Upon its reveal at E3 2018, Control looked like it was just going to be another Remedy Entertainment game; It looked like a very interesting Remedy game, but a standard Remedy game nonetheless. However, it seems that such an impression is incorrect. This month, Remedy has started releasing dev diaries for Control in an effort to explain exactly what kind of game it is and to show fans that the game will be something of a departure from what’s come before. The latest Control developer diary focuses upon the team’s gameplay goals and their commitment to giving players more control than ever before.
While watching the video, it immediately becomes apparent that Control is going to be a much more open experience than its predecessors. Remedy has stated their regret for the lack of exploration in Alan Wake and Quantum Break in the past, and it appears they’re determined not to carry that regret forward in Control. Lead Designer Paul Ehreth opens this Control developer diary by describing the game’s interconnected world, one in which players can return to spaces they’ve already visited. In some cases, these spaces will have changed in their absence.
Apparently, the world of Control will feature many secrets to uncover, mysteries to solve, and challenges to take on. Adding more opportunity to explore isn’t just a surface addition here, it sounds like they’re really aiming for it to be a meaningful pursuit. Control’s narrative lead, Anna Megill, describes a story that is much less reliant on cinematic beats than Remedy’s previous works. Gameplay will play a much larger role in telling Control’s story, and part of accomplishing that is placing a greater emphasis on environmental storytelling. Based on what’s being said here, it sound like players will be able to discover hints about everything from the plot to specific characters.
As with the story, the idea of control is a cornerstone of Control’s gameplay. The player’s character, Jesse, has several supernatural abilities at her disposal that give her a level of control over her surroundings. They basically enable her to use the environment as a weapon. The goal in this, it seems, is to give players the ability to customize their experience and define how encounters play out. The team describes this system as easy to learn, but difficult to master, as players will need to figure out for themselves the best way to overcome each new enemy or challenge.
It’s going to be a while yet before Remedy fans will get the chance to see Control in action, but at least now we know what kind of experience Remedy is trying to create. Having both Remedy’s trademark storytelling combined with a deep world to explore and challenge sounds like an amazing game. If this latest Control developer diary is any indication, then the necessary vision is definitely there. All that’s left is for Remedy to pull it off and fully realize the potential of what they’re describing.
Control is currently set to release in 2019 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
