Overview

Explore the paranatural phenomena and the Federal Bureau of Control in Control Ultimate Edition, an action-adventure game with RPG and Metroidvania elements.

In the world of Control Ultimate Edition, resonances from higher dimensions interact with a collective unconsciousness, causing strange phenomena. The Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) studies these paranatural phenomena. Jesse and Dylan Faden were caught in an Altered World Event in Ordinary, Wisconsin, which caused most inhabitants to disappear and changed the surviving children. Dylan was taken by the FBC, while Jesse escaped, guided by a voice in her head. This voice leads her to the Oldest House, the FBC headquarters, where she is appointed the new Director.

The Oldest House is under lockdown due to an invasion by the Hiss. Bureau employees are hostile, and others are mindlessly chanting. As the new Director, your first task is to resolve this situation.

Control Ultimate Edition excels at atmospheric world-building. The Oldest House features environments resembling government offices with desks, chairs, computers (modern technology explodes), filing cabinets, vending machines, cafeterias, and toilets. Bureaucratic communiqués, reports, and correspondence are abundant, featuring jargon like Altered World Events, Altered Items (items changed by exposure to higher dimensions), and Objects of Power (powerful Altered Items that grant paranatural abilities).

The gameplay is action-adventure with RPG and Metroidvania elements. You start with a gun and soon gain abilities to throw objects like furniture, dead enemies, environmental pieces, and even forklift trucks. Later, you can mind-control enemies and launch yourself into the air.

Warning: Control Ultimate Edition incorporates mechanics from the Soulsborne genre, including sudden-death events and a hostile checkpoint (an auto-save point you restart from on death) system. Dying may result in a lengthy loading screen and the need to re-fight enemies. You also lose 10% of your in-game currency upon death. The game features a high, non-selectable difficulty and a single save file that is overwritten automatically, which can be frustrating.

Ultimate Edition Update:

The Foundation expansion, released in June 2020, is a post-game adventure exploring a sealed area of the Oldest House. It is considered less engaging due to a different writing style, lack of world-building, and a story focused on an underdeveloped NPC (non-player character — anyone the game controls, not you). The AWE expansion, released in August 2020, is a significant improvement with better world-building and a creepy creature. To fully appreciate AWE, prior knowledge of the game Alan Wake is recommended, as much of its content can be baffling without it. Cheat modes have been added to address difficulty, though they are not as ideal as proper difficulty settings. The expansions also negatively impact the loot system, with many mods being considered garbage.