Everything I Wish I Knew About 'Control' Before I Started Playing

 (Falling - The Sherlocks)

Anyone who has spent any amount of time near me in the last three weeks has probably suffered through listening to me babble about 'Control', a bonkers sci-fi paradimensional thriller from Remedy Entertainment that was released in 2019.

It's incredible.  (Click here to read more in my 'Control' review.)

It's so incredible that, as threatened in my review, I actually went out and bought a brand new XBox Series X just to make it even better. See, 'Control' has some performance issues on last-gen consoles like the PS4 and XBox One S or One X. It has issues on PCs that only meet its minimum requirements as well. Why? It's a beast of a game that has some of the industry's best-ever visuals in it, including a physics engine that's the best thing that's ever been done to date.  It's 2022 now, and the game was released in 2019. It's two and a half years old and still maybe the best looking thing out on the market.

Anyway, the new XBox did the trick. It did it so well that even though I was 90% of the way through the original campaign, I still started the whole game over. I did this on a Friday evening and by Saturday evening, I'd caught myself back up, and more. A huge part of this was how much more smoothly the game played on current-gen hardware. There were no frame rate losses, no problems getting in and out of menus, no issues with the game crashing all the bloody time, and load times that actually made the fast travel system...well, fast! (I have no idea what my poor One S would have done once I got into the Ashtray Maze.)

Another huge part of my swift second play-through was knowing certain things about the game that made some of the more...frustrating aspects of it much easier to deal with.

Some of the items below are things that I wish the game had told me. Some of these items come down to personal preferences that I suspect that others share.

- 'Control's combat system is all about movement and the interruption of movement. The game gives you an incredible amount of freedom in how you move through it, including combat scenarios, and it does this for a reason. There are very few times in the game where it's better to stand still rather than continue running around the room. (Seriously, the game tells you this in several different ways on the loading screen. MOVE OR DIE.) In the same vein, the enemies in 'Control' become much, MUCH easier to deal with when they're standing still or in what the game considers a 'Staggered' state. Staggering enemies causes them to momentarily stand still and not attack you. It also plays a HUGE part in exposing certain vulnerabilities that they have, which leads me to...

- The game flat out lies to you about 'Launch' not working on the Hiss Elevated enemies. You know the ones, the bastards that fly through the air and throw shit at you. True enough, if you try to return the favor, they simply rip right out of the way. Here's what the game DOESN'T tell you: The act of them dodging your Launch attack puts them in a Staggered state...which means if you're quick enough, you can simply throw something ELSE at them and connect. This might seem like a wild expenditure of the precious energy that you need to Launch things but it's very worth it to get rid of them.  Later in the game, there's actually an even BETTER way to deal with these pricks. Once you've researched the 'Pierce' form of the Service Weapon, simply shoot those pesky Elevated with it. They'll take damage, the blow with Stagger them, and THEN you can follow it up with Launch. This enables you to do RIDICULOUS amounts of damage in a brief period of time. 

- Once you have all of your abilities unlocked, the Ability Point upgrade board can seem daunting. If you're looking for a strong upgrade path that will generally serve you in good stead, alternate between Health, Energy, and Launch. You can customize this a little depending on where you feel you're struggling but the holy trinity of upgrades will always be Health, Energy, and Launch. If you chase all of the game's hidden rooms and side quests down, you'll have plenty of points to spend by the time it's all said and done. 

- Ignore Melee upgrades. Period. Melee is only good for blowing through windows to get you access to areas. It is otherwise completely pointless. If you're close enough to enemies to Melee them, you're dead and just don't know it yet. More on this later.

- Launch is god. Especially in the beginning of the game, you should prioritize upgrading it or upgrading your Energy so you can Launch MORE before you have to stop and recharge. Once you obtain the other paranormal abilities in the game, you may be tempted by them.  Resist that temptation and stay on Launch. It's an all-purpose, all-range offensive weapon that is the most accurate, highest damage attack you have BY FAR and you will lean on it more and more as the game progresses. Fully upgraded, Launch will let you pick up three of just about anything at once and allow you to distribute your damage either among three targets or focus down on one target for massive damage. Bonus, once Launch is fully upgraded, it will recharge your energy even when you're holding objects. It is game-breakingly powerful. People get caught up in trying to make the Service Weapon better but the Service Weapon isn't your main offensive capability. Launch is. You should only fall back on the Service Weapon when you're out of energy or when the threat is extremely low. Aaaaand since we started talking about the Service Weapon...

The Service Weapon is a lovely gun whose like hasn't been seen by gamers since the excellently modular long-arm featured in Star Wars Republic Commando. Instead of getting different guns throughout the game, you're given ONE gun with different attachments that change it from a standard 'Pew Pew' style side-arm to a somewhat sniper rifle, a machine gun, a shotgun, and a rocket launcher. The Service Weapon provides for whatever ails you! You can upgrade the various forms of the Weapon to allow for greater damage and the addition of modifiers for further increased damage, reload times, accuracy, etc. It's a great way to handle conventional weaponry in any game...except this one. Early on, 'Control' gives you access to Launch, at which point the Service Weapon sort of...becomes unimportant. Launch is more accurate, does more damage, is flexible in more situations without having to switch weapon types, and you don't have to hunt for sometimes scarce resources to upgrade it. Still, there are going to be times when the Service Weapon will make your life easier. Here are some suggestions to maximize your enjoyment of the gun:

- Grip is the form you start the game out with and it should absolutely be your priority to FULLY upgrade it before you construct any of the gun's other forms. Grip is the most versatile form of the Service Weapon and since you start the game with it, you don't have to spend precious resources unlocking it. Want something long range? Grip will almost always do the job for you, if not as quickly as Pierce might. Want something good for up-close work? Grip isn't quite as good as Shatter but with the right mods, it's more than good enough. Grip doesn't damage things as quickly as Spin or Charge but also doesn't suffer from those forms' HORRIBLE accuracy problems. Remember also, the Service Weapon is what you use AFTER you've used all of your energy with Launch. "But Steve," you cry, "What if I want to play the game using the Service Weapon as my primary means of offense? Maybe that's how I LIKE to play!" That is, of course, your choice. You should understand that 'Control' is designed to be played with Launch as your primary offensive capability. 'Control' isn't always an easy game either, especially in the beginning. Playing the game 'Gun Forward' will dramatically increase the game's difficulty and rob you of what is possibly one of THE most satisfying combat mechanics that we've seen in the last decade. If you DO insist on fleshing the Service Weapon out though...

- DO NOT build mods for your gun.  Ever.  The game will feed you all the Mods you could possibly want. Building your own mods also takes very precious resources that you can better spend upgrading the various forms of the Service Weapon.  And on that note...

- After you have Grip fully upgraded, the next weapon form you should focus on is Pierce. Pierce allows you to do significant chunks of damage in ONE SHOT to even armored enemies. Especially later in the game, it'll be one of the best mechanisms at your disposal for quickly stripping the armor from enemies so that you can begin chipping away at their health bars. There's a late-game side boss that is virtually unkillable without Pierce. You need to have this Form unlocked by the time you reach the Transit Station. Pierce is also a lovely 'One Shot, One Kill' tool against Hiss Elevated.

- Charge is the game's equivalent of a rocket launcher. The problem with it is that said rockets take FOREVER to get where they're going, which makes accuracy a massive problem. You should only use this against very slow moving enemies, and you should only use it AT A DISTANCE as you have to charge the gun up before you can fire it each time. Letting enemies get close to you in 'Control' is a quick path to death. 'Control' is a game that isn't designed to be played up close and it reminds you of that fact IMMEDIATELY if you let a bad guy get up in your business. Enemies do respectful amounts of damage when they're far away but they do mortal damage very, very quickly when they're up close. Up close is BAD. Which means...

- The 'Shatter' gun form is pointless. The only reason you should unlock this is if you're going for a completion trophy. There are SO MANY OTHER WAYS to kill things if you find yourself in the unfortunate situation where an enemy is up close. Assuming your first reaction isn't to RUN THE FUCK AWAY, you could use Launch or Grip without having to change gun forms. Hell, you could Melee to stagger the enemy and then RUN THE FUCK AWAY. You could use Shield. You could use Evade to RUN THE FUCK AWAY.  You could Levitate to RUN THE...oh, never mind.  Go ahead, use Shatter. Knock yourself out.

- 'Spin' is the machine gun form of the Service Weapon and there's nothing really bad about it for what it is except that you have to pay handsomely to unlock and upgrade it. Spin isn't as great as Grip or Pierce at range due to its issues with grouping but it does incredible damage if you can focus your fire on an enemy. That's frequently a difficult proposition with many of the game's enemies though; 'Control's A.I. isn't stupid and enemies won't just sit there and soak bullets unless you stagger them somehow. Spin is also basically useless against Hiss Elevated unless you both stagger them AND get up close which we've established is a terrible idea unless you're a 'Shatter' main, in which case ... go get 'er, Ray!

Side quests in games are a mixed bag. You have to have a good reason to divert from the main story, especially with a story that's as good as 'Control's. The good news is, the side quests in this game are very worth it. Some are critical. Here's what my first playthrough taught me:

- Your first trip to Maintenance happens very early in the game and said trip takes you right past the break room where you can pick up the 'A Merry Chase' side quest. You can pick this up while you're on your way to Ahti's office the first time and you absolutely should. Stop what you're doing and complete this quest. It grants you 'Evade', the game's Dodge mechanic. 'Evade' is one of two very broken traversal abilities in 'Control' that significantly opens up the game's world. Bonus points, you can use Evade to arrest your falling speed.  This is HUGELY useful in parts of the game where you need to drop a significant distance quickly without dying from the landing. (I'm looking at you, Central Research.) Just evade right before you land.

- Return to see the good janitor frequently as he offers easy to complete side-quests that will net you valuable ability points. Plus, listening to the Mad Finn ramble on about things is one of the best parts of the game.

- Shield and Seize are both optional side-quests -- 'A Captive Audience' and 'A Good Defense' respectively. Both abilities are basically pointless and the quest for 'Shield' is a huge pain in the ass, so these are low priorities.

- ...Seriously, Seize is horrible. Yes, taking control of enemies is fun but you have to deal near mortal damage them before you can then STOP FIGHTING OR MOVING QUICKLY to take control of them while the rest of the very dangerous enemies on the field are all still very much fighting and moving quickly. There are ways to upgrade Seize to make it work faster but those upgrades come in the form of personal mods, which you can only equip so many of at once. Personal Mod spots are precious commodities and should NOT be spent on useless tat like this. Plus, by the time you get to the point in the game where you can get Seize, you've got better things to spend Ability Point upgrades on. Lastly, the act of doing just enough damage to an enemy to make them seizable and yet NOT dead is a pain in the ass. Most of your bread and butter offense will wipe out the majority of foes in a single shot once Launch has an upgrade or two into it. Quickly get rid of the little fish and then Seizing the more effective mobs becomes a pointless endeavor. 

- When you pick up 'Levitate', the game fully opens to your exploration.  There are TONS of hidden rooms all around the FBC. Don't forget to look up! Chances are, if there's a ledge up there, you can not only get to it, but you'll be rewarded with an item box or even ability points for your cleverness.

- There's a pit at the bottom of Central Research that leads you to Dr. Raya Underhill and a side quest called 'Old Growth'. You can get this side-quest relatively early on in the game. Do yourself a favor and stay the hell away from it unless you're looking for a serious challenge. The enemies are some of the strongest in the game and the environment is very difficult to navigate through because of how difficult everything is to see. I am not ashamed to admit that I fell back on the internet to help me through this.

- There are five main NPCs in 'Control' that will let you talk to them: Emily, Arish, Marshall, Langston, and Underhill. Return to each on a regular basis to learn more about the game to have valuable side-quests issued to you.

Finally, below are some spoiler-ridden boss fight strategies...

Seriously, there are spoilers here. 

THE FRIDGE AND THE FLAMINGO: Both of these fights see you fighting an enemy called Former. The object of the fight is clear as soon as it starts: Shoot the thing in the eye while you dodge its black sphere projectile attacks and physical claw attacks. Here are a few things you can do to help:

- These fights are both OPTIONAL, so you can always come back when you're stronger. Each time you die, you lose precious Source, so don't just stand there and beat your head against the wall with this guy. I lost around 25,000 source before I dealt with The Fridge.

- Those black spheres that Former shoots at you? Use Launch to return that shit to sender. They do STUPID damage and will help you end the fight before it gets to the VERY DIFFICULT third stage where Former just slashes away with its claws non-stop. You may find grabbing those spheres to be difficult though, and here's why: They're HUGE.  You'll be trying to grab them with Launch while they're out of range because you'll feel like they're too close to you. Stand your ground. Your reward is a nasty fight made much easier.

- If you can put the fight off until Launch is fully upgraded, do so. At max power, launch does STUPID damage and will also allow you to grab and launch three objects at once. When Former launches one of its spheres at you, grab it and two other pieces of the environment and let fly. Just remember to keep your wits about you when you see what you're doing to its health bar. I was so shocked by the damage that this did the first time, I took damage and nearly threw the rest of the fight as a result. And while we're talking about fights that Max Launch makes easier...

- Triggering the Flamingo fight is kind of a pain in the ass that can be completely negated if you have mods for Dodge Efficiency. Strap a few on, get into the air, and then just Evade your way straight to the dirty bird. Then switch your mods back out for standard combat mods and get business done.

THE ANCHOR: This is a very easy fight against a hell-spitting red ball of death if you just calm down and don't react impulsively.

- Max Launch? Yes, please. Why throw one thing when you can throw three? This is especially important because each time you damage the Anchor, it increases the speed with which it rotates and spits. This DECREASES the amount of time you have to target its weak point before you get a face full of Nope. Come into the fight with Launch fully upgraded and you'll end said fight before the Anchor gets to the truly nasty stage of the fight.

- BE PATIENT. You'll be tempted to chase the 'eye' of the anchor around from platform to platform. Instead, just hold still. It'll come back ground and you can be ready when it does.  Plus, the platform you start the fight on is more defensible than the others when the Anchor begins warping allies in.

- STAY ALERT. Even with Launch upgraded, the Anchor will rapidly stop rotating in an orderly fashion and begin picking random platforms to vomit on. Get rid of the airborn mobs as quickly as you can, grab some debris around you and wait for it.

TOMASSI: You'll get a second chance to take a crack at this asshole later in the game. There are a few things you can do to make this fight MUCH easier:

- Do NOT start this fight unless you have Pierce constructed and preferably upgraded. You'll need to bust Tomassi's armor barrier before you can do meaningful damage. The fight is virtually impossible without this.

- If you insist on doing this fight the hard way, there's rubble all over the battlefield that you can use to hide from Tomassi's projectiles.  Use that instead of your precious energy to conjure shields or Evade. If you're just after being done with this...

- The hardest part of this fight isn't Tomassi, it's the mobs he summons at 50 and 25% life. The best way to deal with them is to just not fight them.  Early in the fight, use Levitate to fly up onto the giant rock in the middle of the arena. From there, you can fly further up onto the walkway system high above the whole arena, putting you out of range of almost every mob in the game and allowing you to focus down on Tomassi. This makes a hard fight very, VERY easy.

- Use Pierce to stagger Tomassi and then use Launch to do serious damage. Wash, rinse, repeat.

SALVADOR: This is a nasty fight at a very nasty part of the game.  You don't have levitate yet and unless you prioritized Launch in your upgrades, your offensive power won't be at a point where you can quickly focus down Salvador himself and be done with him.

- If you haven't done the 'A Merry Chase' sidequest yet, stop what you're doing and go do it. It grants you 'Evade' which is crucial in this fight. Movement is key here. Standing still in this fight is death.

- Salvador moves slowly and doesn't attack quickly if you can keep him at a distance. As soon as the fight opens, use Launch to bat his henchmen out of the air and either finish them off with a few quick shots of the Service Weapon or Seize them if that's your bag. Seizing them won't really hamper Salvador but it'll give him something to focus on instead of you while you take the rest of his henchmen out.

- Pay attention to the incoming damage indicators on your screen and use them to determine when it's safe to poke your head out and take a shot at Salvador. Don't bother spending your ammo or energy on depleting his Shield as he'll take it down himself when he launches his rocks at you. Duck and cover, wait for him to launch his shield at you, and then return the favor. He'll slowly wander over to your side of the battlefield, at which point you should make a point of running back to the OTHER side of the battlefield. This makes a hard fight very easy. He'll occasionally summon mobs to help him but they can quickly be dispatched with Launch and the Service Weapon while Salvador is slowly wandering over to you in the background.

MOLD-1: By the time I found this ugly bugger, I was almost maxed out with my abilities so it wasn't too. much trouble. It's an optional boss at the end of an optional side quest that is THE most miserable quest in the whole game so most people don't actually find this ugly bastard.

- There's a giant pedestal in the middle of the room. Get behind it, fly up, launch shit at Mold-1, and duck again.  The fight will progress quickly until finally Mold-1 will get pissed and just start raining death down everywhere.  When this happens, forget subtlety. Jump up on the platform and just go full HAM. Now is an EXCELLENT time -- maybe the only excellent time -- to bring out the Charge weapon form if you have it, as Mold-1 doesn't move much. Either stuff a few barrages of Launch or Charge at the beast and it'll go down without too much of a fight.

GENERAL: 

- Generally speaking, 'Control''s combat is designed to be fought at a distance while you're in motion. Stick and move. The game goes out of its way to emphasize this point by giving you a ton of long range abilities, making those abilities orders of magnitude stronger than your short range combat options, and brutally penalizing you for standing still and allowing enemies to get up close. Unless you're a massive, MASSIVE glutton for punishment, heed what the game is trying to tell you. The game never puts you in an environment where you can't move around, duck, and cover.

- Late in the game, there's a staggeringly effective Cheese combo that you can use to basically become unkillable. If you've gone through the effort of finding hidden rooms and completing side quests, you'll have more than enough points to fully upgrade Shield. (Seriously, don't bother upgrading Melee or Seize.) With Shield fully upgraded,  you gain the ability to not just raise a VERY robust Shield but also regain energy while holding that shield up. Throw an insane number of objects at people until you've only got about a third of your energy left, then just raise Shield and wait. You can move around or even fly with Shield in place. Launch, Shield, Levitate, and then drop Shield to rain death from above. Wash, rinse, repeat.