M James

Control is a game, I can say that at the very least. Not the best, not the worst. Just very middle of the road. It has some interesting and fun mechanics, going around to basically become more god than (wo)man; however, overall it lacks the sense of quirkiness of something like Twin Peaks and Deadly Premonition to make it endearing or the persistent, constant dread you see in games like Prey to make it engaging. Why does this matter? It matters because the story is overall pretty dull and listless and much of the "scare factor" is more cringe or annoying than "scary". Likening it to a bunch of philosophy students who came together and created what they thought was a very science-driven, psychological, and paranormal adventure that only falls flat because of this fundamental misunderstanding of science is the most accurate statement ever. There were several parts where the story was so boring I just left the computer only to come back and remember I left the game running. The main character has all the personality of boiled russet potato and doesn’t really have anything to endear her to the player. While others seem to disagree, the combat really isn’t that difficult if you are aware of your surroundings. The “uncomfortable noise” that some find scary errs more on the side of annoying (as I mentioned before, it’s no Prey). There will be plenty who will enjoy this game for the mechanics alone and that’s perfectly valid, but if you are looking for a game driven by a great, engaging story you should look elsewhere or wait for a really good deal to buy this game.