GameCenter - Issue 65 - 34

Together, these abilities and her weapon
make Jesse a powerhouse. That's good, because
in Control, players are going to need to be much
more aggressive than in previous Remedy titles.
"One key thing gameplay-wise that we
changed from our previous games is that there's
no regenerative health," Kasurinen said. "You
can't turtle up. You have to participate in the
fight. Sometimes you have to go to the enemy
to be able to survive, as weird as that sounds."
Instead of regenerating health, players
need to collect health from enemies they've
defeated, not unlike in the "Glory Kill" system
that made 2016's Doom such an adrenaline
rush. It's all about chaining together attacks,
putting on pressure, and earning back that
health, instead of just letting it recharge.
"We wanted to have a sandbox feel to the
combat," Kasurinen explained. "There will be
a lot of unpredictable moments, but what's
really cool is that once you start to learn these
abilities and your gun, and you master them,
and then you get in these surprising situations
and you improvise, you feel awesome when
you pull it off. That's the feeling we want to
create."

FAMILIAR FACES (AND VOICES)

Unlike every other
title from the studio,
Control isn't a linear
adventure.

If you're a fan of Remedy's other games, then
you might notice some familiar faces (or, at
least, their voices) in Control.
Courtney Hope, who plays Jesse, previously starred as Beth Wilder in Quantum Break.
In that game, Beth was driven by a vision of
her future and fulfilling her own destiny by
infiltrating Monarch Solutions and looking for
a way to stop them from fragmenting time. In
Control, Jesse's destiny
is determined when she
arrives at the Bureau
and soon becomes its
next director. Both characters share a similar
drive to reconcile the past, and Hope portrays
them with strength and determination.
Jesse's predecessor, Director Zachariah
Trench, dies early in the game, thrusting Jesse
into the role of director. But Trench's spirit will

still show up throughout the game, aiding
Jesse as she learns
how to navigate the
strangeness of the
Oldest House. Fans
with good ears for grizzled detectives with
tragic pasts might recognize the person
who plays Trench: It's none other than Max
Payne himself, James McCaffrey.
Remedy's other hero, Alan Wake, will
also appear in Control-well, the actor who
plays him, at least. Matthew Porretta, who
voiced Wake, will play Dr. Casper Darling,
the head of research at the Bureau. Right
after the Hiss invasion, Darling mysteriously disappears. He obviously plays a major
role in the game's events, but Remedy
wants to keep the specifics a secret.

Combat isn't the only way that Remedy is
changing the script when it comes to design.
Unlike every other title from the studio, Control
isn't a linear adventure. The Oldest House itself
is an open-world environment, similar to Prey's
Talos I space station, and exploring its nooks
and crannies will be necessary if you want to
unlock all of Jesse's abilities. Likewise, that also
means that Control will have side quests, and
it won't hold your hand by giving you map
markers to follow.
Even though Remedy is making a lot of
changes to its formula with Control, one aspect
of the studio's games that will stay the same
is the strong connection you feel with its
characters.
"Regardless of how powerful a character is,
they're still interesting if ultimately there's a lot
at stake," Maggs said. "For Jesse, it's the mystery
of her brother, but also finding a place where
she actually belongs and trying to fit into a
role. All of those things are still inherently human, and I think that's what makes her a vulnerable character, even if she is all-powerful."

GameCenter - Issue 65

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GameCenter - Issue 65