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
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  1. Chatmak
    Jun 30, 2020
    4
    This game really disappointed me because it had the potential to be a very fun experience but is held back by level design, mission structure and technical issues.

    The combat is probably the best part about the game, the superpowers all feel great to use, and although the gunplay is not amazing this doesn't detract from the experience. The enemies and levels are very repetitive though    This game really disappointed me because it had the potential to be a very fun experience but is held back by level design, mission structure and technical issues.

    The combat is probably the best part about the game, the superpowers all feel great to use, and although the gunplay is not amazing this doesn't detract from the experience. The enemies and levels are very repetitive though which makes dragging through the game's 10 or so missions very tedious.

    The areas all look very uninspiring, and laid out in such a way that you will spend a lot of time simply trying to figure out where to go. There is a map but this is more or less useless since areas often sprawl vertically across many floors which the map seems to completely ignore.

    The mission structure is also very bland, with practically every mission consisting of going from point A to B to C while fighting enemies along the way. More frustratingly, one type of side mission (bureau alerts) is given to the player seemingly at random, assigned a time limit and often requires the player to stop whatever they are doing and track back to the location the side mission requires. Much of my 15-20 hours with the game was spent simply traversing the same areas over and over again (often getting lost), fighting the same enemies which always respawn even in areas you have already cleared.

    The abilities and mods all play it very safe and do not deviate from the core gameplay in any interesting ways. The story is certainly there and expanded through collectibles that are easily found throughout the world, but it failed to captivate me enough to compensate for the rest of the unenjoyable experience.

    On a PS4 slim the game runs at 30fps, with a little input lag (not massively noticeable though), looks unimpressive at all times and often drops to 10fps or lower when too much is happening on screen. Nothing about the look or scope of the game warrants such poor performance, so this is very disappointing for a game in 2019.

    Overall, this game has some very fun powers which would not feel out of place in an inFamous game (perhaps even better than the last inFamous entry). However, virtually everything else about this game lets it down, and the powers alone are not enough to make it a fun experience.    … Expand
  2. ragerino
    Dec 28, 2019
    4
    The game seems to be broken. I was looking half an hour for getting an elevator to work. After giving up and trying again a few hours later, I realized that the elevator was not activated because an enemy did not spawn.
  3. 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.
  4. AsaZimbabwe
    Jun 20, 2020
    4
    couldn't get past about 5 hours. frustrating, boring. very confused by all the overwhelmingly positive reviews. wish i would've rented first instead of buying.
  5. JetJaguar
    Sep 10, 2019
    4
    Interesting story with superb writing. Like I mean the writing is great, paced well and everything. Everything else sucks. Bugs, crashes, terrible and repetitive level design, repetitive gunplay. Enemies are dumb and I rolled my eyes everytime I had to fight them.
  6. 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
  7. 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.
  8. CoreGamer1408
    Feb 23, 2021
    4
    Free drop with PS+ subscription. Some nice art style and ok voice acting. Story seemed odd and weird in a good way. Unlocked some really cool and fun abilities. It has that grind for resources with padded out side missions gameplay. Game/story started to drag and the FPS performance in combat tanked really bad so DNF.
  9. BoostOrDie
    Jan 7, 2021
    4
    Bought on a cristmass sale, still too expensive for this..
    Horrible game setting. Horrible character animations (bulky and far from real). Huge facility where you run around all game to and fro the same corridors. Quests dont give a clue where you should go or what to do. Guess yourself. This game is more a pain to play then joy. After few hours of same stupid activity i got deadly    Bought on a cristmass sale, still too expensive for this..
    Horrible game setting. Horrible character animations (bulky and far from real). Huge facility where you run around all game to and fro the same corridors. Quests dont give a clue where you should go or what to do. Guess yourself. This game is more a pain to play then joy. After few hours of same stupid activity i got deadly bored. Game setting is not explained. Strange wierd things happen but you have no clue why its so. Some quests like Good defence give you same time for PC and Console, time given is too little and is ok for PC players but on console aiming take more time and you gota do 20 tries to make it in time, that is frustrating. And the sound.. lots of time you get a lot of background noise that gets very annoying. If you play on speakers every one in the room gets very annoyed with the annoying background noise, so you gota use headphones and suffer alone.
    Animations 2/5
    Game setting 1/5
    Story 2/5
    Gameplay experience 0/5    … Expand
  10. dark0153
    Jan 4, 2020
    4
    **** performance on PS4 pro - lag everywhere during a big fight, lag after closing the game menu.
    Very unpolished, from the UI to the controls, feels like there was no QA testing done for this.

    The good parts (like the art, theme and so on) are easily forgotten when the game crashes or you experience FPS drops even in the loading screen.
  11. gamerz4life
    May 14, 2022
    4
    Control is supposedly made by Remedy, the makers of Alan Wake, hence why I picked this title up. It’s supposed to be a story-strong game that can stand on its own but also pulls all Remedy titles into one universe. However, this is not the case. Control plays more like a tech demo, of which it does very well, in its physics and lighting department. Though this does have a drawback on theControl is supposedly made by Remedy, the makers of Alan Wake, hence why I picked this title up. It’s supposed to be a story-strong game that can stand on its own but also pulls all Remedy titles into one universe. However, this is not the case. Control plays more like a tech demo, of which it does very well, in its physics and lighting department. Though this does have a drawback on the PS4, with terrible framerates and freezing as the game tries to keep up, even after the patches! And then there is hardly a story to be found in comparison to Remedy’s other titles. I really wanted to like this game, after all it was trying to pull all the Remedy games into one universe, but I think in doing that it lost track of itself. At the end of the day, what makes Control Control? What will I remember in the long run, what will make me come back to this game years down the road? Answer nothing except perhaps watching the videos of the AWE DLC.

    This is a game that never should have been a full game. Its story is too thin, it would have been better off as an expansion or something that was no more than perhaps 6 hours. At least then it would have been concise and it wouldn’t be filled with ridiculous fetch quests and empty open world. I mean come on you become Director, head of the entire Bureau, and your underlings have you collect mold samples. Seriously? Also, should have been an expansion because this game simply can’t stand on its own. It pulls too much of Alan Wake and even Max Payne into its story, which is the point of the game, but if you’ve never played those games you’d be at a complete loss as to what it’s talking about.

    You have to play past the first two chapters to finally start getting into some meat of the story and have yourself wanting to know more. But you’re in for a shock of disappointment. Every moment as you progress through the story you’re hoping for that moment where story and explanation starts happening but with every new cutscene you’ll feel your dread rising as you realize the characters know what’s going on but not you. The main character, Jesse had some terrible event happen to her as a child in her hometown of Ordinary. You want to know what happened there and why? So do I, because you’ll never receive a satisfactory answer.

    By the end of the game, I understood where the Hiss came from and how this event came to be but it just wasn’t that great. It should have been explained over time, teasing little bits and pieces making you want to get to the bottom of the mystery. And how is the biggest explanation in the game a 5 minute monologue where you actually have to stop and stand next to the character because it’s not a cutscene?! And players could totally blow past it without even knowing because it’s during a really monotonous portion of the last level where you’re desperate to get it over with!

    Gameplay-wise: It has difficulty spikes, ranging from a simple cake-walk to heading into another room and finding the combat impossible, dying four times in a row against the same boss, with a horrendous checkpoint system that has you traversing across a good portion of the map to get back to the battle. It’s so bad to the point that an assist mode was patched into the game later on with reduced damage and invincibility, just to make you want to throw the controller through the tv a little less. This can plainly be seen in the achievement percentages when only 16% of people finished this game! The enemies themselves are just copy/paste, once they’re all introduced they either shoot at you or throw objects at you, with bosses sprinkled in between, it’s not different enough to make memorable combat using tactics. There’s a skill tree and weapon mods, which shouldn’t even exist. The skills don’t add to helping you get through the game and by the end of the game, you’ll be drowning in weapon mods and not giving most of them a second glance before turning them into upgrade points.

    As someone who managed to get a platinum trophy (and not going way out of the way to do so), I found 323 collectibles throughout the game and that wasn’t even all of them!! I spent hours reading things that should have been put in the game to explain what the heck was happening. Collectibles are supposed to be something that adds to the game but ultimately, doesn’t matter if you miss them, however in Control, you range from if you don’t pick these up you’ll be even more lost or why the heck do these exist because who cares what office drama is happening?

    Don’t bother picking this title up, it’s not a game and it’s just plain not good. This game clearly exists only to push the Alan Wake story forward, mostly on the monetary level; they wanted to make some quick money to begin the AW sequel. Your best option? Watch someone’s videos on YouTube of the AWE DLC Alan Wake moments, as will probably play a factor into the upcoming Alan Wake 2.    … Expand
  12. KillJoy505
    Dec 15, 2019
    4
    Remedy R.I.P.?
    A bad game with crude mechanics. The story of the SCP foundation was thrown out, replaced by a surrogate.
    Backtracking, grinding, terrible characteristics pumping, instant respawn, only two guns in one moment (although the plot is all one gun) - to do so is an indelible disgrace for a company with a reputation for innovators.
  13. Dmacy
    Dec 27, 2019
    4
    Well, this game is a mediocore, boring, repetitive scam. You are just wondering around a huge office building, shooting up weird people, reading nonsence notes and documents, listening to npc's uninteresting stories... It's just dull "mysterious" nonsense with fancy raytracing eyecandy graphics.
  14. Mack9419
    Aug 29, 2019
    4
    This runs horrible on the PS4 a lot of times the frame rate drops to 10 FPS for five minutes straight plus the story sucks
  15. Krikri1987
    Sep 2, 2019
    4
    Its always easier to give unanswered question, and this is what Control does. You play the game, and after 15 hours some pieces start to not fit in the general picture. Too many characters well introduced are gone forever with no answers. You hope throughout the game to see them again, to get some answers on what's going on but, hey, that's not what remedy wants!
  16. chnn92
    Feb 17, 2021
    4
    Core gameplay is very outdated. It feels like the game from late 90s or early 2000. The whole game is just enemy spam over and over again. Some part of the game is either too dark or too bright or both at the same time, even if you calibrate the brightness, so you can't see anything on the screen, makes the game nearly unplayable. The map navigation is the worst in history of game industry.
  17. 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
  18. Mattyc96
    Mar 15, 2022
    4
    The puzzles in this game are incredibly dense. You will never figure them out without using a guide. Solutions dont feel organic. You will walk away from this game wondering how anyone was supposed to figure that out. Beyond that the story is convulted and pretentious. (Even for a kojima fan). The destruction and special effects is top notch . Unfortunately not enough to redeem this game for me.
  19. DandaElPanda
    Feb 20, 2021
    4
    Game that could be nice but fails to deliver. Map is horrible, probably the worst one i ever been at, even Tarkov map is better and you dont have a map. On ps4 the framedrops in boss fights are insane. The whole enemy mechanics that shots hit you randomly with heat seeking type of stuff is like a game from 2008 with better graphics. Dont waste your time on this i made it to the half of the game.
  20. Rwbytalk
    Feb 19, 2020
    4
    I really like this game and the story The difficulty is really bad 'the enemies are taking me out easy in the bosses will take you out really easy and they don't take a lot of damage from the gun the big problem is the enemies and the difficulty
  21. SandroCpv
    Feb 23, 2020
    4
    O jogo não tem muita graça, ficando repetitivo com os tempo. A verdade é que nem uma arma é realmente efetiva senão os próprios poderes dela.
    A história quando parece que vai ficar boa, simplesmente acaba, sendo ela um tanto quanto curta, as missões secundárias são desinteressantes. As únicas coisas boas são o enredo que é original, apesar de os inimigos não passarem de zumbis armados, e a    O jogo não tem muita graça, ficando repetitivo com os tempo. A verdade é que nem uma arma é realmente efetiva senão os próprios poderes dela.
    A história quando parece que vai ficar boa, simplesmente acaba, sendo ela um tanto quanto curta, as missões secundárias são desinteressantes. As únicas coisas boas são o enredo que é original, apesar de os inimigos não passarem de zumbis armados, e a mecânica, que é interessante.    … Expand
  22. honest_rev7
    Sep 29, 2020
    4
    OHMAGWD

    it has that green-grey vibe of misery ala all them hip netflix movies.
  23. Rysm78
    Apr 21, 2020
    4
    Remedy and all the other review sites *cough* IGN *cough* led me to believe this was worth my time. I would rather waste my time playing mischief makers on N64 than this garbage. 2013 graphics, 2003 frame rate (played on Xbox one X). Worst in game map/navigation I’ve ever seen. You people should be ashamed.
  24. Krouchis
    May 29, 2020
    4
    Muyy buen juego! Lastima que no tenian ganas de poner una historia decente! Ademas se nota que les gustaba mucho kojima, porque es un calco al metal gear, se podrian a ver esmerado un poco!
  25. piuscorvus
    Aug 26, 2020
    4
    Control gives an impression of an unfinished game. It probably could have been a nice game if it was not full of glitches, freezing screen moment, bad map system and unimpressive shooting combat.
  26. j1mbo15
    Mar 13, 2021
    4
    I wanted to play Control because I like games action/adventure games with fun mechanics, that have intriguing storytelling as a foundation. I saw the teaser for Control, and it was clear that this game fit that description. The main protagonist can use some interesting "powers" that suggest she is able to manipulate physics. Some of these powers include an ability to levitate, throwI wanted to play Control because I like games action/adventure games with fun mechanics, that have intriguing storytelling as a foundation. I saw the teaser for Control, and it was clear that this game fit that description. The main protagonist can use some interesting "powers" that suggest she is able to manipulate physics. Some of these powers include an ability to levitate, throw objects, and deliver very strong melee punches. I was looking forward to gameplay featuring these mechanics.

    Our protagonist is the mysterious, Jesse Faden, who is searching for answers. The story seems dark, shrouded in mystery, and fascinating when you start. The world has documents, recordings, videos that you can find, which sets the stage for a "what is going on in this place" type of world. Just like when I first watched the TV show Lost and back when I played Bioshock for the first time, I got really excited to see and experience how this story would resolve. I love stories that make you think and mess with your mind.

    If this all sounds exciting, you can form your own opinion for about 15 hours. That all said, my warning is I wish I had those 15 hours back. There is a huge difficulty spike that forced me into "immortality mode" because I'm not good at games. You probably need to be Dark Souls level of good. Finding enemies gets repetitive and becomes unfun with the difficulty spike. Worst of all, all of that potential with the story gets wasted. This game doesn't pay it off and when I finally rolled credits (for good), I found myself sitting in my living room with that sad "why did I bother" feeling.

    Would you kindly take those 15 hours and try a different game of this genre?    … Expand
  27. julesyBaby5000
    Sep 9, 2020
    4
    I enjoyed the first 2 hours or so. I would be able to enjoy this a lot more if there was a difficulty adjustment option or at least some health regen. I found the game stupidly easy and then stupidly difficult which sucks because the story seems like it might be good. Unfortunately I will never know.
  28. super_absorber
    Nov 21, 2020
    4
    This game is very good in the technical sense (destructible environment) and very boring for the gameplay and the story. I gave up after 5 hours. Yeah, super powers are cool, but they don't really catch my attention after awhile since the combat are repetitive. The story and characters are just plain boring
  29. HaloSC
    Feb 20, 2022
    4
    Gra jest frustrująca do tego stopnia że straciłem chęć do dalszej gry. Po utracie życia odrodzenie tylko w punktach kontrolnych a nie w punktach zapisu które są bardzo często-to najbardziej zniechęca do dalszej zabawy. Z tego powodu musimy ponownie pokonywać długą drogę i często ponownie tych samych przeciwników. Walka zmusza do ciągłego ruchu tylko że często tego miejsca nie ma. DoskonałaGra jest frustrująca do tego stopnia że straciłem chęć do dalszej gry. Po utracie życia odrodzenie tylko w punktach kontrolnych a nie w punktach zapisu które są bardzo często-to najbardziej zniechęca do dalszej zabawy. Z tego powodu musimy ponownie pokonywać długą drogę i często ponownie tych samych przeciwników. Walka zmusza do ciągłego ruchu tylko że często tego miejsca nie ma. Doskonała celność wrogów. Mapa która do niczego się nie nadaje.… Expand
  30. 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.
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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
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