above cafeterias and conference rooms. Really great stuff in a game full of powerful imagery.
I'll allow that Control is perhaps just a bit too long (and I personally haven't been able to finish the DLC because it's just *more*,) but that's a venial sin. Game is a straight banger.
Narrative is cool but I'm a sucker for that Lynchian approach. Characters that almost know they are in very weird stories, quirky behavior in the face of objectively terrifying situations, and bizarre mysteries that don't necessarily get solved so much as float there for your consideration.
Speaking of which, no better visual from AAA game in 2019 than the poor possessed employees hovering silently above cafeterias and conference rooms. Really great stuff in a game full of powerful imagery.
I'll allow that Control is perhaps just a bit too long (and I personally haven't been able to finish the DLC because it's just *more*,) but that's a venial sin. Game is a straight banger.