Remedy Entertainment They are responsible for sagas such as the beginnings of Max Paynein addition to having worked on titles such as Alan Wake either Quantum Breakbut one of the last games that has left us has been Control, an adventure with touches of metroidvania. Although it was originally released on the platforms of the previous generation, it later ended up receiving its Ultimate Edition and an update for current consoles.
Precisely this special edition is the best way to fully immerse yourself in this great game that PlayStation Plus users have at their disposal, more specifically those who are signed up for the levels PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium. Subscribers just have to access PS Store to get hold of it for free and thus enjoy this action adventure and science fiction.
The strange Immemorial House
the whole plot of Control It takes place in the Immemorial House, a federal agency that at first seems to be an abandoned place, but some paranormal events are taking place there. Our protagonist, Jesse Faden, will enter this building to discover what is happening and discover what has become of all its employees.
Shortly after arriving he gets the Service Gun, a weapon that can only be wielded by the director of the agency, so he instantly adopts that position. Undoubtedly, this tool is most necessary to eradicate beings from another dimension called Hiss, responsible for having taken over the employees and turning them into our enemies.
The agency is full of mysteries that will be discovered little by little, but above all the strangest rooms due to the shapes of the walls as they are deformed. Still, Jesse can employ a number of supernatural powers which allow you to return these areas to their normal state, which incidentally transforms them instantly into checkpoints, which are always handy for saving progress.
Maybe the plot suffers some ups and downs, but mostly it’s usually engaging enough to figure out what’s going on or where the Hiss came from. Luckily there are collectible materials in the form of documents, audiotapes or videos that are useful to gather more information about these issues and that it is certainly advisable not to overlook.
The aspects that make it a metroidvania
At the beginning of the adventure our heroine starts without any power, but Based on carrying out main missions, more abilities will be unlocked, such as expelling a shock wave, ripping off elements of the stage or even levitating. For their part, the secondary missions also grant other abilities, but in this case they are less important and not at all necessary to continue with the story.
Therefore, like a good metroidvania, you will have to return to other areas that have been previously visited to explore parts that previously could not be reached in any other way. However, keep in mind that sometimes the adventure can seem a bit linear because it tells you where to go at all times, so the freedom of exploration is a bit up in the air.
However, in the additional objectives you will be able to do what you want and go to other parts, sometimes needing some particular access cards or some specific powers. Of course, all this influences the duration of the plot, since focus on the mandatory quests and nothing else it will take about 10-12 hours to get to the endbut if we add the other tasks, that duration can be prolonged much more.
Likewise, you can also get skill points and mods, which boost Jesse’s statistics or those of his pistol. What’s more, you can even obtain materials to convert it into other types of weapons, such as a shotgun or a grenade launcher. All this with infinite ammunition, so you only have to worry about reload times if you use too much.
With respect to the combats against the enemies, the entertainment will be more than guaranteed, because the action is very frenetic and offers few moments of rest. On some occasions they will force you to give your all to the controls, cleverly combining the special powers of our protagonist along with the gun to finish them off or with the final bosses that will appear.
Depending on the version you play everything will look different. For example, in the PS4 version everything moves at 30fps with some drops if there are too many effects and enemies on the screen. On the other hand, on PS5 you have the option of choosing performance mode so that the image is seen at 60 fps at 1440p and scaled to 4K or graphic mode at 30 fps with ray-tracing so that the lighting is more realistic.
The contents of the Ultimate Edition
Everything commented so far corresponds to the original version of Controlbut we must not forget that the version available on PlayStation Plus is the Ultimate Edition, since within it you can find the expansions The Foundation and also SMA.
The first one allows you to further explore the Immemorial House and more secrets that are hidden, some unknown to the agency itself. It will be up to Jesse to enter the caverns of the Foundation with the objective that the Astral Plane completely consume the enclosure. All this is accompanied by more missions and new weapons to unlock.
As for the second of the expansions, it leaves us with even more mysteries, but what characterizes it above all is the fact that it is somehow connected with Alan Wake. Nor is it a plan to go into details because yours is that you play it yourself, like the main story, because Control is one of those games that easily it can hook you from the beginning with his proposal and a great work by Remedy.