After all this time, I’ve finally finished Control.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might remember my Control tale of woe. I started the game shortly after it came out but encountered a game-breaking bug that made it impossible for me to continue. My only choice was to start the game over from the beginning, and the thought demoralized me.

They eventually patched the bug, but it was too late for someone who had already triggered it. So I let Control sit until last October, when enough time had passed that it felt fresh enough for me to restart.

I actually played most of Control last year, though not in time for Celebrating All Things Spooky 2023, and then followed it with the AWE expansion. Then I took a break. A few days ago, I realized I still hadn’t played Foundation, so I played that for this October and finally brought Control to a close.

Control is not a horror game, but it undeniably has a creepy and sometimes unsettling atmosphere. It’s set at the Federal Bureau of Control, a secret government agency that monitors and contains supernatural phenomena. When Jesse Faden arrives at the Bureau while searching for her brother, she is unexpectedly chosen as the new Director and finds herself fighting mysterious entities known as the Hiss who have attacked and possessed most of the people in the building.

It’s an action-adventure game, with third-person shooter combat that also makes use of special abilities you learn as you play, such as using telekinesis to throw objects in the room at enemies.

It’s fun, challenging at times, and has a great atmosphere that blends eerie creepiness with an off-beat sense of humor. When you pick up a document (of which there are many, along with audio logs and other pieces of media), you never know if it’s going to be a disturbing tale of people falling prey to powers beyond their comprehension or a letter from someone who thinks their potted plants are giving them coded messages.

Most of these supernatural incidents and objects you learn about just as part of the background lore, although you interact with some directly (sometimes to get new powers). Of course, as a big Alan Wake fan, I was delighted that the Bright Falls incident was among that lore.

So I really love the lore, background details, and the general tone of the game.

The story… is confusing. By the end, I understood it better, but there are still a lot of cryptic and unclear points. Intentionally so. It’s a surreal experience.

Now, the AWE DLC takes a step further in tying Control directly to Alan Wake. As you might imagine, this means it’s even more confusing. It’s a great DLC, and I loved how it tied the two games together, although the final boss fight was unfortunately frustrating. Story-wise, it left me quite confused.

Foundation is a bit more straightforward in terms of story and serves as an epilogue, so I’m glad I played it last. It also seems to set the stage for a sequel, and we know Control 2 is in development.

Overall, Control is a game filled with creepy, disturbing, and sometimes surprisingly humorous supernatural elements. It’s not quite like any other game, and it’s definitely worth playing, even though I’d struggle to explain parts of it. And if you love finding little pieces of lore as you play, you’ll probably love Control.