Yesterday saw a crazy amount of new information about Control. In addition to pre-orders rolling out worldwide across three major platforms, we also had a media embargo being lifted on interviews and impressions from GDC!
While we had articles yesterday detailing the latest news, there was so much stuff that we just had to step back review everything that was announced in the past 24 hours in a special breakdown post.
Perhaps the biggest news to come from yesterday was the announcement of the pre-order bundles, both for digital and physical editions, and across PC, XBOX One, and PS4:
PC
The game will launch on the Epic Store, before being released later on Steam. For players who pre-order through Epic, they will receive the Tactical Gear outfit and Crafting Resource pack. At present, there will only be a digital release of the game on PC.
XBOX One
The Retail Standard edition and Digital Standard edition of the XBOX One version will both contain the Tactical Response Gear outfit and the Crafting Resources pack, similar to the PC edition. HOWEVER. If you purchase the Retail Exclusive version, it will come with all that plus the Futurepak exclusive metal packaging and five art cards, both exclusive to the physical edition.
PlayStation 4
The PS4 pre-order bundles are a little more... complicated, but 505Games have tried to clear up any confusion with a chart demonstrating the comparisons between each edition:
At GDC, a couple of publications spoke to Control's Game Director, Mikael Kasurinen, regarding Remedy's new direction and influences:
- Relinquishing Control: Remedy's paradigm shift
GameIndustry.biz [Interview with Mikael Kasurinen, Game Director] - What to Read, Play, and Watch Before Playing Control
USgamer [Interview with Mikael Kasurinen, Game Director]
New Previews
Most of the gameplay impressions were written by journalists who tried out the game at GDC in mid-March. The demo was played on the PS4 Pro and took place in the Central Research lobby. During the twenty minute demo, players were given full control to roam around the area, although combat was at the heart of this demo.- Control is a delightfully strange shooter with outstanding telekinesis noises
RockPaperShotgun - Back in Control: Remedy's weird new world feels brilliant to play
Eurogamer - Control First Hands-On Preview: Wrecking Government Shop
IGN - Control Is As weird As Alan Wake, But More Open World [Newly Added]
Kotaku
New Videos
Yesterday also saw the release of new videos, including official teasers and hands-on impressions.
Yesterday also saw the release of new videos, including official teasers and hands-on impressions.
- Control Pre-Order Trailer
Official Control YouTube Channel - Control Gameplay Trailer
Official Control YouTube Channel - Control Hands-On Preview: It Feels Good To Break Things
IGN - Six Things You Need To Know About Control [Newly Added]
Eurogamer
New Community Goodies
Community members were active yesterday, busy writing and creating gorgeous new work.
Community members were active yesterday, busy writing and creating gorgeous new work.
- Fraser's Tactical Gear Sketch
Following the release of the Tactical Gear outfit, Fraser has sketched another wonderful piece of Control fan art! - PayneReactor's Media Wrap Up
Patrick breaks down all of the Control previews released since the embargo lifted in an informative new article. - Carla's 8-Bit Protagonist Gif
Carla recently expanded on a previously-released work, creating adorable 8-bit gifs of all Remedy protagonists. - Holly's Jesse Faden
In addition to running the Control Community Discord, Reddit, and Wikia pages, Holly found time to create a gorgeous new piece.
New Information
With previews and interviews being posted, we had a flood of new information come in. Below are all of the things which stood out to us as we read through the articles:Story
- Jesse will become the FBC's Director by recovering Trench's gun. Kasurinen compares this to the sword in the stone myth, however "if you're not worthy, then the gun will kill you". [Rock Paper Shotgun]
- Jesse will inform the player of the situation but there will be no quest markers in the game to lead players. It's all about player agency.
- The story is delivered through the game's environment, character dialogue, and optional lore.
- Jesse will need to traverse both this world and the Astral Plane. [Kotaku] [Newly Added]
- While Jesse has become the Director, the game is her story to prove her worth. [Eurogamer YouTube] [Newly Added]
- Jesse is seen as an outsider in the world's and FBC's "systemic prejudices" which Eurogamer described as "a man's world". [Eurogamer YouTube] [Newly Added]
- Eurogamer described the game as having "grand aspirations and some very well thought out ideas." [Eurogamer YouTube] [Newly Added]
Enemies
- The Hiss have leaked into our world from the Astral Plane. [Rock Paper Shotgun]
- Enemies come in the form of "sharpshooters, tanks and mysterious orb creatures". [Eurogamer]
- One of the more unusual enemies faced by journalists was a glitchy spikey ball, which holds a similarity to the poltergeist ball found at the Cauldron Lake Lodge in Alan Wake.
- According to Kotaku, the Hiss are tearing down the barriers between dimensions. [Newly Added]
- While Kotaku found watching the combat "hectic", they were pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to balance Jesse's powers and weapon during a hands-on preview. [Newly Added]
- Defeating the Hiss' more unusual entities isn't as simple as shooting them, for one Jesse needs to corner it near an airlock and trap it. [Eurogamer YouTube] [Newly Added]
- The game is aware of player reactions and how they handle themselves in a fight; when to deliver more enemy encounters, and when to hold back. [Eurogamer YouTube] [Newly Added]
Powers and Weapons
- Different players will have different preferences; Rock Paper Shotgun preferred Jesse's power over her service weapon due to the environmental manipulation the player can have. Whereas PC Gamer preferred the multiple functions and spectacle of the gun over the powers.
- Rock Paper Shotgun described the levitation as "liberating".
- Journalists were also shown a hub where abilities can be customised e.g. Jesse can control multiple enemies at once, dodge-dash can be used more frequently, and Jesse can levitate for longer.
- "Combat is perhaps Control's strongest suit" [Eurogamer]
- Character mods include improvements in health, ability, and duration of powers. [Eurogamer]
- The appeal for the FBC office's brutalist style came from its "simplicity of form, honesty of materials", the office building allows the contrast between order and familiarity, with the supernatural elements.
Federal Bureau of Control
- Rock Paper Shotgun described the game as being "Alice delving into sci-fi wonderland" a comment agreed on by Kasurinen who stated that "the deeper she goes into that place, the more strange and complicated it becomes".
- There will be plenty of alive agents who have been unaffected by the Hiss. The role of Helen Marshall was further expanded on in the Eurogamer article. Her involvement in experimental research allowed her to develop gadgets to help protect from possession.
- Hidden doors take players to new areas, in Eurogamer's article they discovered a lift that took them to a bathroom reclaimed by plants, where they found a rare upgrade.
- Bureau Alerts, available post-game, will give the title added replayability.
- Players are encouraged to get lost in the world and to experiment with combat. [Kotaku] [Newly Added]
- When it came to mixing reality and the supernatural, Kasurinen stated that "things still need to feel heavy and weighty" to ground the player to the world. [Kotaku] [Newly Added]
- The FBC sits on the "epicentre of some spooky stuff" according to Eurogamer, and it is facing the side effects. [Eurogamer YouTube] [Newly Added]
- For the game, Remedy had to rethink their approach to game design, choosing to put the world first rather than tell a specific story.
- Replayability is at the core of Control with post-game Bureau Alerts, two DLC packs following the main game's release, and Control's open-world level design.
- The telekinesis sound was specifically praised by Rock Paper Shotgun. Credit was given to the amazing sound team on Twitter.
- DLC [The Foundation & AWE] goes into production after the main game wraps up. [Eurogamer]
- Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker (Movie), Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation (Book), and Dark Souls (Game) were named influences. [USgamer]
- Kasurinen stated that Remedy's approach was "let's try to make a statement than play it safe". [Eurogamer].
- Unlike previous Remedy titles, the game pushes the player on; health is only regained by taking down enemies rather than an automatically-regenerative health bar. [Newly Added]
- Kotaku described Control as being "looser and more freeform than other Remedy games". [Newly Added]
- Kasurinen described the world design as "layered". [Kotaku] [Newly Added]
- For Remedy, Control is an experiment in world design and narrative approaches. [Kotaku] [Newly Added]
New Screenshots
To accompany the new previews, a series of screenshots were released! The teasers show Jesse in a number of new locations and a showcase of some of her abilities.
