in this review we will tell you about the PS5 version of Control Ultimate Edition, the next-gen re-edition of the latest great title from Remedy Entertainment
For sure many of you will already know Control , the latest title developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by 505 Games . When it was first released in 2019, the game enjoyed great acclaim from both critics and gamers, even earning a nomination for a Game of the Year award at that year’s The Game Awards.
Now, almost a year and a half later, Remedy’s masterpiece is back with a great re-edition dedicated to the new next-gen consoles . In this review we will deal specifically with the PS5 version of Control Ultimate Edition, telling you in detail about the additions and technical improvements made to the game.
Federal Bureau of Control
The story of the game begins with Jesse Faden , a seemingly normal girl who decides to go inside a normal government building. In the world of Control, however , appearances very often deceive , in fact what looked like an ordinary girl turns out to be actually one of the only survivors following a catastrophic supernatural event. While what looked like a New York building like many others turns out to be the Oldest House , a mysterious extra-dimensional structure home to the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), a government organization dedicated to the investigation of various supernatural phenomena.
Jesse entered this building to search for her brother Dylan, who disappeared following the aforementioned incident, but unfortunately the timing was not the best. In fact, upon entering the girl will find the entire structure in quarantine due to the invasion of the Hiss , a supernatural entity that is trying to take control of all the members of the Bureau.
With the building in chaos and most of the FBC members turned into hostile creatures , Jesse will be forced against her will to become the new director of the FBC . This new position of power will allow her to investigate the organization’s many secrets and her brother’s fate, while looking for a way to stop the advance of the Hiss.
As he progresses in his mission, Jesse will be able to shed light on the events that have marked his past and which have led to the current situation of the FBC, but at the same time he will also raise many questions . The constant sense of mystery that surrounds the structure and its inhabitants will play a crucial role in the Control experience , prompting players to want to investigate more and more. Furthermore, this thirst for knowledge will also be accentuated thanks to an intriguing as well as cryptic narrative and to the numerous charismatic characters who actually know much more than they give to see.
The Powers of the Director – Control Ultimate Edition PS5 Review
Shortly after her entry into the Oldest House, Jesse will receive the title of director and along with it will also get a particular gun . This weapon is actually an object of power , that is, one of the many objects altered by the supernatural forces present in the structure, and its purpose is to support the director in the fight against the Hiss.
Although apparently it may seem like a common gun, this tool is able to change shape according to the will of its owner. Jesse is therefore able to transform it into many different weapons suitable for different situations. For example, among the forms available there is a sort of shotgun , a precision laser and even an adhesive grenade launcher . Another peculiarity of the weapon is the fact that it does not need to be reloaded. In fact, the ammunition will regenerate automaticallyafter a short time without firing. This function is partly advantageous, since you never risk running out of bullets, but on the other hand it could leave you uncovered in case of mismanagement of shots.
But the director’s gun won’t be the only thing that can help Jesse in his fight against the Hiss. In fact, during the adventure our protagonist will be able to absorb the power of some altered objects to acquire powerful supernatural abilities . The telekinesis and levitation are just some of the powers that Jesse can exploit during clashes with the dell’Hiss slaves.
Being able to correctly alternate the use of the gun with Jesse’s powers will be essential to be able to have the upper hand during the most heated battles. Although apparently it may seem like a normal TPS, Control actually offers very difficult and frenetic clashes . To stay alive in this game you need to constantly move around while trying to never run out of resources. Basically all of this makes fighting a lot of fun, but over time it will end up getting a bit monotonous . This happens mainly due to the lack of variety of situations and, above all, of enemies and bosses, which will be repeated cyclically throughout the game.
The Oldest House – Control Ultimate Edition PS5 Review
Previously we have already told you about the many mysteries present in Control, but one of the largest and most fascinating is certainly the Oldest House. From the outside, this structure has the appearance of an ordinary New York brutalist skyscraper, but its interiors are nothing short of bizarre. In the Oldest House you can find government offices, open pit mines, huge research labs, caves full of mold and many other mysterious places. Furthermore, the entire structure is extremely changeable and, due to the influence of the Hiss, many areas have become hostile and distorted .
Exploring such a strange and convoluted environment isn’t easy at all, but luckily there are several tools that can help Jesse. First of all the map , essential to be able to give a minimum of meaning to the crazy plan of the structure.
Another very important element, however, are the control points . These checkpoints will serve to direct the protagonist in the right direction, while offering several useful functions throughout the adventure. For example, through these places it is possible to teleport to places already visited, but also to use the materials obtained from the enemies to create mods capable of improving the efficiency of weapons or the statistics of Jesse. In addition, you can also spend the skill points obtained from completing missions to improve the effectiveness of your powers.
Many areas of the Oldest House are not immediately reachable and to access them Jesse must first obtain the right key or power. Apparently having to return to places already visited within such an intricate structure could be frustrating, but in reality the players are strongly encouraged to explore thanks to the abundant presence of secrets, secondary missions and fascinating places. Any street in the Oldest House could hide fascinating altered items, interesting NPCs, or very useful rare mods. In addition, thanks to the abundance of control points, moving from one part of the structure to another will always be very fast .
The strength of the next-gen – Control Ultimate Edition PS5 review
Let’s now move on to the most important point of this review of the Ultimate Edition of Control, namely the one related to the improvements for PS5. This version of the game has several additions on the various platforms, such as the presence of all the DLCs released so far, but specifically on PlayStation 5 it really offers many advantages.
First, like so many next-gen titles, Control has two modes to choose from: performance and graphics . The first allows the game to reach 60 fps , while the second instead maintains 30 fps while offering the addition of Ray Tracing . Never as in this case choosing between the two configurations will be really difficult since, if on the one hand the performance mode allows you to have more fluid and pleasant fights, on the other the real-time reflexes can really embellish every area of the game . Fortunately, through the options it is possible to switch from one to the other at any time without having to go back to the main menu.
In addition to offering improved performance, Control’s Ultimate Edition is also one of the few third-party titles that are able to take advantage of the features of DualSense really well . The triggers adaptive offer sensations and resistance very different depending on the configuration of our gun, making it the shootings even more fun. In addition, the title also implements haptic feedback in a really pleasant way, thus allowing us to feel the sensation of Jesse’s footsteps without being too distracted.
The only element of the console that perhaps has not been exploited to its fullest is the SSD . In general the game loads are not slow, but their duration is quite inconsistent . In case of teleportation between nearby places the waiting time will be almost nil, while to reach large distant areas the uploads can reach 30 seconds .
Conclusions
Now it’s time for our review where we take stock of Control’s Ultimate Edition for PS5. Since 2019 the value of the title has not decreased at all but, on the contrary, has increased thanks to this reissue. Being able to relive the typical experience of Control on consoles but with the pleasure of 60 fps or the beauty of Ray Tracing is priceless. In addition, thanks to the numerous exclusive features of the DualSense you can immerse yourself even more in the role of Jesse during his mysterious adventure in the Oldest House. Of course, we are still a long way from the quality that Control achieves on high-end PCs but, considering we are on consoles, the result is truly exceptional.
Control Ultimate Edition is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X | S . If you are interested in staying up to date with all the news on the world of video games and much more,
