Category: Video Game Reviews

Remedy Entertainment has built a reputation for making some weird games. Their latest project, Control, is no exception, maybe even the oddest creation from the studio to date. 2019 has disappointed me a lot with its releases, so I had some hype and skepticism going in, and I am blown away by what could be game of the year.

Jesse Faden is the new director of the agency Federal Beuruae of Control. Her first day is utter hell as an alternate dimensional entity, The Hiss, has taken over the building infecting most of its occupants and altering everything inside. Jesse must tackle this mystery, kill everything in her path, and deal with her own personal agenda that brought her to the FBC. It is a condensed 10 to 15-hour experience that is worth the $60.

The only weapon to combat creatures and FBC agents under the spell of The Hiss is the standard issue pistol, yet it is not as simple as it seems. The gun has transformative abilities, which leads to upgrades that can turn it into a shotgun or even a grenade launcher. Most unique and coolest gun in gaming for 2019 goes to Control, congratulations Remedy.

The other way to defend yourself against the onslaught of enemies comes from telekinetic powers. This new reality gives Jesse various skills which reveal themselves as you progress through primary and side missions. It keeps everything simple while building upon these mechanics for freshness, plus nothing is more satisfying than grabbing almost any object to smash infected agents.

RPG elements creep in to add more depth to the already satisfying gameplay. Finding materials allows to craft new gear for your shapeshifting handgun and to make Jesse more powerful. Adding onto this comes from the skill trees which have a wide variety of uses for health, energy for her superpowers, and other necessities.

Mods for the new director and her arsenal add buffs to various attributes. Like everything else to the RPG-esque aspects gets love by being fleshed out entirely. Nothing feels slapped on in an attempt to give more life to the gameplay.

Moving around with Jesse feels excellent. She is not too light or heavy. Some weight is felt to make her not weigh like a toy, yet not too much since she is a tiny lady.

Enemies have a wide variety of classes. Some are general types to expect like snipers or suicide bombers, while others are more personalized with similar power sets to Jesse. The diversity allows for strategy along with preventing the endless shooting from getting dull.

Boss battles usually are meant to introduce a new enemy with a rare, unique creature to take down. Using an overly difficult fight to showcase a new monster feels tacky, but the rest of the fights are much more fulfilling. The difficulty really shows in these moments, so prepare to get mad when dying and euphoric when overcoming that obstacle.

Outside of killing, the gameplay does get some extra elements to not become a game where you just hold down the trigger and kill what pops up on the screen. Platforming and puzzles add more complexity for a refreshing change of pace. I wish these mechanics got more balance as parkour sections and tricky mind games could use extra work.

Random events come up for Jesse to clear an overrun area. These have goods that make it worth doing but usually feels out of the way as I am too focused on doing something story related.

The developers give everything a purpose, unlike anything I have played in recent memory. Exploration has plenty of rewards to uncover, hidden side missions, and collectibles that elevate the world’s lore. Nothing goes to waste to expand the narrative or give Jesse an edge under challenging battles.

Cleansing infected areas allow fast traveling, upgrading, and taking on Board Countermeasures, which are challenges for that provide new mods after completion. The issue comes from the often time horrendous checkpoint system as dying often leads to a frustrating setback.

Finishing the narrative opens up for postgame content. Wrap up side missions, discover hidden areas, and level up fully to become an unstoppable hero. The gratifying expeditions of the various sectors and rich optional objectives make this irresistible.

Environmental damage does not involve tearing down the whole building, but it is enough to give an extra punch to explosions. Telekinetically controlling nearly object is freeing, it gives me more satisfaction as I see the damage caused by my actions along with the delightful physics to ragdolls and items.

Remedy crafted a gorgeous game with its brutalism style and world bending effects. It gives Control its own personality that stands out from anything else. Camera work during cutscenes boost the already stunning graphics with close-ups to Jesse to see her realistic character model in greater detail.  However, some of the facial animations could use work as certain emotions do not translate well.

Full of personalities, everyone I came across had a memorable identity. Jesse in particular reigns as one of my favorite heroines to come up in a video game in years, mostly due to Courtney Hope’s (Quantum Break) raw performance.

Control toes the line of artsy and accessible. It runs into issues like not always being clear on what to do or where to go with its map. The flaws found are more irritating, not breaking this beautifully, confusing experience.

Score: 9/10

The unlikely sequel to Rage got my interest due to its surprising announcement and the collaboration between id Software and developers of Just Cause, Avalanche Studios. Having Avalanche’s experience in open world chaos and the minds over at id software which created the first person shooter genre, it sounded like the perfect combination of developers. Instead, Rage 2 delivers on the gunplay and not much else.

Set 30 years later, the world has slightly rebuilt itself, but still struggles against various bandit factions and the powerful Authority who want their power back. Walker, the last ranger, joins the remaining resistance to defeat the Authority and their leader General Cross. A typical story of fighting back an evil powerhouse with some interesting characters, and not much substance.

While the narrative leaves plenty to be desired, the amount of context was given to help people like myself who never played the original title is impressively well done.

The first thing you do when starting up the game is to select a male or female Walker, which is utterly pointless in a game with no dialog choices, no customization, and no third person option.

The characters have some interesting characteristics, but due to dull writing and passable voice acting, I could not find anything in my heart to care for these people. When there should be humor or dramatic beats, I felt nothing seeing this adventure play out between the heroes and villains.

While the open world offers a variety of environments with a generous amount of space, not much substance can be found. Bandit camps, races, bounties, and other activities are available everywhere, but everything feels so bland and lifeless. Yes, this a post-apocalyptic universe, some liveliness to the side missions to allow for more motivation to complete them. The one benefit to exploring the wasteland is to find gear, materials, and money to upgrade Walker.

Gunplay remains excellent, which is no surprise. After my run through, I only unlocked a handful of guns because most weapons can be opened by exploring to find ARKS that will give new abilities or weapons. The alternate fires and different feels to each new piece to my arsenal felt perfect as I gunned down every enemy in my path.

Abilities have a wide variety that makes a significant impact on the gameplay. Powers like overdrive which enhance your damage and healing capabilities or shatter which kinetically blasts foes not only assist greatly in combat but makes the game that much more fun.

Upgrading weapons, vehicles, and abilities can be done with feltrite, a crystal that can heal and be used as a form of currency to unlock ways to make Walker more powerful. Other attributes must be unlocked by completing objectives for key allies, who each have their own skill trees. Every time I unlocked anything, it felt meaningful by how much it can alter gameplay to enhance my enjoyment and survival out in the wasteland.

Getting around can be done by fast traveling to major cities or driving. The driving is horrendously clunky and can be worse depending on the vehicle. Too many of the cars feel either too light or heavy. On top of the transportation that gets stale quickly, the camera often times freaks out and makes everything that much more awkward while trying to traverse this massive landscape.

Moving on foot feels much more fluid and comfortable. Think of DOOM in its speed and mobility. If the map were not so big, then I would have a lot more fun running to each point.

Using a GPS to track a location or objective is the most basic mechanic in vast open worlds, yet most of the time the purple line did not follow until I had to turn it off and on to start moving towards my destination.

The gameplay is quite accessible with tutorials that come up briefly to show the ropes on how to use specific guns or abilities. While this is useful and does not get in the way of the overall flow, other tips that pop up to deliver information on new found activities feel excessive at times while disrupting the game.

Enemies have little variety, but the few types do require altering strategies slightly, making them more attractive than generic bandits. When a lot of opponents come up in larger battles, then the combat gets much more engaging. The best comes during the boss fights, which feel inconsistent in their difficulty, but I had plenty of enjoyment with these challenging foes. Setting the game to hard hits perfectly between challenging and fair.

The AI is also inconsistent with their behavior. Sometimes I saw smart strategies play out, other times they would charge until someone died, while the last percentage of the population would stand there, allowing me to shoot them in the head.

Interacting with NPCs to trade or for missions can get tedious. Traders and Walker have the same exchange every time the two come in contact. Other times I have found trying to talk to a supporting character to advance the story, and they will not respond for a short, yet annoying amount of time.

The color palette is vibrant with neon colors but gets pulled down by the dreary world of copy and pasted buildings and the mediocre graphics. At times the game looks gorgeous, while other times objects look muddy and not appropriately textured.

While the visuals are a letdown, the animations are far worse. Lip syncing and facial animations are painful to look at, especially since so many interactions are so close to people’s faces.

Technical problems weigh the experience down even further. Persistent stuttering comes in and out throughout my entire time playing. Objects popping in too late happened a handful of times. The biggest occurrence was a constant glitch of characters speaking, but no dialog could be heard. If you decide to pick this title up, turn on subtitles. Other times the audio would just come in late when I was lucky.

The idea of Rage 2 sounds amazing with id Software and Avalanche’s portfolios being so reputable, yet none of the brilliant ideas were exercised enough to make this the colorful, charismatic shooter that it had claimed. By the first game’s unenthusiastic reception, that should have been a warning sign for everyone that this sequel would not be worthy either.

Score: 5/10

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E3 can have its moments where a developer showcases their project, and it happens to be nothing like the product shown. Days Gone happens to be that title. This was my most anticipated game for 2019, and I have been let down by this miserable experience with a cookie cutter open world game that has little to no substance.

The world has become overrun by an infection that turns people into zombies, sorry, BendStudio has coined the term “Freakers.” Deacon and his biker club buddy William “Boozer” plan on heading up North for a fresh start away from other people and the Freaker infestation, along the way they get sidetracked and must prepare for a more extended amount of time than initially planned. This sets them on a path of conflict with rival factions and having to work with allies to survive. On top of that, Deacon has an unbearable journey to find out what happened to his wife that takes far too long to get to the point.

The narrative stumbles every step of the way with overly dramatic moments with characters that nobody playing will know right away or have objectives that waste time. The game starts off with a long-winded cut scene that does not make any impact because everyone has had zero time to develop, but I guess drama needs to happen at some point, so let us jump head first into the chaos. Instead of a 30 or so hour campaign, this should be cut in half due to the amount of filler and overabundant amount of plot points.

Transitions between cutscenes to gameplay are rough. The editing does not feel seamless, and loading screens appear for no apparent reason. Sometimes in the middle of a scene, a loading screen will appear to disrupt the flow of what is happening. Most of the loading does not take a long time, but on some occasions, a long wait must be endured.

The personalities are abundant and feel like individuals without feeling cluttered with too many people to interact with. Sadly, nobody is that compelling, especially the protagonist. Deacon is an illogical man who is way too inconsistent and contradictory with his actions and words. Sam Witwer who plays Deacon overacts too often, and the rest of the cast have their acting issues but are much more stable in delivering their lines. Some of the acting problems could occur from poor writing and possibly just as poor directing since some people yell or speak softly at the wrong moments. If freakers are nearby and Deacon says everyone needs to stay quiet, then he is the one who ends up screaming always.

The tone feels like a day time soap opera with its overly dramatic beats that never stop. Even the music feels out of place by being too over the top or giving weird vibes in areas that should not have any music.

Much of the gameplay relies on riding a motorcycle to get around the vast environment. The bike is fun to drift with, but riding feels off with the bike’s physics and mobility.

The bike is like another character who is your child that needs taking care of at all times. Finding fuel or parts repair the bike to keep the engine running. Getting upgrades feels worthwhile, but any cosmetics purchased will feel like a waste of resources.

Deacon can get new abilities by three skill trees or finding a shot that injects him with either better health, stamina, or survival vision. The skills varied from melee, ranged, and survival. New attributes significantly turn the tables when situations get difficult. Out of everything done in Days Gone, upgrading the protagonist is one that is not ruined.

Combat can either be ranged or melee. The guns have a weight that feels nice to shoot, especially some of the heavier weapons like shotguns. Using melee may come in handy, but it is painful to use. Trying to guide Deacon with the left analog stick and smash R2 to hit any Freaker or crazed survivor is unnecessarily clunky with some terrible animations.

Enemies can be taken down using stealth. Just like most other games, hiding behind tall bushes and other methods of staying out of sight might seem generic, but it works well. Going around with a silent weapon or takedowns will bring anyone down immediately. The only issue runs into the inconsistently moronic AI who either cannot spot you even if you are crouched directly in front of them or they spot you instantly, but this won’t be the only issue with the dumb foes you will meet in this world.

To spot materials for crafting or other supplies, you can use your survival vision. Think of every other game post-Assassin’s Creed, and that is what you get. A magical sight that highlights what you need for objectives or survival. The overly used mechanic goes away too quickly unless you take your time to find upgrades, but that will take up many hours to get this ability to become efficient.

In the beginning, the world feels full of interactive items and mechanics that can make for an exciting survival experience. After a few hours, everything starts to show its true colors with how repetitive every task and obstacle is out in this North Pacific landscape.

Activities from doing jobs for camp members, clearing out infestations, and other side tasks have their rewards, but everything is a slow burn to gain much out of these optional objectives. Camps build trust levels to unlock new gear, but that takes a lot of time to build and then you need credits which can be earned by completing missions or turning in items that these bases can use.

Enemies have plenty of different types from various humans with varying levels of armor or weaponry to the kinds of freakers that are waiting to eat your flesh. The diversity does not get utilized well with new freakers getting introduced out of nowhere and feeling forced rather than an organic evolution of tougher threats. Other survivors wanting to kill Deacon take too many bullets to die unless they are shot in the head. I understand if an undead creature takes a lot of bullets, but a regular dude with no shirt should not take that much damage to kill.

Weather and time of day make a huge difference in anyone’s ability to see or hear Deacon while also radically changing the behavior of the living and infected. Snow and rain storms come in and out naturally while changing the look of the environment in refreshing ways.

Visually, Oregon looked pretty in this post-apocalyptic scenery. Nothing took my breath away with the graphics, but it did ease some of the misery down a notch.

Completing the story has some endgame objectives for other conclusions to people’s individual stories while still having room to complete any side activities that were missed. The post-game gives an extra boost in playability, sadly any urge I have has been beaten out due to this wretched journey.

Technical issues here do not generally ruin the experience, but make it that much more painful to play through. Sometimes the game would slow down, not significant frame drops, but enough to be noticeable especially on a PS4 PRO. The most consistent issue comes from lip and audio syncing. Eventually, every cutscene became people’s mouths moving then the dialog coming in later.

Audio comes in at many different levels. Sometimes characters sound too loud or too quiet when they are talking normally. This along with Deacon’s need to comment on everything happening makes it impossible to hear what anyone is saying without subtitles, a requirement to understand what is happening in this occasionally incoherent narrative.

PlayStation had a ride of successfully compelling singleplayer titles, and this is their biggest dud of the current generation. Full of uninspiring ideas from the bland collectibles, dull story, and inconsistent animations. Days Gone fails its premise that was shown during E3 all those years ago and goes beyond with its painful narrative with the worst protagonist I have had to play in recent memory.

Score: 3/10

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