Control

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 2611 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,692 out of 2611
  2. Mixed: 507 out of 2611
  3. Negative: 412 out of 2611
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Cedoch
    May 31, 2021
    1
    Très décevant pour ma part. L’ambiance e est bonne mais on ne sais pas toujours où aller… le bestiaire est plutôt pauvre. Et au final j’ai préféré arrêter de jouer que de perdre mon temps à continuer sans intérêt…
  2. ZaPaAl
    May 6, 2021
    2
    It's not enjoyable on any level. The setting is wierd and doesn't make sense in any way. Not a single interesting character, just minor fragments of a story, many, many tidbits of notes and recordings, and all are totally unrelevant and not fun. Even the sound (permanent sermon whisping) is aggrevating.
    Missions and Sidemission are not fun. Some get repeated over and over and are just    It's not enjoyable on any level. The setting is wierd and doesn't make sense in any way. Not a single interesting character, just minor fragments of a story, many, many tidbits of notes and recordings, and all are totally unrelevant and not fun. Even the sound (permanent sermon whisping) is aggrevating.
    Missions and Sidemission are not fun. Some get repeated over and over and are just annoying.
    Graphics are partly nice, but totally bland. Level design and navigation are just terrible.
    There is no emotion involved on any level, everything is under control. The enemy is nameless and every encounter has basically the same enemy types, and they all look just unhealthy. And they keep coming. You have no idea why you have to keep fighting them at all. Combat and it's gameplay is lifeless. You are kind of required to spam your throwing powers, everything else is fluff. You find many, many mods, but they just add a percent onto something you probably already have.

    I got more and more annoyed, hoping something would get better, but it does not, it just stays at that level. It takes incredibly effort to make me actually hate a game, but this one really worked hard for it. I gave up about 3/4 into the game. Don't buy this without studying videos and really considering, is this for you?    … Expand
  3. UsedSalmon
    Apr 24, 2021
    4
    TL;DR Control isn’t a terrible game but it suffers from too many shortcomings to be worth recommending.

    I’ll start with the positives: Control offers a unique IP, a rarity these days that’s quite refreshing. Your character’s abilities also chain together in a way that feels both powerful and natural. Unfortunately, the game’s negatives outweigh the positives: Control’s heavy use    TL;DR Control isn’t a terrible game but it suffers from too many shortcomings to be worth recommending.

    I’ll start with the positives: Control offers a unique IP, a rarity these days that’s quite refreshing. Your character’s abilities also chain together in a way that feels both powerful and natural.

    Unfortunately, the game’s negatives outweigh the positives:

    Control’s heavy use of its signature red and black color palette makes it difficult to see enemies. This is especially frustrating for a game that relies so heavily on the use of visual cues to indicate when an enemy is about to attack. I found myself frequently dying simply because I couldn’t see where I was being attacked or because I fell through a hole I had no idea was there.

    I also hated getting swarmed by hordes of enemies who spawn in with seemingly no rhyme or reason. I experienced more than one encounter where a new group of enemies spawned in before I had even finished dealing with the initial wave. Taken together with the fact that enemies are so hard to see, I often felt that my deaths were “cheap” rather than outcomes of my genuinely having made a mistake.

    The other problem with Control’s combat is that the environments don’t lend themselves to the way the game tells you to play. During Control’s many endless loading screens you’ll frequently be admonished to move around in combat to avoid being swarmed by enemies. The problem is that this frequently isn’t an option as you’re forced to fight in narrow hallways or narrow platforms that don’t give you any options for movement.

    Finally, the game runs terribly on a base PS4. I’ve played tons of games on my PS4 and never encountered anything remotely approaching the performance issues of Control. The game’s framerate will frequently drop dramatically or freeze altogether and the load times are painfully long.

    You can get a sense for how frustrating these issues are for players by looking at the game’s achievement statistics. Just 21% of players completed chapter 6 (still a long way off from the end of the game). Give this one a pass.    … Expand
  4. hexava6294
    Apr 15, 2021
    0
    The gameplay may be mediocre, but the writing and performances are the worst of any video game since the dawn of time. From the very first overwhelmingly blunt and graceless voiceover exposition dump, Control outted itself as the product of the laziest minds in recent memory.
  5. Southernhammer
    Apr 21, 2021
    0
    Never really felt like a game deserves a zero before but find this game almost irredeemable. The powers are not fun, the shooting is lacklustre and the story is boring. It also likes to withhold information for no real reason. The worst PS4 game I've played.
  6. getrwuegyweh
    Feb 7, 2021
    3
    Free game, and I can see why. I wanted this for years, it looked so good. But oh my god this game well and truly sucks.
  7. tommydlbass
    Sep 19, 2021
    3
    A game with a lot of potential and a base for a good story that is overall destroyed by a bad way of telling the story and a very repetitive gameplay loop that lost me after a few hours of gameplay. The performance on a ps4 was also pretty bad.
  8. HealedDog
    Feb 10, 2021
    0
    Walking simulator with extra "make that **** fall over"-function and some random logic no human being can see through. The interface and map design are an insult for both eyes and brain and it is hard to even remotely get a glimpse of what to do, what leaves you running around both helplessly and bored through the otherwise quite interesting idea of creating diversity by texture in theWalking simulator with extra "make that **** fall over"-function and some random logic no human being can see through. The interface and map design are an insult for both eyes and brain and it is hard to even remotely get a glimpse of what to do, what leaves you running around both helplessly and bored through the otherwise quite interesting idea of creating diversity by texture in the design. ( I wonder where they copied that...)… Expand
  9. ColStripe
    Mar 18, 2021
    4
    Very cool game with a very bad checkpoint system combined with super long reload times when you do sapped all the enjoyment I was getting from the game on a PS4 slim. Glad I got it free with PS+. The map system is one of the worst I’ve seen in a game. Deleted.
  10. RazvanTurcanu1
    Mar 24, 2021
    1
    Since living the Microsoft team Remedy has only made boring unworthy and unplayable games. I played it on my PS5 in the game is just awful.
  11. borreLore
    May 21, 2020
    3
    Oh man, is this game ever a mix pot of a game. On the one hand, the base gameplay is super fun. You feel like a demi god, just going around wreaking havoc on everything. The entire world is destructible, and with good graphics, it's a visually gorgeous game.

    But the boss fights are enough to give you an aneurysm. They take what enjoyment you have of the game, and just throw it in the    Oh man, is this game ever a mix pot of a game. On the one hand, the base gameplay is super fun. You feel like a demi god, just going around wreaking havoc on everything. The entire world is destructible, and with good graphics, it's a visually gorgeous game.

    But the boss fights are enough to give you an aneurysm. They take what enjoyment you have of the game, and just throw it in the trash. They are difficult, but don't misunderstand me, that is a good thing. You want difficult bosses, otherwise the game will have no challenge. That isn't the issue. The issue is that every time you die, you have to wait nearly a minute for the loading screen, then you have to traverse another minute or two from the check point (sometimes more if the game decides to randomly spawn cookie cutter mobs between you and the boss), then you have to listen to the npc whimper about not wanting to die, then you have to wait for him to die, then you have to wait for the doors to open, then you have to go through the doors and wait for a cut scene, then you have to listen to your character say "Oh my god, what is that!" while the boss spends 30 seconds "appearing" and is completely invincible during that time, then finally you can fight the boss. Sometimes, the boss one shots you, or a hole opens up under your feet with no warning. Insta kills are frequent during boss fights. Well, when that happens, you have to spend another 5 - 10 minutes going through all that crap just to get to the boss fight. The amount of times I had to listen to the npc whimper about not wanting to die, I found myself hoping he would just die so I could fight the boss. Frankly, when a game makes you wish your allies would hurry up and die, that is a massive failure for story telling.

    What I found about this game is that the boss fights were simply not enjoyable and not rewarding like in other games. You can definitely beat them by trying enough times, but the cheap one hit deaths you suffered, and all of the wasted time going through pointless cut scenes and running around before you can fight the boss again makes your victory in the end feel like a Pyrrhic victory. Sure, you won, but you also spent 90% of the past few hours running from point A to point B and heard the same lines of dialogue so many times that you find yourself wishing there literally was 0 dialogue. It is not like in dark souls where getting to the boss wastes way less of your time and most of that time is spent having fun, not running around like you're in a walking simulator.

    This game would be 1000 times better and less frustrating if they had a check point outside the boss fight so that the already unbearable loading times weren't made worse by filler crap like cut scenes and pointless dialogue, especially since the bosses are rightfully challenging. They know you're gonna die a bunch of times, so why waste your damn time with dialogue, cut scenes, and pointless travel? 3 out of 10. Would be at least 8 if they put checkpoints closer to the bosses, and let you skip the repetitive cut scenes so you can actually play the game.    … Expand
  12. Sourgoatface
    Jan 1, 2020
    3
    Don't let the great review scores fool you. This game was in no way created to run on a PS4. The frame rate drops all the time, the controls feel like your character is stuck in the mud and the game's idea of difficulty is just spawning extra enemies. It's the same thing over and over again. By the end of this game you will be shouting at the screen to make the credits roll faster. I wasDon't let the great review scores fool you. This game was in no way created to run on a PS4. The frame rate drops all the time, the controls feel like your character is stuck in the mud and the game's idea of difficulty is just spawning extra enemies. It's the same thing over and over again. By the end of this game you will be shouting at the screen to make the credits roll faster. I was very disappointed by the reviews that were claiming that this game was "Game of the Year" material. Huge letdown and huge headache. If you like good games, just don't bother. You'll only wind up as upset as me.… Expand
  13. JDSCigano666
    May 7, 2021
    0
    Maybe I got a special version or something but this is literally unplayable on my system. The character will not walk/run/sprint properly at all; it's like playing with a broken controller except my Dualshock is practically brand new and no other games pose an issue using it. I'm really disappointed as finally getting around to playing this game looked promising but it's impossible withMaybe I got a special version or something but this is literally unplayable on my system. The character will not walk/run/sprint properly at all; it's like playing with a broken controller except my Dualshock is practically brand new and no other games pose an issue using it. I'm really disappointed as finally getting around to playing this game looked promising but it's impossible with this problem.… Expand
  14. PajamaDad
    Nov 29, 2020
    0
    The Lore and collectable writing is great. The dialogue from the main character is amateurish freshman-level stuff. Pacing is terrible. Main character is too much a Mary-Sue. Combat is mediocre.

    Graphics are beautiful but performance on consoles is atrocious.
  15. CrimsonRevolver
    Feb 9, 2021
    0
    The bugs make this game borderline unplayable. I'm talking the map literally will not even load a LOT of the time, and you're stuck staring at a blank screen wondering where to go and what to do. Objects will literally not even render when they're point blank in front of you; this happens constantly. My biggest complaint is the game is unbelievably easy; you're so OP (which is cool atThe bugs make this game borderline unplayable. I'm talking the map literally will not even load a LOT of the time, and you're stuck staring at a blank screen wondering where to go and what to do. Objects will literally not even render when they're point blank in front of you; this happens constantly. My biggest complaint is the game is unbelievably easy; you're so OP (which is cool at first) you really don't even need to try to be good at the game. I was hoping for something that would resemble Psi Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy from my childhood, but - alas - I received a game with great potential littered with completely ridiculous bugs, glitches, and 6 hours worth of extremely easy gameplay. So glad it was free with PSN.… Expand
  16. control_is_bad
    Dec 24, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I made an account just for this game.

    Pros:
    -Graphics - The game looks great.
    -Environmental design - The environments are unique and well thought out. It would make for a cool walking simulator.

    Cons:
    -Story - The game feels like a cool exploration game that somebody tacked a story onto.
    -Characters - Ahti is the only good character. All the other characters just get an eye roll.
    -Checkpoints - The checkpoint system is really annoying, kicking you back to the last control point that you went to. This is especially annoying when dealing with difficult battles where you will die and need to run for 3 solid minutes to get back to where you died.
    -Combat - Combat is either insultingly easy or pointlessly frustrating. This comes down to a combination of the energy cooldown, gun reloading, inability to regen health, and the abilities/AI of the enemies. Pair that with the checkpoint system, and a few battles might make you decide that you have better ways to spend your time than running from checkpoint to battle, getting hit by one homing missile, then flailing around trying to pick up health from enemies while simultaneously getting one-shotted by another homing missile... And then having to run back from the checkpoint to repeat it until you are lucky enough to not die.
    -Health - You have to pick up health from enemies that you have damaged. It is easy to get pinned-down in battles with effectively no health, and there is no realistic way to heal. So you just have to die. Great. In a game full of abilities and sci-fi stuff, would it be too much to ask for a regen ability? Throw me a frickin' bone here!
    -Abilities - The shield ability is useless. With the shield active, you can't use your pistol or other abilities. It is not even a good shield. You still take damage with it active... Why? Probably just to annoy the player like everything else in this game. The dodge ability is only useful for skipping fights to make your long, arduous journey from a checkpoint back to where you died. It is also marginally effective for dodging homing missiles, but 50% of the time there is nowhere to dodge, or you get hit regardless. The throw ability is good. The seize ability might be useful, but the only time you can really use it without getting demolished in the meantime is during easy fights where you don't really need it anyway.

    The only reason to play this game is to explore the environment. The mediocre story and completely unlikable characters combined with the inconsistent combat just makes this feel like some kind of sight-seeing tour where somebody slaps you in the face every 15 minutes. At some point you decide it's a better use of your time to find literally anything else to do.

    In summary, sorting laundry is a more interesting and entertaining experience than playing this game all the way through.    … Expand
  17. Crakos
    Nov 10, 2019
    3
    Awful map system.
    Awful checkpoint system.
    "Git Gud" AI , with rockets that will follow you until the end of times (and will kill you either with one or two blasts).
    Good Graphics.
    Some nice mechanics.
    Meh story.

    I feel bad to talk trash about other people hard work, but a lot of other folks seems to love the game, so I'm the minority.

    Underwhelming, and disappointing IMO.
  18. Johnnytsunami
    Dec 16, 2019
    1
    This is probably the clunkiest made game I've ever played in my entire life.
  19. Chimaera623
    Oct 31, 2019
    4
    Biggest disappointment of the year.
    -poorly written storyline
    -one of the most uninterresting characters ive seen in years
    -frame drops to below 10fps on ps4 pro
    -useless bugged map
    Backtracking
  20. inmh
    Sep 17, 2019
    0
    Disappointing.

    The story was incredibly weak. They throw you into a weird, unfamiliar world and give you little to no explanation for what's going on- the characters all know what's happening, but they never coherently, concisely explain it or tie it together for the audience. They jump right into this stuff about reality and superpowers and they just- they genuinely do not explain it    Disappointing.

    The story was incredibly weak. They throw you into a weird, unfamiliar world and give you little to no explanation for what's going on- the characters all know what's happening, but they never coherently, concisely explain it or tie it together for the audience. They jump right into this stuff about reality and superpowers and they just- they genuinely do not explain it in any meaningful way. It's like they were trying to be complicated for the sake of being "~deep~" and complicated. I didn't even know this was supposed to be a dystopian setting until I happened on a summary for the game.

    Characters were weak, even Jesse. I just didn't connect with her; she jumps into this weird nonsense and doesn't even blink at it- and I'll grant you she has Polaris, but a LOT of weird stuff happens and she just... Doesn't react. At all. There's little to no range from her; it's Sinking City all over again where a developer thinks "Noir-style Detective" means "boring, unemotive character".

    Let me put it this way: Alan Wake, yeah? Normal guy, goes to a spooky town with his wife, and some weird stuff starts happening. Not only does he react fairly appropriately for a guy in that situation, but he also acts as an audience surrogate: We learn as he learns, and this is an effective tool for immersing us in the story.

    Control does not do this. It gives us a confusing nightmare of a story full of rambling topics that make little to no sense, and we get a main character whose reaction to this is a deadpan understanding and requires little to no explanation. So how the HELL are we, as the audience, supposed to connect with her and the story? How are we supposed to be immersed in something we can't understand and the main character already KNOWS and doesn't need explained?

    It wasn't good.

    Gameplay was okay. The map system is completely screwed, though: It is nigh impossible to tell where you are because the map only has one layer; if you go downstairs, there's no indicator that you're on a different floor and it gets confusing quickly. Also, the save-points were a royal nightmare; it's one of THOSE games where it takes you FOREVER to get to a boss-fight, and then you die, and then you get to spend twenty-minutes hiking back across the map so you can- you know- die again.

    And again. And again. And AGAIN.

    I'm disappointed. I was actually really looking forward to this game and it just went south immediately.

    ETA: Another fun note: Advancing your health, your shield ability? It does nothing. Enemies can still take off a ridiculous chunk of your health no matter what you have equipped, no matter how well you've upgraded yourself. It makes pretty much zero difference, except that it makes losing a boss battle and having to hike back to it to try AGAIN that much more infuriating.

    I've downgraded my rating; this may be the first video game that I actively HATE.    … Expand
  21. Shoegazi
    Sep 1, 2019
    1
    Beauty - 10/10
    Gameplay - 0/10
    Reminds me Uncharted1 fights. Killing dozens of enemies to be one-shoted by last sneaky offscreen enemy. Absolutely Disgusting.
  22. nightlovell
    Sep 16, 2019
    1
    Cons - no plot, only shooting and poor telekinesis as well as labyrinths. Not a beautiful and not a sexy protagonist. Of the benefits, a good reflection.
  23. Steyraus
    Aug 18, 2020
    1
    First they released a jenky 30fp3 corridor run around game, then double dip and charge the customer twice to get it to run on a next gen machine. RIP REMEDY.
    Boring and repetitive. Non stop spooky spooky noises, are not scary. No map just one top down mess of the whole complex, Character to OP , so to make it harder invisible enemies one hit you. Boring after 4 hours if you brain requires    First they released a jenky 30fp3 corridor run around game, then double dip and charge the customer twice to get it to run on a next gen machine. RIP REMEDY.
    Boring and repetitive. Non stop spooky spooky noises, are not scary. No map just one top down mess of the whole complex, Character to OP , so to make it harder invisible enemies one hit you. Boring after 4 hours if you brain requires any sort of stimulation besides running around similar look corridors occasionally force throwing desk at blurry things.    … Expand
  24. exar7000
    Aug 12, 2020
    0
    Terrible companies, they treat their fans like crap! Boycott them, don’t buy anything from Remedy or 505 and let them know that screwing over paying fans and early adopters will not be tolerated!
  25. JoeGuy
    Aug 12, 2020
    0
    I'm not speaking to the quality of the game, just the lack of equality customers can enjoy.

    No existing customer can (currently) upgrade to next-gen without paying full price and re-purchasing the game. I disagree with this decision.
  26. BIGTIMEMASTER
    Jun 17, 2021
    4
    I got it for free and returned within 30 minutes.

    Typical AAA title: Technically competent, but lacking any human quality. Result of money-focused leaders making the decisions. It seems like art from a distance, but it fails to communicate anything.
  27. JimmieReview
    Jul 27, 2020
    4
    This is half a game sold for full price. And not a great one at that.

    Remedy seems to have found what they thought was a clever way to stretch out a very thin game - by having the save points far in between and make you replay large portions again and again and again. Extremely infuriating, to the point where I turned it off and said "Thats it" at 80% into the game. Gameplay    This is half a game sold for full price. And not a great one at that.

    Remedy seems to have found what they thought was a clever way to stretch out a very thin game - by having the save points far in between and make you replay large portions again and again and again. Extremely infuriating, to the point where I turned it off and said "Thats it" at 80% into the game.

    Gameplay mechanics are pretty fun, especially launching things into enemies and the physics is the highlight of the game. It does get old after a while though, as basically everything is just an arena shooter with a grab-and-launch twist to it. Enemy variation is _very_ thin, you got flying monsters and ground monsters, that's about it. Most of them are very spongy and not very satisfying to kill (We get weird particle effects. Not as effective as blood splash and gibs would have been).

    They are going for a strange atmosphere in the game, which sometimes works. But the story is just a confusing and uninteresting mess. Your looking for your brother in a building, that's about it.
    Environments do look good, but there is a obvious lack of variation. After 2 hours of playing this game, you have seen the whole game environment - it is all concrete and metal stuff in what feels like a bunker.

    To try and mix things up they have a few puzzles as well, none of them are any good, its all just very confusing and headache inducing (If you do play, use a guide - there is no fun to derive from these puzzles).

    It feels like a missed opportunity - there are some glimpse of greatness in this game but it is lost in an ocean of tediousness. Sad to see Remedy, which has produced such great games as Max Payne and Alan Wake give us this. Unless on a deep sale, stay away from this one.    … Expand
  28. ericlbiii
    Nov 13, 2019
    4
    Bueno empezó bien, y creí que todo lo que hablaban sobre el juego era una exageración, luego de las 5 primeras horas lo sentí tedioso. Estoy haciendo lo posible para que me guste, pero estoy empezando a tirar la toalla.
  29. discowuerfel
    Aug 13, 2020
    0
    Making the Next-gen upgrade not available for current-gen customers is stupid. Really disapointed in Remedy and 505 games.
  30. Astralmess
    Aug 12, 2020
    0
    Great game ruined by the fact that they're forcing early adopter of Deluxe edition to buy the same game again for next gen upgrade. You're literally punishing for wanting to support a great studio. So here's my rating and opinion about that. **** you. Last time I'm dealing with a game by Remedy or 505 publisher.
prev
Page:

Awards & Rankings

35
#35 Best PS4 Game of 2019
8
#8 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019
40
#40 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 63 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 52 out of 63
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 63
  3. Negative: 1 out of 63
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Sep 25, 2019
    90
    Impactful gunplay bolstered by a telekinetic twist, and a mystery you’ll be turning over for a long time afterwards. Welcome to the Oldest House, Director. [Issue#167, p.79]
  2. VG247
    Sep 18, 2019
    80
    The writing, direction, and performances are consistently brilliant. This is Remedy at the peak of its game. Control feels like a company rediscovering itself, waking from a long slumber. Remedy’s legs work as intended once more, the vestiges of sleep paralysis a distant memory.
    Read full review
  3. Quarter to Three
    Sep 17, 2019
    100
    I don’t want to use the word masterpiece lightly, but what else do you call the combination of gleefully chaotic gameplay with earnest storytelling in a setting as refreshingly unique as Bioshock? What else do you call a combat system that goes so far beyond the simple act of shooting a gun without drilling down into a set of intricate menus and complicated controls? What else do you call darkly malevolent horror that doesn’t feel like it was cribbed from someplace else? What else do you call the crowning achievement of a studio with a unique voice, an uneven track record, and 25 years of experience? If there’s a better word to describe what Remedy has achieved with Control, I can’t think of it.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »