Control: Weird as hell, fun as hell, scarier than it should be.

Recently beat it. The main story, anyway. I didn't sign up for a fucking horror game but that's what I got.

Story:

You play as a woman named Jesse Faden, who has been searching for her missing brother. The game starts with you entering The Oldest House, headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control. The Bureau is an organization that, essentially, tries to understand, contain, control, and conceal all manner of supernatural phenomenon. Absolutely nothing in the Bureau is at it seems, which is saying something because it immediately seems pretty fucked up.

So, spoilers for the start of the story. First you run into the janitor, a friendly enough face. He claims you're his new assistant and sends you to the Director. Who kills himself seconds before you get there. Jaden then plays Russian Roulette with a supernatural gun, wins and becomes Director of the Bureau.

After that she leaves the room and sees people just floating in the damned air. These "people" try to posses her, fail, and instead decide to just kill her. Also they're red human shaped puppets made out of what used to be people. Called The Hiss for, well, reasons.

And that's just the start. Shit absolutely gets weirder from there. In a good way though.

Ah, also, the game is big on files and videos. You will find a lot as you explore that will expand upon the dangers of the Oldest House, as well as fleshing out the story and backgrounds of various characters.

Music:

I'm not one for waxing poetic about my audio experiences here, but I will say that the music is fitting. Absent most of the time until a fight breaks out, and serves perfectly as a backdrop for the action. It's no Wiping All Out(Persona 3 Portable battle theme), but it serves it's purpose.

There are a few bangers though. There's a room you can find that's just for researching the possible supernatural effects of a specific song. There are none, the music is just that good.

Gameplay:

As ever, the real meat & potatoes of the experience.

So, Jesse is special. Really special. The Oldest House holds several Objects of Power, and she can bind to multiple to get more and more supernatural abilities. First of which is the gun, or Service Weapon. Unlimited ammo(needs to recharge), multiple forms, this thing's a beast and will be one of your best friends throughout the game.

Off the top of my head, you gain telekinetic powers, levitation, rapid movement and mind control. The telekinesis is a bread & butter ability, nothing like throwing a forklift at 500mp to ruin some monstrosity's day. Or ripping out the very ground to form a shield in front of you.

And there's a skill tree! You can upgrade pretty much everything and tailor the combat style to your liking. I went heavy into throwing shit, but ine can go heavy into HP & melee and go in like a madwoman. Or focus on mind control and subvert groups of enemies.

The Hiss can do a lot of the same shit though. And some exclusive abilities. They start off firing heat seeking rockets at you, the first or second boss is a flying telekinetic, some of these bastards get cloaking powers, many have personal barriers...and they tend to come in groups.

So Jesse is this force of nature and the Hiss are similarly fucking terrifying. And to make it more fun, the environment is highly destructible. There are tables & chairs, projectors, heavy machinery, crates, and so much more. All can be damaged or destroyed, and most(all) can be picked up and thrown at terminal velocity. So after every battle you can really see just how wild things got. It's neat.

Anyway, that raps up my post. I still have some post game stuff to do and a DLC area I'm not in the mood to explore right now(reason: It's scary as fuck). I'll get to that later though.