Control

Control is a supernatural third-person action-adventure from Remedy Entertainment. Jesse Faden enters the mysterious Federal Bureau of Control to find her missing brother. At the agency's headquarters, the Oldest House, a hostile force called the Hiss is spreading.

Jesse uses a shapeshifting service weapon and telekinetic abilities. While exploring, she discovers hidden areas, documents about paranormal incidents and clues about the Bureau's past.

Control was released on August 27, 2019 for Windows PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. On August 27, 2020, the Ultimate Edition came to Steam. The standalone versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S were released on Feb 2, 2021.

The Ultimate Edition includes the main game plus the expansions The Foundation and AWE.

Control is available for Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. The native version for PS5 and Xbox Series came out in 2021 as part of the Ultimate Edition.

On Nintendo Switch there is a cloud version, where the game is streamed. It is not a version that runs natively on the console. The PS4 and Xbox One versions can also be played on newer consoles via backward compatibility. These are not the native PS5 or Xbox Series versions.

Control combines exploration with third-person combat. Jesse fires the shapeshifting Service Weapon, uses telekinesis to hurl objects and debris at enemies, and uses powers like Levitate to reach greater heights.

New abilities open up more areas of the Oldest House. Weapon forms, mods and upgrades allow different combat focuses.

With The Foundation and AWE, Control gets two major expansions. The Foundation takes Jesse into the depths beneath the Oldest House and continues the story of the agency's foundations. AWE deals with paranormal events and ties the plot to Alan Wake.

Both expansions are part of the Ultimate Edition. If you own the original standard edition, you may need the separate additional content to get them.

For Control, Steam lists a minimum of an Intel Core i5-4690 or AMD FX 4350, 8 GB RAM, a GeForce GTX 780 or Radeon R9 280X, and 42 GB of free storage. Recommended are 16 GB RAM, a Core i5-7600K or Ryzen 5 1600X, and a GeForce GTX 1660/1060 or Radeon RX 580.

For ray tracing, Steam lists a GeForce RTX 2060. The current Steam client requires Windows 10 or later.

The Oldest House is the seat of the Federal Bureau of Control in New York. From the outside it looks like a plain administrative building. Behind it are vast halls, research departments, forbidden rooms and places where the usual laws of nature do not apply.

Jesse returns to areas she has already visited as soon as she gains new powers or higher security clearances. Exploration leads to side missions, secret rooms and additional clues about the history of the Bureau.

The Service Weapon can take different forms. Depending on the form, it is suited to rapid fire or heavier hits, for example. Jesse's telekinesis lets her grab objects from the environment and hurl them at enemies.

Jesse improves her powers with ability points. Weapon and personal mods change additional stats. Story progress unlocks new areas instead of simply making the enemies stronger.

Control Ultimate Edition includes the main game and the two expansions The Foundation and AWE. On PC it was released on Steam in August 2020. The PS5 and Xbox Series versions are native versions of the Ultimate Edition.

The original standard edition for PS4 and Xbox One is not automatically the same product as the Ultimate Edition. A free upgrade to the new console version was tied to owning the Ultimate Edition.

Save games from the original PS4 or Xbox One version cannot simply be carried over to the native PS5 and Xbox Series versions. However, when playing the older console version via backward compatibility, the respective save game remains usable within that version.

If you switch between the two editions, you should therefore keep the different save games in mind.

On PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, Control Ultimate Edition offers a performance mode targeting 60 frames per second. The graphics mode targets 30 frames per second and uses ray tracing for realistic reflections.

On Xbox Series S, only performance mode without ray tracing is available. On PC, ray tracing availability depends on the graphics card.

Control is a single-player-only game. It offers no cooperative or competitive multiplayer mode.

The PC version supports German menus, subtitles and voice audio. German language options are also available on consoles.

Control offers an assist mode that lets you adjust the difficulty of individual areas of the game. Players can change, among other things, incoming and dealt damage, the regeneration of Jesse's energy and the reload time of the service weapon.

Additionally, there is stronger aim assist and the option to turn off dying in combat. The options can be enabled individually and, according to the developer, do not affect trophies or achievements.