New subscriber here! Absolute phenomenal critique of my favorite video game! I never really saw any content regarding Control following it's release, but holy wow this video is a breath of fresh air! My deepest thanks for a satisfying study :) Edit: Hearing your excitement over the Synchronicity section made me reinstall the game lol Also, I love that you emphasized the mechanics in the AWE expansion! The way Remedy combined their games' styles, requiring aspects of both to ultimately defeat Hartman who himself is corrupted by the entities within both games. It's wonderful. For a second it felt like the mechanics were contextualizing the story. It was a Weird experience lol
I feel like you were just nitpicking at things on this one, not gonna lie... Her reaction for instance: ever consider that she doesnt react very strongly because of her past? Because she has already had experience with paranatural phenomena from childhood with her brother? Or maybe it may have something to do with the fact that this game exists within the same shared universe of Alan Wake, and the events in this game (including Jessies past, and the Hiss) may be affected by his reality altering abilities. Then there is the possible complexity of her character development over the years of her life before the game. Maybe shes just more open minded and mentally/emotionally stronger than most, as well? What if shes just more intelligent and can observe and accept unusual things better? Id be surprised at paranormal happenings if they turned out to be real, but I wouldnt be shitting bricks, because that wouldnt be outside the range of my ''what if's'', no matter how imaginative. Plus, as you have mentioned about the ''2/3'rds'' of the gameplay, by then, she has already went through numerous experiences within the building, so the lack of reaction is even less surprising. Now, as for the characters goals/motivations? Well, she doesnt have to be a complete projection of the players ego. I have said this to someone else, but she is her own character with her own backstory and potential motivations. Shes not some researcher, or any operative within the bureau already stationed there - she has been shoved into that whole mess in one way or another, whether years in the past, or more recently in the game, so she doesnt have to care as much about the same questions as you. Shes not a silent protagonist for anyone to imprint on, she has her own kind, slightly stoic, introspective personality. Besides, if she knows her brother is in the facility, doesnt it make far more sense for her to care about that far more than some incomprehensible babble of words? Its her f**g brother. Then there is the ''design''.... Despite her paranormal past, and up until her arrival at the ''house'', she is just an every-day person, like you or me. She does not have to have any ''wild'' style or personality. A leather jacket and jeans is plenty. Its if like a reflection of her strong mindedness and seriousness. In fact, like i mentioned, her personality could be a combination of her more analytical/comprehensive mind, more open mind, her previous paranormal encounters, and the general seriousness/mental hardiness of someone who has 'gone through shit'. Thats what I think, anyway. The enemy variety can be explained by the fact that the hiss may be affecting everyone in similar ways unless it decides otherwise or there are some modifying factors involved.The guns may have had more variety, but it wouldnt be surprising that a good number of the personnel would have guns, and guns of similar/same models. The ''barely looking inhuman'' part may have been, again, the hiss's chooice to allow the puppets to retain their existing combat ability and potentially knowledge/intelligence (in case of severe brain morphs). Anything more than that is too much writing, so I'll stop. Its a very good game all in all. Havent played the DLC's yet.
i actually like how Jessie reacted referencing having looked at Wired stuff and owww it's Wired but you know what i have already seen my share of Wired and I liked it so more Wired stuff is cool (plus I also like her apathetic tone) i guess it might actually be because she actually makes setting even more wired supernatural by reacting in such a wired and airy tone
@@ThePresidentofMars It could be Avengers Endgame. Whenever the Avengers travelled to a different timeline/location, it would show the name as big as what Control is showing.
*cue The sound design in this game is really excellent. In addition to the destructive environments that you can really tear up with Charge and Launch, the sound effects for Launch are incredibly satisfying. The sound in general is really well done, and the fact that they includes some original music, especially "Take Control", which is a really excellent song on its own, with some real technical chops, cool lyrics and great songwriting. The ambient soundtrack is really cool, and the creepy chanting is one of the coolest aspects of the game. Being a treat for the eyes is obvious, but "Control" is a treat for the ears as well.
Disagree with feeling disassociated with Jessie. I actually like that she's not running around the entire time confused and scared. I loved that she just went with things as they happened. Knowing nothing makes sense is all she knows. Trying to force things to make sense will just be an excercise in futility.
Agreed. She even mentions in her internal monologue that it is just going to make her insane if she stops and questions anything. Thats also why she is so focused on dylan in the earlier game, she has no intention of being director, it's just a key to make it easier for her goal. Only later does she realize that she can't just leave this place like it is and she would be a great influence in changing the FBC to stop mishandling of people affected and objects of power. Also, we don't know this from our first impression, but looking at the game from a whole--of course she can stonewall all of this stuff. She experienced the Ordinary AWE as a child, has been running from ghost agents her entire life searching for her brother. There is nothing new to shock her with when you consider her life. The strangeness of the whole game only mildly interests her when she actually looks at a few details...because the details are the only thing different than her own childhood experiences.
@@Isaax her life was never ordinary (pun intended) she grew up talking to a resonant being and walking through slide shows. she knew a place like the FBC existed, she just needed to find it.
Another thing with the janitor at the start that some players miss is he makes a comment in response to something the protagonist thought to herself in her head
AND the janitor wasn't wearing on of those frequency things. So he should be possessed too. But he isn't. So he is either being protected by an object of power or he is a manifestation of the house itself. Maybe a ghost? Either way something supernatural is going on there. Maybe he even is a physical manifestation of an object of power
I loved Control because it is not a story about what happened to a bunch of kids in a "Stranger Things"esque story. It is about what happens to these kids when they have become adults. Jesse and Faden and their friends have been through an extremely traumatic experience as children, I mean they had to kill one of their friends when he turned into a werewolf type thing from this grotesque entity called "Not-mother" which has a very strong childish name associated with it as well. The reason she isn't fazed much about what is happening in the oldest house because she has experience similar or even more traumatic and "weird" experiences in the past, those experiences have been put into question due to the FBC silent influence on her life but being in the FBC confirmed all her experiences that she knew to be real. She lived her whole life believing in those things because it happened to her before to a more extreme level and as an impressionable child. While I do agree that her interaction with Dylan was unnecessarily devoid of emotion, I am of two minds on this: The first being that she lived her whole life after the incident in "Ordinary" devoid of a lot of agency, Polaris has always been her guide and instructor, she comes to the FBC because Polaris wished it, she is swept away by the Board, multiple people are telling her what to do so she just goes with the flow of what she knows her whole life, so when she finds Dylan we see Polaris flash again taking away her agency, and even like most of the game she displays that emotion inwards towards the only entity that ever listened to her and believed her which is Polaris so she never really did develop a conventional capacity to display emotion outwards . My Second opinion on this is that the developers wanted a blank character for you to fit into, which I sort of disagree with because Jesse's backstory is too complex to allow that. I think from a psychological point of view, Jesse's lack of outward emotion expression is completely normal for a person who is in her circumstances, especially considering that she had to lie and cheat her way out of mental-health asylums and constant programmed brainwashing by the FBC disguised as psychological therapy. She is very animated and talkative when conversing internally with Polaris displaying tonal shifts and pitch adjustment in a manner she doesn't do when talking to people, it's the only way she has learned to survive.
I think the one thing I don't like about this is that it is the second time remedy has portrayed the mental health profession as sinister and evil. Otherwise, it's a fantastic set of observations on the character that do actually save a lot of the game for me.
@MIS_behave they're really not. There's a lot of internal struggles in the field still but the field is finally evolving from old conjecture and unproven ideas into an actual science in light of the replicability crisis. And MOST people getting into it still do so to help people rather than to be weird hypercontrolling supervillains.
@@IAMFANTROLL I don’t think the mental health professionals depicted in Control were made to look sinister or evil. They had no way to know that Jesse had actually experienced a paranormal event. To any reasonable outward observer she was a traumatised child who had lost her entire family to an industrial accident. Of course she would be seen as delusional; it’s by far the simplest explanation (and in the real world this is what happens - therapists would go mad if they believed the delusions of their patients).
I do see how her reactions could seem weird, but personally when I heard "This is exactly where I needed to be" I have never related to anything more, which made me identify with Jesse until the very end, and just in general I always related to her reactions
When i played Control for the first time, i walked away with a VERY different understanding of Hedron and the Hiss relation ship! I thought, they were both Sentient songs (resonances) and that on the world of the Slide Hedron was a warden, trapping the Hiss on the slide. That they both drew power by creatures "Singing" with them (increasing there resonance) and that why Jesse was immune to the hiss, was because she was already "singing" Hedrons song The difference between them was that Hedron is either incapable, or unwilling, to force others to sing. Jesse was an exception, because she need its help fighting the not mother. A favor Jesse would later repay, when she is tasked by Polaris to save Hedron in turn, because the bureau in its need to stick its nose where it didn't belong, removed Hedron from the slide, seeking to understand it. Which unwittingly allowed the Hiss to consume the slide (I think they describe there being fields and trees there in the reports, but when trench activates it, its just red space) Which was what the Hedron Amps were for, allowing Hedron to sing over the Hiss, and drive it back. In the end, i had assumed Hedron was the more powerful entity, but its refusal to fight dirty against the hiss got it destroyed, leaving only Jesse, and quite possibly Darling, as the only Hedron "infested" singers, and since Darling vanished, that leaves it up to Jesse to re-contain the Hiss! Just wanted to put my thoughts out there, and since i'm leaving a comment anyway, Love your videos!
I thought that Ahti was referring to the Old Gods of Asgard as his friends. Since it is their song and since they have the same ability as Alan in so that their fiction changes the world. The song helps Jesse just like their songs helped Alan.
I think I disagree regarding Jesse's character. The fact that she reacts in a way that she's seen it all before reads to me as extremely suspicious, then when it's more clear that she is liasing with someone/something that we cannot hear cemented her as... someone whose intentions may not exactly align with mine. Her distancing herself from me as a player made the feeling of paranoia a bit more palpable.
She is literally a character with her own history and whatnot. In a story, a character you play doesnt necessarily have to be a 100% projection of the player. The story is guided, and even though we control the character, even our 'control' is within the limitations of guidance in games like this. Character intentions/motivations can be written into the story alongside any situational/environmental motivations. Idk why thats a hard concept to grasp.
@@vytautaszygelis1106I feel you on this. Sometimes games like this are made that just have a straight-up story to tell, and aren’t necessarily trying to make the player relate or connect to the protagonist. I feel that here, as the audience, we’re simply along for the ride and just so happen to control Jesse’s movement/powers.
I know I'm like 8 months late on this comment and I'm still not going to watch this critique yet because I have not finished the DLC but I am beyond hype for Alan Wake 2. In a strange way it's like remedy is the only way we get new X-Files episodes I think that's what fascinates me about the studio
In my oppinion Jessie reacts exactly right. Not only has she experience with that kind of stuff since childhood and an entity in her head, it was also how i reacted. If the action is high you need to underperform. That is right in movies and in games. Also think her look is perfect ^^ Living is rough. You wear jeans, leather jacket and do not care about your hair. Been there. Done that. And Langston is my favorite next to Darling ;) Enjoyed the video :)
@@SantosAl is it possible that jesse was instead altered in term of her identity that Alan gave her a different reality that is by having Dylan as her brother as we never got any further details of their childhood nor remarks other than Ordinary AWE. Could it be that Alan "made" the Hiss to create a hero to save him from the darkness and the by-product are both the Hiss and Dylan or just on of those? It's interesting to think about, i'm even planning on playing Alan Wake
@@akmalrusydi2730 If you haven't played Alan Wake I definitely recommend it it is such a great game. It has been many years since I played AW, but from I can remember he can't really "create" anything, only affect what is already there. I think I remember him also mentioning that even with the things that he can affect they have to fit with what he has already written thematically. I guess I should play the game again, I seem to have forgotten a couple of things.
As an architectural student, this game hits extra hard. The environment and level design is a masterclass in how architecture can control what the player is experiencing.
Ehhhh, I think you misunderstood Jessie. She is meant to be a part of the Bureau of Control. She belongs there, but the player doesn't. I think that “rift” between the player and the character is only weird if you're trying to self-insert. Jessie is weird, you're not. She's not you. This game doesn't need a Barry Wheeler. It wants you to be unsettled.
Great comment on point. Jesse at the place were all her life now makes sense . She is at home at last and was lost outside the old house. The character is well written but deals with emotions like an adult. We are now used to "heroes" being emotionally like a toddler brat . That's most Hollywood movies nowadays . Or Forspoken as a game.. Jesse character is actually also much more in sync how one deals with adversity after living through it for years. Cool & collected in a surrounding she is perfect to understand and deal with as she lives through it as a child
@@Stevexupen Ha ha, funny you should say that. I made my own Polaris t-shirt (it's just the logo from the poster that says "Grow Brighter" on it. It's like my favorite silk screen shirt now.
Elevated Hiss dodge the initial projectile thrown at them, and the 2nd one always hits. There is a cooldown that resets this, so if you don't launch two in quick succession, they'll appear to dodge randomly.
Old comment, but I'm glad someone said it. Granted, that doesn't make the rest of Monty's observations invalid -- Launch is still overpowered and Elevated Hiss are tedious. I'd argue the fact they ALWAYS dodge the first and get hit by the second makes their behavior a little artificial and boring. It just makes fighting them basically take twice as long and twice as much energy. But it ain't random, that's for sure.
Thanks for your patience with this one. The current plan is for a The First Ten Minutes video to come out in a couple weeks, and an "I Explained Metal Gear Solid to My Friend Who Hasn't Played The Games" - similar style and format to the Resident Evil lore video.
This is going to be a habit of mine, but I'll once again compliment how astonishing your avatar design is. Beyond that, I'm excited to see the metal gear video - I hadn't even played the RE games and I found it one of my favourite videos of the year.
@@mrfreddorenton thanks so much! Would you believe the avatar stuff is just a bit of messing around on Canva? I'm always chuffed they turn out cooler than I think but in the future I might ask a proper artist to help for complex designs. The lore video was a spur-of-the-moment idea with the Resi one and we had so much fun doing it I figured we'd do a few more.
Can't believe I sat through a two hours analysis of Control. Very impressive. I personally didn't mind Jessie's attitude. Seemed to me like the acting in some Lynch movies, where the characters are strangely removed from the things happening around them and therefore fitting into the overall weird tone. Looking at the inspiration they took from the SCP Foundation and the best entries on that side, I think they could definitely had dialed up the weirdness a little further. Nonetheless it was an impressive example of world building in a game.
As you mentioned at the start, Control was my personal GOTY for 2019, I have become obsessed with the game/universe/etc since release. I agree with most of what you're saying in this video. It's an almost perfect game, except for those few flaws. I have a minor correction for you though, in that Alan didn't create the Hiss. It's mildly mentioned in game, and then fully confirmed in the art book, that Alan cannot create things with his power...he can only manipulate events, guide the story, etc. So the Hiss, FBC, Jesse, etc always existed, Alan just pushed the "narrative" of reality to make it so Jesse could come and save him with the full might of the FBC.
I agree that Alan may not have created the hiss, but I can't help but mention how he DID shape it. He wrote the chant that we heard from the Hiss-possessed people all throughout the game. And he wrote a pretty bad script for a Night Springs episode that was probably what caused Trench and Darling to open up the slidescape to let the Hiss into the Oldest House. I fully can't get over how Alan has seemingly caused and manipulated the events of Control, just to enable his own escape from The Dark Place.
@@3ndlessL00p exactly that. I like that it furthers how Alan isn't a *good* person, he's a very flawed (mildly abusive alcoholic with anger issues) human that happens to have been dragged into an AWE, and is now willing to manipulate events to get back home. I believe we'll see an even darker version of Alan in his 2nd game, probably requiring Alice to bring him back to humanity if he doesn't die.
Although I enjoy your critiques, I have to disagree about Jesse, I loved her! Pope was so interesting BECAUSE of Jesse for me, because of that contrast between them. Jesse just felt and acted like a Director for me, focused on one major task but not shying away from doing everything else she needs to do, despite constantly reminding everyone that she doesn't consider herself the Director. She lived with Polaris her whole life, she is in the centre of the weird, she is desensitised to it, and it shows in how she handles it. After all we are NOT Jesse, we are Polaris.
I agree completely, Jesse is a far more interesting protagonist BECAUSE she doesn’t find the “weird” as weird as it is to us. She’s lived “weird” her entire life, whether it’s the slide projector in Ordinary or remembering Thomas Zane when no one else can. The Bureau has shadowed her her entire life, and then she finally understands WHY. How could she possibly be surprised by what she finds? It all makes sense to her almost right away, because she was always meant to be the Director.
@@gwen3504 like ikr, one of the ending sentences "maybe you were there to teach me [how to channel the power]" is so powerful, just wow P. S my prowdest plat to this day (and I didn't like the game on release or in any of the trailers)
@@embischthat’s kinda cool actually that your opinion changed so drastically by the time you got the platinum. Inspires me to try and commit to more games I might have brushed off otherwise
I actually felt very much in tune with Jesse. We both had the exact same approach to the world - first about half an hour, we were both weirded out, but in the most enjoyable way ever, then we both accepted the weirdness because... after all... that's why we came into The Oldest House, and the rest of it flowed from that. Her quips were also totally my kind, often bad on purpose because that's how I amuse myself by them - by how bad/deadpan they are, especially in the circumstances. To me, she would be extremely annoying if she kept being fascinated and surprised, that's what would create the rift between me and her.
I might be stretching because I like the atmosphere of the game so much, but I always thought of Jesse's indifference to "the weird" as some sort of dream logic, where bizarre things happen to you in a dream, but your brain doesn't bat an eye because in your mind you're in that universe and it totally makes sense.
Some soldiers who have seen combat react almost exactly like this. One notable example, Lieutenant Fick from the book/miniseries Generation Kill, seems completely immune to the battlefield, despite all the absolutely horrifying shit happening around him. There are bullets flying, people getting injured and some being killed, and he retains an unimpeachable sense of calm and stability in the midst of an actual battlefield. In the book, he reiterates: "In some ways, I just didn't process that combat was happening around me. It all felt like I was dreaming, that it didn't matter. It helped me stay sane."
The world-building in Control is so well done. I loved collecting documents, files and videos - sometimes I would spend hours looking for them and forget that I'm supposed to do missions.
The hitting pattern o flying enemies isn't random, you have to instantly throw the object so it doesn't have time to react and you break their shield, but the trick is to throw it before the object goes hovering to Jesse
When you talked about naming I remembered how I always thought it was interesting that Jesse and Dylan are both unisex names. And that Dylan mentions he dreamed he was the director,and that the roles could have easily been inverted should they have taken Jesse instead.
From what I gathered in game dylan may actually be from one of the slides a alternate version of jesse. Which could explain why the FBC took dylan and let jesse get away. When jesse burned the slides it kinda fucked dylan made him more susceptible to the hiss influence cause his reality was shut away coupled with his rejection of Polaris due to the bureau's lack of empathy.
@@Deadforge its one of the possibilites, that in altering the timeline of events to "make a hero" alan wake split jesse dylan faden into jesse and dylan faden, possibly with the slide projector
I think the reason why Jessie looks so unfazed about the world and events in it truly helps you, as a player, to dissociate with her and what makes her into her own character. While jarring at first, it makes you think that there’s more to her than the shoes to fill in by you. And it actually pays off when you learn about her past and finally understand, that it’s you who has been out of the loop in all of this, not Jessie. She had lived this life since her childhood. I think it’s a great way to make a controllable character to feel more like a real character with their own agency and thoughts, not accessible to you. But yeah, that potential is wasted, because her personality doesn’t break through your control (heh) near the end. She’s still underdeveloped and boring, unless you fill in the vacuum with your own projections. It’s weird.
Remedy's strengths and why I love them are their narrative focus and strong writing. Hard to craft a compelling strong narrative when there's a million places to do and things to go. It was too open. The gamification aspects like the randomized 'loot' chests for mods, randomly spawning enemies in areas are meaningless and do not contribute to the narrative. Also the popups - can you imagine in Max Payne or Alan Wake a popup coming on screen telling you to 'Go back to the first level. Kill 10 enemies. You will get a randomized weapon mod!' - is a poor attempt at Skinner box game design, to pad out game length and play time. Again does nothing for the story.
This is spooky. I just discovered your channel a short while ago and binged trough all your videos and was then thinkining "damn, i really want to hear you talk about control". 18 hours later i get this notification. Love your work, man ! Keep it up. Pressing my thumbs for your huge pop off !
Jeeeezus. That PS4 only Astral Dive outfit is just: ASS THE VIDEO GAME, huh? Loved this video essay man, Control is one of my favourite games and you touched on pretty much every plus and minus I had about the title.
Yeah, I felt so uncomfortable looking at her hindside in this outfit that I never used it. It's still scummy that the Ultimate Edition doesn't include it, even on PS5. My favorites are the Asynchronous Suit and Urban Response Outfit.
I actually always liked the limited animations and stitled movement during conversations. Everyone is close enough to uncanny to keep that unnerving feeling flowing even in moments of calmness and safety. There was still something not right and that really worked for me
I really enjoyed the SCP description interludes/prologues. For something I didn't know anything about until maybe last year it has a lot of really cool unique (weird) fiction. I hope a sequel really delves deeper into some SCP fiction. I played Control late last year and it is my first and to date only Remedy game I've played. I enjoyed it a lot, makes me interested in trying out Alan Wake.
the reference to SCP 127 is so cool because that, surprisngly, was the first SCP article I ever read. It got me hooked with just being weird enough that I had to know more. Oh, also, good video. Well voiced and edited.
I liked the idea of control a lot more than actually playing it. The combat and gunplay started feeling really monotonous despite looking cool, the levels were mostly boring to play, and the annoying timed optional missions popping up every 10 minutes. For all of its creativeness in its setting and aesthetic, they took next to no risks in gameplay and made it far too long for what it is. I really enjoyed the first 6-7 hours and dropped it by hour 11 right after finding the brother due to how often it had me run back and forth constantly refilling rooms with long drawn out fights that all play the same.
"I liked the idea of [insert game name here] a lot more than actually playing it." This. I honestly don't like 9/10 games I play. Its so frustrating. I don't know if its me or the industry (probs the industry tbh) but gaming just suuucks now. So many games seem cool in theory but I sit down and play them and its like "oh, this is it :/ ...ugh"
@@satyasyasatyasya5746 I think thats mostly AAA games standardizing much like movies have been since Marvel took off. There is a lot of good stuff in the Indie scene still. If you need some recommendations Cruelty Squad (immersive sim made to be broken), Ultrakill (fps and DMC hybrid), and Everhood (Undertale inspired rhythm game) are some of the best stuff I have played in a long time and all are under $20 on Steam.
@@kynos6219 Standardizing isn't whats happening, its homogenizing. Very different and very insidious. Standardizing is fine, like with power grids or weights and measures lol, but everything in media is homogenized now; drifting towards a lazy, tedious, self-defeating and culturally hollow tidal wave of crap. The same characters, in the same situations, solving them in the same ways, with the same language, the same biases, the same moral lessons (if any)... its really creepy. The repitition is intentional, and we're losing nuance and vital variation of well, everything. Only variation maintains a healthy system of anything complex. I'm going off-topic or widening it I guess, but its just kinda creepy, isn't it? What does that do to people and societies? Is nobody looking into this? :/
My favourite is Langston, the moment he won me was when he said that he choose to work there because the health insurance was better, it seems crazy but when we tought in real life, there are plenty of jobs there are dangeurs and people choose them for very trivial reaons. I also listened the entire audio about the cat, you can call me crazy.
I’ve beat this game at least 7 times it’s literally my fav game ever and I never noticed that at the end when Jesse is a intern that the floating bodies were all her. Mind blown
I really liked Jesse’s deadpan delivery. Her entire life she was antisocial and off. Her arrival at the FBC is natural for her, as if she was always a fish out of water until arriving at her true calling. she fits in perfectly with the FBC due to her weirdness.
Man I love this game, one of my favorites that I've ever played, you made great points that I haven't thought during gameplay, like the loot and upgrade material, I'm really hoping that Remedy makes more games connecting to Control and Alan Wake, even if it's a different title instead of a sequel of those two games
God forbid anyone sorts comments by newest first, but just in case: one of Control’s major updates around the time of the “Definitive” edition or what have you’s release, Remedy added a ton of Accessibility features that essentially allow one to customize their game’s difficulty. Turn down enemy damage, turn up player damage, adjust speed of force meter recovery, etc etc. Judiciously applied, I found this can let one circumvent the vestigial Goot system almost entirely. As someone invested more in Control as a story and a world than as a Game, this was heaven sent and I recommend anyone who hit a wall with it or simply hesitates to replay it over its more frustrating aspects give it another consideration
Addendum: I haven't played this yet so maybe I'm ruining it for myself, but I'm about half an hour in. "The Oldest House" absolutely has to take some inspiration from "House of Leaves" which is one of the most unnerving and outlandish novels I've read.
I feel like you missed on your interpretation of Jesse. Her unsettling nonchalance in the face of The Oldest House is spelled out over the course of the game to be intentional. Even if she didn't realize it walking in, she understood by the end that this was her home. She didn't fit in the normal world, but on the other side of the looking glass, it all makes more sense to her in a way that it wouldn't to us or the people passing by on the street.
If you wanted your service weapon to deal damage you should have used the peirce, that thing huts like a truck and instantly destroys shealds. Great video man, I absolutely adore control but you make some very good points especially when it fomes to the mods and loot system. Really just a waist of time to interact with it
I'd also argue that the level 5/6 mods are incredible. 125% charge velocity increase + 500% projectile speed increase + a 125% blast radius boost is a thing of beauty
The Jesse dislike hurts my heart. I love her and feel like her quick acceptance of everything mimics everyone else’s quick acceptance of her as director in a notable way. She constantly makes mention of her “liking” this and “glad” shes here. There’s something about this place that feels good to her and like home. It feels important lore wise that she is so un-taken aback. I think Polaris has subconsciously prepped her to see the Oldest House as the place she belongs
Great video. I just had a chance to play through this year and came back to this video. So glad to find out I'm not the only one who literally said out load, "Yeah Polaris, I see you," when stuck behind a wall.
Your delivery of the game's format was astoundingly good! 👏 those tape interludes man. Thank you, Mr. Zander, for this video. This is one of my all-time favorite games and it doesn't get the love it deserves! This game's setting and lore made me entertain so many odd questions and thought trains, it's ridiculous. The subject of Synchronicity alone was such a pleasure! I can go on forever, so just thank you mate.
I definitely disagree with your take on Jesse and wouldn't have her any other way. Jesse's reactions to everything always made complete sense to me given her history not only with polaris but what happened to her home town when she was young. She grew up with paranormal beings from another realm, alternate dimensions, powerful artifacts, and even body horror all as things that were "normal" for her during her formative childhood years. By comparison the real world has always considered her crazy and denied her reality. She states it several times throughout the story that the FBC isnt really weird to her, its not only normal, its calming and solidifies her past and who she is as a person. It would have been so much easy to have her be shocked by all the weirdness or reacting gung ho to all of the action like so many other characters in these stories, but who she actually is and how she reacts to the world around her is so much more unique and what makes her the most qualified person to be the director of the FBC. In her own words, she's finally exactly where she should be. Jesse IS "Control", not wonder or fascination like Darling or Emily, or fear like the previous director, but someone who is fully naturally in control in the super natural.
I played this game 2 years ago, when I was only 12 or 13 and I think because of that I didn't really appreciate it that much. I was scared to explore the bureau and any mission that wasn't regarding an object of power I just ignored. The fact that it was my first EVER single player game also kept me from actually understanding certain mechanics of exploration and story telling. I really wish I could go back in time and play this game for the first time again, unfortunately after I've already experienced the flying and the wall tearing and throwing it just seems to fall unfortunately flat. Loved the video, really made me appreciate things that I'd forgotten!
Two minutes in and I already know this is gonna be awesome. Love your commentary and insights, and hella excited for this one! Stay safe my man, and thanks for these videos.
Excellent video as per usual. A true sign of a great video critique is when I don’t always agree with an opinion expressed but still value and respect the views because they are explained very well. One small critique I would make is the transitions between your points by using the SCP snippets. I have a large attention span but I did find myself scrolling ahead during these breaks. That being said, this is likely a “me problem” since I go to sleep sometimes listening to compilations of SCP stories so they don’t hold my interest having heard most of them already :) Definitely gonna start using GOOT. Perfect description!
Jesse is a freak. She's not us, the player. She's seen some crazy shit starting from a young age and Polaris has guided her through it all, possibly being the only true friend she's ever had, so she's not an "everywoman" and no she doesn't need to be more freaked out. She's a freak, a weirdo, and part of her may have accepted that she's basically a video game character. We're not playing as Jesse, we're playing as Polaris.
This video is an ingenious work of art. You did the game justice and you are very interesting to watch and listen to. If I could subscribe 20 times, I would. Thanks for the work you put into this.
I find it very interesting that Ahti: 1, knows you’re coming. 2, is standing between the entrance to the house, and essentially the hiss escaping leading to 3, it appears that he is the one that allows access to the House via making the elevator appear where his portrait seemingly stands guard and he faces inwards towards what later becomes the interior of the house. So much fascinating imagery in this game.
This video was a great critique. I loved the game, but have to agree that there are some points where it could be made even better. That said, if you get the chance, I would strongly recommend giving it a shot on PC with full ray-tracing. The game is gorgeous even without, but it's difficult to explain just how much the bold lighting, distinct colours used and brutalist style is enhanced by the ray-tracing. I think it's most notable on the parts, such as the Maintenance Sector, that you felt let the game down. The sharpness of the lighting and shadows, along with the ambient reflections made it feel anything but dark, a stark contrast to what I expect from levels of similar theme in other games. I feel like leveraging this was a core design component in a few sections (especially considering how heavily Nvidia RTX featured in Control's marketing), and not having it on other platforms has likely left them feeling duller and less refined than original design intended. Similarly, I think the Service Weapon is a lot more serviceable and less of a backup on PC. Aim assist only came to Control with the AWE expansion, so I doubt the core mechanics were designed around a controller, and it likely suffers for that. I feel that's especially true in the mods, which can be extremely impactful at higher tiers (especially the unique mods at the end), and may have contributed to that progression mechanic not feeling as well rounded. That said, constantly getting a slew of mods that are straight downgrades is tedious and does just as much to dilute their impact, so that's definitely on Remedy there. Finally a small clarification on the story ending: Hedron was not being used by the hiss in the slide planes, she was responsible for containing them (see control.fandom.com/wiki/Multimedia:_Final_Message), and this is why the HRAs empowering her resonance protects the people of the bureau. Jesse says that Polaris and Hedron are one and the same because that's what she believed, that Polaris (which was the name she gave the Hedron object as a child) was Hedron speaking to her mentally, but once Hedron is destroyed (which the Hiss do to stop her continuing to contain/resist them) she realises that instead "Polaris" is either an entity that Hedron placed in her mind as a child, or some part of Jesse that Hedron awoke. As Hedron is a resonance entity like the Hiss, and we can see that people "infected" by the hiss are able to act as "repeaters" (more accurately sources, as even when cut off they continue to emit, as the ending states) for the Hiss resonance, I suspect Polaris is a similar (non-malicious) "infection" of the Hedron resonance in Jesse. This is why, once Hedron is destroyed, Jesse and "Polaris" are able to continue to repeat the resonance and enable the HRAs to keep functioning, and to fight off the Hiss from her own mind. Also you're totally right, the Bureau Alert missions can bugger right off.
What you mentioned about the Tape recordings and wishing you could listen to them while you walk around was basically exactly what Housemarque did with the Scout Logs in Returnal. I agree, it would have made the game feel far more fluid as there are quite a few (tho not quite as many as Returnal).
I don’t think I can understate how absolutely blown away I was by the credits fakeout. Having experience with Remedy games, I was fully convinced that was the ending and I was gonna have to wait for a sequel for more information. Once I saw the credits start to crack with the hiss incantation, my mind was straight up blown. Absolutely insane.
Wait. Did you think the board gave Ahti the tape? Its an Old gods song about Jesse's life. They saw her future and wrote the song. Then they gave it to Ahti in his sauna in Watery Washington
Your little SCP clips in between sections were brilliant, especially the one about the chocolate at the end. You could rival The Volgan for how well you bring the scenarios to life through tone and background effects.
I've seen a lot of people take issue with Jesse taking everything in stride and I totally get where everyone's coming from, but for me it added to the surrealist aspect and reminded me of Cronenberg's works where things are just weird and no one really seems to notice all that much. If something reminds me of Cronenberg, I'm usually extra forgiving of its flaws lol
I disagree with the hate for clarifying sub genres to be honest i like horror, but very specific types of horror. slowburn psychological horror with elements of older analog technology in either theme or medium of conveying the story. Is way more annoying than "I like analog Horror in general. "
21:53 I _knew_ I recognized The Turing Test music! Thanks for confirming it in the descriptions, would've driven me crazy otherwise 1:25:15 very interesting theory! It lines up with the FBC noticing that there's been an increase in OOPs and AWEs over time, and though they aren't sure if that's just due to better awareness and detection, it could also be because of meddling Alan Wake is doing.
Personally, I completely agree about the upgrade system. I would propose simply unlocking weapon upgrades by finding failed OOPs. Since they are mostly concepts tied to objects, have some object that has the concept of force to add damage or of space to add range to explosions or something. Add upgrades as a continuation of the "weird" being mysterious but useful. Make them something to find instead of craft and maybe put a little cuts energy of a fading memory or something to up the mystery.
I think Jesse isnt the main character, the world is. Neutral mask, hollow man, player proxy etc etc. Lol. Her character deisgn choice was perfect in my opinion. She's the Grey Woman.
@@MontyZander the audio logs and spliced footage were really nice touches too - felt like some really high production values. Hope you're proud of this one :)
For whatever reason, I bounced off Control really fast the first time I played it. Pretty sure that was 100% on my end though, just wasn't in the right mood or something. When I came back to it a few months later, it became one of my favorite games this side of the new millennium.
What I want is to really go deeper into the oldest house. What does it look like beyond the reach of the Bureau or the Mold or the Hiss? What factions lurk deep in the uncharted regions of the Bureaus so called headquarters?
Currently replaying Control in anticipation of AW 2 but just left this to say I'm super excited for your Lore Dump videos on the Remedy games specifically Alan Wake and Control these are games I just love and imo no one else is really doing at such a scale and quality.
The section on Brutalist architecture was interesting! I noticed that you flashed many pictures of my hometown of Toronto. I didn't realize that it was a hotbed for that kind of architecture, but that does explain why the style feels so mundane and familiar to me.
A note for the tommasi fight, his dodge activates for launch attacks and gunfire. if you shoot first his dodge will be on cooldown, and you can launch after
I think the disassociation you are mentioning when it comes to Jesse is highly dependent on the given player. I, for one, found her attitude incredibly relatable, and caught myself remembering that while watching X-Files, or reading SCP, I didn't find it to be alarmingly weird, I found it to be strangely alluring instead. Yeah, I would be actually scared had I come across the oldest house, but I *wouldn't want* to be scared, I would want to feel just like Jesse does. I want those places and paranormal situations to not only to be real, but to feel like home to me. That, I think, is her entire characterization. She's not weirded out by the oldest house because she always wanted a place like that to be her home and there's a certain subset of players who would strongly relate to that feeling.
Adding to your talk about naming things, if i remember correctly naming things also makes us feel a sense of control, hence why i think we started naming astroids and meteors, its these things that goes hundred of kilometres per hour, totally out of control, but now we have given it a name and can begin to predict its course, so in a sense we gain control over it even if just arbitrary. Btw great critiques just subbed!
1:24:46 "... We learn in the AWE DLC that Alan Wake probably created the Hiss ..." I don't think this is true - I think Alan Wake gave the Hiss voice, made it louder and arguably stronger, to coincide with Jesse's arrival. Jesse would still have arrived, would still have become the Janitor's Assistant, and would have eventually gotten the Service Weapon.
Small correction/clarification that absolutely does not detract from your point: "goot" game mechanics are slightly different from gacha mechanics, even when they sometimes overlap. Gacha is pretty explicitly gambling, where different items are given different rarities and chances to appear (50%, 20%, 1%, etc) and the player has to keep rerolling in order to get the desired outcome. While randomized loot is common in a lot of games, the word "gacha" to refer to a game's mechanics usually imply an exchange of real-life currency. The more money you feed the game, the more chances you get of getting the thing you want. Games where gacha is the primary mechanic (a lot of "free" mobile games like Genshin Impact, etc rely on the gacha system as their main form of income) are inherently really predatory, especially for young people and those prone to addiction, while "goot" mechanics are usually just super annoying XD Like I said no hate or anything, just noticed it and wanted to clarify for anyone curious
For those who are new to channel, I've covered Alan Wake (😄) and Quantum Break (💩) as well.
ua-cam.com/video/mK7gV2rL7cs/v-deo.html
New subscriber here! Absolute phenomenal critique of my favorite video game!
I never really saw any content regarding Control following it's release, but holy wow this video is a breath of fresh air! My deepest thanks for a satisfying study :)
Edit: Hearing your excitement over the Synchronicity section made me reinstall the game lol
Also, I love that you emphasized the mechanics in the AWE expansion! The way Remedy combined their games' styles, requiring aspects of both to ultimately defeat Hartman who himself is corrupted by the entities within both games. It's wonderful.
For a second it felt like the mechanics were contextualizing the story. It was a Weird experience lol
@@criskane dffddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddfffffffffddt try😅zzzzs@7
I love the braindead hot takes on genre and subgenre that you pull out of your ass.+
I feel like you were just nitpicking at things on this one, not gonna lie...
Her reaction for instance: ever consider that she doesnt react very strongly because of her past? Because she has already had experience with paranatural phenomena from childhood with her brother? Or maybe it may have something to do with the fact that this game exists within the same shared universe of Alan Wake, and the events in this game (including Jessies past, and the Hiss) may be affected by his reality altering abilities. Then there is the possible complexity of her character development over the years of her life before the game. Maybe shes just more open minded and mentally/emotionally stronger than most, as well? What if shes just more intelligent and can observe and accept unusual things better? Id be surprised at paranormal happenings if they turned out to be real, but I wouldnt be shitting bricks, because that wouldnt be outside the range of my ''what if's'', no matter how imaginative. Plus, as you have mentioned about the ''2/3'rds'' of the gameplay, by then, she has already went through numerous experiences within the building, so the lack of reaction is even less surprising.
Now, as for the characters goals/motivations? Well, she doesnt have to be a complete projection of the players ego. I have said this to someone else, but she is her own character with her own backstory and potential motivations. Shes not some researcher, or any operative within the bureau already stationed there - she has been shoved into that whole mess in one way or another, whether years in the past, or more recently in the game, so she doesnt have to care as much about the same questions as you. Shes not a silent protagonist for anyone to imprint on, she has her own kind, slightly stoic, introspective personality. Besides, if she knows her brother is in the facility, doesnt it make far more sense for her to care about that far more than some incomprehensible babble of words? Its her f**g brother.
Then there is the ''design''.... Despite her paranormal past, and up until her arrival at the ''house'', she is just an every-day person, like you or me. She does not have to have any ''wild'' style or personality. A leather jacket and jeans is plenty. Its if like a reflection of her strong mindedness and seriousness. In fact, like i mentioned, her personality could be a combination of her more analytical/comprehensive mind, more open mind, her previous paranormal encounters, and the general seriousness/mental hardiness of someone who has 'gone through shit'. Thats what I think, anyway.
The enemy variety can be explained by the fact that the hiss may be affecting everyone in similar ways unless it decides otherwise or there are some modifying factors involved.The guns may have had more variety, but it wouldnt be surprising that a good number of the personnel would have guns, and guns of similar/same models. The ''barely looking inhuman'' part may have been, again, the hiss's chooice to allow the puppets to retain their existing combat ability and potentially knowledge/intelligence (in case of severe brain morphs).
Anything more than that is too much writing, so I'll stop. Its a very good game all in all. Havent played the DLC's yet.
i actually like how Jessie reacted referencing having looked at Wired stuff and owww it's Wired but you know what i have already seen my share of Wired and I liked it so more Wired stuff is cool (plus I also like her apathetic tone) i guess it might actually be because she actually makes setting even more wired supernatural by reacting in such a wired and airy tone
I love how when you enter a new area there’s the musical queue and the name pops up, I always had chills go down my spine when it happens
I love the font they used for the names, cant remember where ive seen something similar but i was looking forward to those scenes
@@ThePresidentofMars It could be Avengers Endgame. Whenever the Avengers travelled to a different timeline/location, it would show the name as big as what Control is showing.
Same here, the aesthetic of the title cards along with the bass drop that accompanies them is beyond sleek and satisfying. Very stylish.
*cue
The sound design in this game is really excellent. In addition to the destructive environments that you can really tear up with Charge and Launch, the sound effects for Launch are incredibly satisfying. The sound in general is really well done, and the fact that they includes some original music, especially "Take Control", which is a really excellent song on its own, with some real technical chops, cool lyrics and great songwriting.
The ambient soundtrack is really cool, and the creepy chanting is one of the coolest aspects of the game.
Being a treat for the eyes is obvious, but "Control" is a treat for the ears as well.
@@Tabbishh nah it's Mr. Robot
Disagree with feeling disassociated with Jessie. I actually like that she's not running around the entire time confused and scared. I loved that she just went with things as they happened. Knowing nothing makes sense is all she knows. Trying to force things to make sense will just be an excercise in futility.
Agreed. She even mentions in her internal monologue that it is just going to make her insane if she stops and questions anything. Thats also why she is so focused on dylan in the earlier game, she has no intention of being director, it's just a key to make it easier for her goal. Only later does she realize that she can't just leave this place like it is and she would be a great influence in changing the FBC to stop mishandling of people affected and objects of power. Also, we don't know this from our first impression, but looking at the game from a whole--of course she can stonewall all of this stuff. She experienced the Ordinary AWE as a child, has been running from ghost agents her entire life searching for her brother. There is nothing new to shock her with when you consider her life. The strangeness of the whole game only mildly interests her when she actually looks at a few details...because the details are the only thing different than her own childhood experiences.
That's actually how your mind would act in a situation like this. "Move forward at any cost, don't die."
It puts me off like nothing else. Like, at least give me SOMETHING. There better be good reason she is like that
@@Isaax Probably the whole paranatural powers and having nothing to lose.
@@Isaax her life was never ordinary (pun intended) she grew up talking to a resonant being and walking through slide shows. she knew a place like the FBC existed, she just needed to find it.
Another thing with the janitor at the start that some players miss is he makes a comment in response to something the protagonist thought to herself in her head
that actually surprised me and made me think there is more to him
AND the janitor wasn't wearing on of those frequency things. So he should be possessed too. But he isn't. So he is either being protected by an object of power or he is a manifestation of the house itself. Maybe a ghost? Either way something supernatural is going on there. Maybe he even is a physical manifestation of an object of power
I loved Control because it is not a story about what happened to a bunch of kids in a "Stranger Things"esque story. It is about what happens to these kids when they have become adults. Jesse and Faden and their friends have been through an extremely traumatic experience as children, I mean they had to kill one of their friends when he turned into a werewolf type thing from this grotesque entity called "Not-mother" which has a very strong childish name associated with it as well.
The reason she isn't fazed much about what is happening in the oldest house because she has experience similar or even more traumatic and "weird" experiences in the past, those experiences have been put into question due to the FBC silent influence on her life but being in the FBC confirmed all her experiences that she knew to be real. She lived her whole life believing in those things because it happened to her before to a more extreme level and as an impressionable child.
While I do agree that her interaction with Dylan was unnecessarily devoid of emotion, I am of two minds on this: The first being that she lived her whole life after the incident in "Ordinary" devoid of a lot of agency, Polaris has always been her guide and instructor, she comes to the FBC because Polaris wished it, she is swept away by the Board, multiple people are telling her what to do so she just goes with the flow of what she knows her whole life, so when she finds Dylan we see Polaris flash again taking away her agency, and even like most of the game she displays that emotion inwards towards the only entity that ever listened to her and believed her which is Polaris so she never really did develop a conventional capacity to display emotion outwards . My Second opinion on this is that the developers wanted a blank character for you to fit into, which I sort of disagree with because Jesse's backstory is too complex to allow that.
I think from a psychological point of view, Jesse's lack of outward emotion expression is completely normal for a person who is in her circumstances, especially considering that she had to lie and cheat her way out of mental-health asylums and constant programmed brainwashing by the FBC disguised as psychological therapy. She is very animated and talkative when conversing internally with Polaris displaying tonal shifts and pitch adjustment in a manner she doesn't do when talking to people, it's the only way she has learned to survive.
I think the one thing I don't like about this is that it is the second time remedy has portrayed the mental health profession as sinister and evil. Otherwise, it's a fantastic set of observations on the character that do actually save a lot of the game for me.
@MIS_behave they're really not. There's a lot of internal struggles in the field still but the field is finally evolving from old conjecture and unproven ideas into an actual science in light of the replicability crisis.
And MOST people getting into it still do so to help people rather than to be weird hypercontrolling supervillains.
Damn that was a thoughtful comment
@@IAMFANTROLL I don’t think the mental health professionals depicted in Control were made to look sinister or evil. They had no way to know that Jesse had actually experienced a paranormal event. To any reasonable outward observer she was a traumatised child who had lost her entire family to an industrial accident. Of course she would be seen as delusional; it’s by far the simplest explanation (and in the real world this is what happens - therapists would go mad if they believed the delusions of their patients).
@@enneff I'm more talking about the sinister experimentation aspect of the game, as well as the reintroduction of the evil psychiatrist from Alan Wake
I do see how her reactions could seem weird, but personally when I heard "This is exactly where I needed to be" I have never related to anything more, which made me identify with Jesse until the very end, and just in general I always related to her reactions
When i played Control for the first time, i walked away with a VERY different understanding of Hedron and the Hiss relation ship! I thought, they were both Sentient songs (resonances) and that on the world of the Slide Hedron was a warden, trapping the Hiss on the slide. That they both drew power by creatures "Singing" with them (increasing there resonance) and that why Jesse was immune to the hiss, was because she was already "singing" Hedrons song
The difference between them was that Hedron is either incapable, or unwilling, to force others to sing. Jesse was an exception, because she need its help fighting the not mother. A favor Jesse would later repay, when she is tasked by Polaris to save Hedron in turn, because the bureau in its need to stick its nose where it didn't belong, removed Hedron from the slide, seeking to understand it. Which unwittingly allowed the Hiss to consume the slide (I think they describe there being fields and trees there in the reports, but when trench activates it, its just red space)
Which was what the Hedron Amps were for, allowing Hedron to sing over the Hiss, and drive it back. In the end, i had assumed Hedron was the more powerful entity, but its refusal to fight dirty against the hiss got it destroyed, leaving only Jesse, and quite possibly Darling, as the only Hedron "infested" singers, and since Darling vanished, that leaves it up to Jesse to re-contain the Hiss!
Just wanted to put my thoughts out there, and since i'm leaving a comment anyway, Love your videos!
your interpretation makes it incredibly clear, good stuff
I love this take. ❤️
I thought that Ahti was referring to the Old Gods of Asgard as his friends. Since it is their song and since they have the same ability as Alan in so that their fiction changes the world. The song helps Jesse just like their songs helped Alan.
funny how your comment now makes full sense since alan wake 2 has made this canon
I think I disagree regarding Jesse's character. The fact that she reacts in a way that she's seen it all before reads to me as extremely suspicious, then when it's more clear that she is liasing with someone/something that we cannot hear cemented her as... someone whose intentions may not exactly align with mine. Her distancing herself from me as a player made the feeling of paranoia a bit more palpable.
She is literally a character with her own history and whatnot. In a story, a character you play doesnt necessarily have to be a 100% projection of the player. The story is guided, and even though we control the character, even our 'control' is within the limitations of guidance in games like this. Character intentions/motivations can be written into the story alongside any situational/environmental motivations. Idk why thats a hard concept to grasp.
@@vytautaszygelis1106I feel you on this. Sometimes games like this are made that just have a straight-up story to tell, and aren’t necessarily trying to make the player relate or connect to the protagonist.
I feel that here, as the audience, we’re simply along for the ride and just so happen to control Jesse’s movement/powers.
ALAN WAKE 2 IS REAL. ITS REAL. ITS REALITSREALITSREALITSREALITSREALITS
¡Yeeeees! That's why I'm here, babyyyy. So excited. XD
“It’s not a fake, it’s a notion”
Sequel name...
Awakened Control
A. Waken Control
Alan Wake In Control
I know I'm like 8 months late on this comment and I'm still not going to watch this critique yet because I have not finished the DLC but I am beyond hype for Alan Wake 2. In a strange way it's like remedy is the only way we get new X-Files episodes I think that's what fascinates me about the studio
I really hope there's a Jesse cameo or at least a mention of the FBC in Alan Wake 2
Her taking every weird thing with a meh is one of the best parts for me
In my oppinion Jessie reacts exactly right. Not only has she experience with that kind of stuff since childhood and an entity in her head, it was also how i reacted. If the action is high you need to underperform. That is right in movies and in games. Also think her look is perfect ^^ Living is rough. You wear jeans, leather jacket and do not care about your hair. Been there. Done that. And Langston is my favorite next to Darling ;) Enjoyed the video :)
And if the DLC is to be believed, then Alan Wake has been pushing circumstances to create the ideal hero to save him.
@@SantosAl
is it possible that jesse was instead altered in term of her identity that Alan gave her a different reality that is by having Dylan as her brother as we never got any further details of their childhood nor remarks other than Ordinary AWE. Could it be that Alan "made" the Hiss to create a hero to save him from the darkness and the by-product are both the Hiss and Dylan or just on of those? It's interesting to think about, i'm even planning on playing Alan Wake
@@akmalrusydi2730 If you haven't played Alan Wake I definitely recommend it it is such a great game.
It has been many years since I played AW, but from I can remember he can't really "create" anything, only affect what is already there. I think I remember him also mentioning that even with the things that he can affect they have to fit with what he has already written thematically.
I guess I should play the game again, I seem to have forgotten a couple of things.
As an architectural student, this game hits extra hard. The environment and level design is a masterclass in how architecture can control what the player is experiencing.
Ehhhh, I think you misunderstood Jessie. She is meant to be a part of the Bureau of Control. She belongs there, but the player doesn't. I think that “rift” between the player and the character is only weird if you're trying to self-insert. Jessie is weird, you're not. She's not you. This game doesn't need a Barry Wheeler. It wants you to be unsettled.
Great comment on point. Jesse at the place were all her life now makes sense . She is at home at last and was lost outside the old house. The character is well written but deals with emotions like an adult. We are now used to "heroes" being emotionally like a toddler brat . That's most Hollywood movies nowadays . Or Forspoken as a game.. Jesse character is actually also much more in sync how one deals with adversity after living through it for years. Cool & collected in a surrounding she is perfect to understand and deal with as she lives through it as a child
I think the game wants you to be polaris, the force that 'compels' and guides jessie throughout the game.
Well said.
@@Stevexupen Ha ha, funny you should say that. I made my own Polaris t-shirt (it's just the logo from the poster that says "Grow Brighter" on it. It's like my favorite silk screen shirt now.
Elevated Hiss dodge the initial projectile thrown at them, and the 2nd one always hits. There is a cooldown that resets this, so if you don't launch two in quick succession, they'll appear to dodge randomly.
Old comment, but I'm glad someone said it.
Granted, that doesn't make the rest of Monty's observations invalid -- Launch is still overpowered and Elevated Hiss are tedious. I'd argue the fact they ALWAYS dodge the first and get hit by the second makes their behavior a little artificial and boring. It just makes fighting them basically take twice as long and twice as much energy. But it ain't random, that's for sure.
Thanks for your patience with this one. The current plan is for a The First Ten Minutes video to come out in a couple weeks, and an "I Explained Metal Gear Solid to My Friend Who Hasn't Played The Games" - similar style and format to the Resident Evil lore video.
Can’t wait! Love the content keep it up!
This is going to be a habit of mine, but I'll once again compliment how astonishing your avatar design is.
Beyond that, I'm excited to see the metal gear video - I hadn't even played the RE games and I found it one of my favourite videos of the year.
@@mrfreddorenton thanks so much! Would you believe the avatar stuff is just a bit of messing around on Canva? I'm always chuffed they turn out cooler than I think but in the future I might ask a proper artist to help for complex designs.
The lore video was a spur-of-the-moment idea with the Resi one and we had so much fun doing it I figured we'd do a few more.
Can't believe I sat through a two hours analysis of Control. Very impressive.
I personally didn't mind Jessie's attitude. Seemed to me like the acting in some Lynch movies, where the characters are strangely removed from the things happening around them and therefore fitting into the overall weird tone. Looking at the inspiration they took from the SCP Foundation and the best entries on that side, I think they could definitely had dialed up the weirdness a little further. Nonetheless it was an impressive example of world building in a game.
As you mentioned at the start, Control was my personal GOTY for 2019, I have become obsessed with the game/universe/etc since release.
I agree with most of what you're saying in this video. It's an almost perfect game, except for those few flaws.
I have a minor correction for you though, in that Alan didn't create the Hiss.
It's mildly mentioned in game, and then fully confirmed in the art book, that Alan cannot create things with his power...he can only manipulate events, guide the story, etc.
So the Hiss, FBC, Jesse, etc always existed, Alan just pushed the "narrative" of reality to make it so Jesse could come and save him with the full might of the FBC.
I agree that Alan may not have created the hiss, but I can't help but mention how he DID shape it. He wrote the chant that we heard from the Hiss-possessed people all throughout the game. And he wrote a pretty bad script for a Night Springs episode that was probably what caused Trench and Darling to open up the slidescape to let the Hiss into the Oldest House.
I fully can't get over how Alan has seemingly caused and manipulated the events of Control, just to enable his own escape from The Dark Place.
@@3ndlessL00p exactly that.
I like that it furthers how Alan isn't a *good* person, he's a very flawed (mildly abusive alcoholic with anger issues) human that happens to have been dragged into an AWE, and is now willing to manipulate events to get back home.
I believe we'll see an even darker version of Alan in his 2nd game, probably requiring Alice to bring him back to humanity if he doesn't die.
@@user-rr6pd3bh4s I forgot I made this prediction. I'm actually kinda happy how accurate it was.
Although I enjoy your critiques, I have to disagree about Jesse, I loved her! Pope was so interesting BECAUSE of Jesse for me, because of that contrast between them.
Jesse just felt and acted like a Director for me, focused on one major task but not shying away from doing everything else she needs to do, despite constantly reminding everyone that she doesn't consider herself the Director.
She lived with Polaris her whole life, she is in the centre of the weird, she is desensitised to it, and it shows in how she handles it.
After all we are NOT Jesse, we are Polaris.
She has a pretty good and relatable arc. I think we've all been in leadership positions we've felt under-qualified for lol
I agree completely, Jesse is a far more interesting protagonist BECAUSE she doesn’t find the “weird” as weird as it is to us. She’s lived “weird” her entire life, whether it’s the slide projector in Ordinary or remembering Thomas Zane when no one else can. The Bureau has shadowed her her entire life, and then she finally understands WHY. How could she possibly be surprised by what she finds? It all makes sense to her almost right away, because she was always meant to be the Director.
@@gwen3504 like ikr, one of the ending sentences "maybe you were there to teach me [how to channel the power]" is so powerful, just wow
P. S my prowdest plat to this day (and I didn't like the game on release or in any of the trailers)
@@embischthat’s kinda cool actually that your opinion changed so drastically by the time you got the platinum.
Inspires me to try and commit to more games I might have brushed off otherwise
I actually felt very much in tune with Jesse. We both had the exact same approach to the world - first about half an hour, we were both weirded out, but in the most enjoyable way ever, then we both accepted the weirdness because... after all... that's why we came into The Oldest House, and the rest of it flowed from that. Her quips were also totally my kind, often bad on purpose because that's how I amuse myself by them - by how bad/deadpan they are, especially in the circumstances.
To me, she would be extremely annoying if she kept being fascinated and surprised, that's what would create the rift between me and her.
I might be stretching because I like the atmosphere of the game so much, but I always thought of Jesse's indifference to "the weird" as some sort of dream logic, where bizarre things happen to you in a dream, but your brain doesn't bat an eye because in your mind you're in that universe and it totally makes sense.
Some soldiers who have seen combat react almost exactly like this. One notable example, Lieutenant Fick from the book/miniseries Generation Kill, seems completely immune to the battlefield, despite all the absolutely horrifying shit happening around him. There are bullets flying, people getting injured and some being killed, and he retains an unimpeachable sense of calm and stability in the midst of an actual battlefield. In the book, he reiterates: "In some ways, I just didn't process that combat was happening around me. It all felt like I was dreaming, that it didn't matter. It helped me stay sane."
The world-building in Control is so well done. I loved collecting documents, files and videos - sometimes I would spend hours looking for them and forget that I'm supposed to do missions.
The hitting pattern o flying enemies isn't random, you have to instantly throw the object so it doesn't have time to react and you break their shield, but the trick is to throw it before the object goes hovering to Jesse
When you talked about naming I remembered how I always thought it was interesting that Jesse and Dylan are both unisex names. And that Dylan mentions he dreamed he was the director,and that the roles could have easily been inverted should they have taken Jesse instead.
Good point!
From what I gathered in game dylan may actually be from one of the slides a alternate version of jesse. Which could explain why the FBC took dylan and let jesse get away. When jesse burned the slides it kinda fucked dylan made him more susceptible to the hiss influence cause his reality was shut away coupled with his rejection of Polaris due to the bureau's lack of empathy.
Jesse's middle name is Dylan. Jesse Dylan faden. Dylan was the outcome of the AWE from the projector alongside the voice in her head I think.
@@Deadforge its one of the possibilites, that in altering the timeline of events to "make a hero" alan wake split jesse dylan faden into jesse and dylan faden, possibly with the slide projector
It's also possible that having 2 subjects starting with the same powers, experimenting on one and only observing the other as a "control".
What Trench forgot, what Dylan didn't understand, was that the position of Director is just the Janitor's Assistant.
I think the reason why Jessie looks so unfazed about the world and events in it truly helps you, as a player, to dissociate with her and what makes her into her own character. While jarring at first, it makes you think that there’s more to her than the shoes to fill in by you. And it actually pays off when you learn about her past and finally understand, that it’s you who has been out of the loop in all of this, not Jessie. She had lived this life since her childhood.
I think it’s a great way to make a controllable character to feel more like a real character with their own agency and thoughts, not accessible to you.
But yeah, that potential is wasted, because her personality doesn’t break through your control (heh) near the end. She’s still underdeveloped and boring, unless you fill in the vacuum with your own projections. It’s weird.
Literally searched “control scp” and your new video answered the call lol
You really have a wonderful way of explaining your thoughts and critiques, your videos are always a pleasure to watch!
Thanks so much!
Remedy's strengths and why I love them are their narrative focus and strong writing.
Hard to craft a compelling strong narrative when there's a million places to do and things to go. It was too open. The gamification aspects like the randomized 'loot' chests for mods, randomly spawning enemies in areas are meaningless and do not contribute to the narrative.
Also the popups - can you imagine in Max Payne or Alan Wake a popup coming on screen telling you to 'Go back to the first level. Kill 10 enemies. You will get a randomized weapon mod!' - is a poor attempt at Skinner box game design, to pad out game length and play time. Again does nothing for the story.
this game deserves a 2h long analysis during work hours. great video
I love how at the end of the day the Director(any Director) is just the Janitor's assistant
This is spooky. I just discovered your channel a short while ago and binged trough all your videos and was then thinkining "damn, i really want to hear you talk about control". 18 hours later i get this notification. Love your work, man ! Keep it up. Pressing my thumbs for your huge pop off !
Control 2 is officially in development!!!
An incredible 2 hour upload that I didnt expect?
Sign me up!
You are one of the most underrated channels on UA-cam, your videos are constantly engaging. Keep at it!
I always get an irrational glee from seeing a video essay over 2 hours on a topic I dig, or by a “content creator” who makes essays I like.
Jeeeezus. That PS4 only Astral Dive outfit is just: ASS THE VIDEO GAME, huh?
Loved this video essay man, Control is one of my favourite games and you touched on pretty much every plus and minus I had about the title.
Yes. Yes it is. But thanks a lot!
Yeah, I felt so uncomfortable looking at her hindside in this outfit that I never used it. It's still scummy that the Ultimate Edition doesn't include it, even on PS5. My favorites are the Asynchronous Suit and Urban Response Outfit.
I actually always liked the limited animations and stitled movement during conversations. Everyone is close enough to uncanny to keep that unnerving feeling flowing even in moments of calmness and safety. There was still something not right and that really worked for me
I really enjoyed the SCP description interludes/prologues. For something I didn't know anything about until maybe last year it has a lot of really cool unique (weird) fiction. I hope a sequel really delves deeper into some SCP fiction.
I played Control late last year and it is my first and to date only Remedy game I've played. I enjoyed it a lot, makes me interested in trying out Alan Wake.
the reference to SCP 127 is so cool because that, surprisngly, was the first SCP article I ever read. It got me hooked with just being weird enough that I had to know more.
Oh, also, good video. Well voiced and edited.
I liked the idea of control a lot more than actually playing it. The combat and gunplay started feeling really monotonous despite looking cool, the levels were mostly boring to play, and the annoying timed optional missions popping up every 10 minutes. For all of its creativeness in its setting and aesthetic, they took next to no risks in gameplay and made it far too long for what it is. I really enjoyed the first 6-7 hours and dropped it by hour 11 right after finding the brother due to how often it had me run back and forth constantly refilling rooms with long drawn out fights that all play the same.
"I liked the idea of [insert game name here] a lot more than actually playing it."
This. I honestly don't like 9/10 games I play. Its so frustrating. I don't know if its me or the industry (probs the industry tbh) but gaming just suuucks now. So many games seem cool in theory but I sit down and play them and its like "oh, this is it :/ ...ugh"
At the risk of spoiling the video, I think you're gonna hear a lot in this that you agree with!
@@MontyZander right after I sent this I got to where you mentioned the gameplay being standard lol
@@satyasyasatyasya5746 I think thats mostly AAA games standardizing much like movies have been since Marvel took off. There is a lot of good stuff in the Indie scene still. If you need some recommendations Cruelty Squad (immersive sim made to be broken), Ultrakill (fps and DMC hybrid), and Everhood (Undertale inspired rhythm game) are some of the best stuff I have played in a long time and all are under $20 on Steam.
@@kynos6219 Standardizing isn't whats happening, its homogenizing. Very different and very insidious.
Standardizing is fine, like with power grids or weights and measures lol, but everything in media is homogenized now; drifting towards a lazy, tedious, self-defeating and culturally hollow tidal wave of crap.
The same characters, in the same situations, solving them in the same ways, with the same language, the same biases, the same moral lessons (if any)... its really creepy. The repitition is intentional, and we're losing nuance and vital variation of well, everything. Only variation maintains a healthy system of anything complex.
I'm going off-topic or widening it I guess, but its just kinda creepy, isn't it? What does that do to people and societies? Is nobody looking into this? :/
My favourite is Langston, the moment he won me was when he said that he choose to work there because the health insurance was better, it seems crazy but when we tought in real life, there are plenty of jobs there are dangeurs and people choose them for very trivial reaons.
I also listened the entire audio about the cat, you can call me crazy.
I’ve beat this game at least 7 times it’s literally my fav game ever and I never noticed that at the end when Jesse is a intern that the floating bodies were all her. Mind blown
I really liked Jesse’s deadpan delivery. Her entire life she was antisocial and off. Her arrival at the FBC is natural for her, as if she was always a fish out of water until arriving at her true calling. she fits in perfectly with the FBC due to her weirdness.
Man I love this game, one of my favorites that I've ever played, you made great points that I haven't thought during gameplay, like the loot and upgrade material, I'm really hoping that Remedy makes more games connecting to Control and Alan Wake, even if it's a different title instead of a sequel of those two games
God forbid anyone sorts comments by newest first, but just in case: one of Control’s major updates around the time of the “Definitive” edition or what have you’s release, Remedy added a ton of Accessibility features that essentially allow one to customize their game’s difficulty. Turn down enemy damage, turn up player damage, adjust speed of force meter recovery, etc etc. Judiciously applied, I found this can let one circumvent the vestigial Goot system almost entirely.
As someone invested more in Control as a story and a world than as a Game, this was heaven sent and I recommend anyone who hit a wall with it or simply hesitates to replay it over its more frustrating aspects give it another consideration
Thank you for calling out that absolute faff that was the explanation of "new weird" at the beginning.
Addendum: I haven't played this yet so maybe I'm ruining it for myself, but I'm about half an hour in. "The Oldest House" absolutely has to take some inspiration from "House of Leaves" which is one of the most unnerving and outlandish novels I've read.
The lore and atmosphere of this game keep me coming back. Incredible work, thank you!
I've literally beaten control like 10 mins ago and I entered UA-cam and this popped up, that’s a good timing
Everything’s connected
Glad you finally got that home you were talking about a few months back keep putting in good work
This review deserves way more views and likes
Thanks man!
I feel like you missed on your interpretation of Jesse.
Her unsettling nonchalance in the face of The Oldest House is spelled out over the course of the game to be intentional.
Even if she didn't realize it walking in, she understood by the end that this was her home. She didn't fit in the normal world, but on the other side of the looking glass, it all makes more sense to her in a way that it wouldn't to us or the people passing by on the street.
If you wanted your service weapon to deal damage you should have used the peirce, that thing huts like a truck and instantly destroys shealds. Great video man, I absolutely adore control but you make some very good points especially when it fomes to the mods and loot system. Really just a waist of time to interact with it
I'd also argue that the level 5/6 mods are incredible. 125% charge velocity increase + 500% projectile speed increase + a 125% blast radius boost is a thing of beauty
The Jesse dislike hurts my heart.
I love her and feel like her quick acceptance of everything mimics everyone else’s quick acceptance of her as director in a notable way. She constantly makes mention of her “liking” this and “glad” shes here. There’s something about this place that feels good to her and like home. It feels important lore wise that she is so un-taken aback. I think Polaris has subconsciously prepped her to see the Oldest House as the place she belongs
Great video. I just had a chance to play through this year and came back to this video. So glad to find out I'm not the only one who literally said out load, "Yeah Polaris, I see you," when stuck behind a wall.
Your delivery of the game's format was astoundingly good! 👏 those tape interludes man.
Thank you, Mr. Zander, for this video. This is one of my all-time favorite games and it doesn't get the love it deserves!
This game's setting and lore made me entertain so many odd questions and thought trains, it's ridiculous. The subject of Synchronicity alone was such a pleasure!
I can go on forever, so just thank you mate.
I definitely disagree with your take on Jesse and wouldn't have her any other way. Jesse's reactions to everything always made complete sense to me given her history not only with polaris but what happened to her home town when she was young. She grew up with paranormal beings from another realm, alternate dimensions, powerful artifacts, and even body horror all as things that were "normal" for her during her formative childhood years. By comparison the real world has always considered her crazy and denied her reality. She states it several times throughout the story that the FBC isnt really weird to her, its not only normal, its calming and solidifies her past and who she is as a person.
It would have been so much easy to have her be shocked by all the weirdness or reacting gung ho to all of the action like so many other characters in these stories, but who she actually is and how she reacts to the world around her is so much more unique and what makes her the most qualified person to be the director of the FBC. In her own words, she's finally exactly where she should be. Jesse IS "Control", not wonder or fascination like Darling or Emily, or fear like the previous director, but someone who is fully naturally in control in the super natural.
I played this game 2 years ago, when I was only 12 or 13 and I think because of that I didn't really appreciate it that much. I was scared to explore the bureau and any mission that wasn't regarding an object of power I just ignored. The fact that it was my first EVER single player game also kept me from actually understanding certain mechanics of exploration and story telling. I really wish I could go back in time and play this game for the first time again, unfortunately after I've already experienced the flying and the wall tearing and throwing it just seems to fall unfortunately flat. Loved the video, really made me appreciate things that I'd forgotten!
Two minutes in and I already know this is gonna be awesome. Love your commentary and insights, and hella excited for this one! Stay safe my man, and thanks for these videos.
Excellent video as per usual. A true sign of a great video critique is when I don’t always agree with an opinion expressed but still value and respect the views because they are explained very well.
One small critique I would make is the transitions between your points by using the SCP snippets. I have a large attention span but I did find myself scrolling ahead during these breaks. That being said, this is likely a “me problem” since I go to sleep sometimes listening to compilations of SCP stories so they don’t hold my interest having heard most of them already :)
Definitely gonna start using GOOT. Perfect description!
Jesse is a freak. She's not us, the player. She's seen some crazy shit starting from a young age and Polaris has guided her through it all, possibly being the only true friend she's ever had, so she's not an "everywoman" and no she doesn't need to be more freaked out. She's a freak, a weirdo, and part of her may have accepted that she's basically a video game character. We're not playing as Jesse, we're playing as Polaris.
Rewatching this two years later. This reamins fantastic. I still love the SCP recordings
This video is an ingenious work of art. You did the game justice and you are very interesting to watch and listen to. If I could subscribe 20 times, I would. Thanks for the work you put into this.
Thank you for watching and the kind words!
Scp came out years after the lost room. And probably the writing for warehouse 13
I find it very interesting that Ahti: 1, knows you’re coming. 2, is standing between the entrance to the house, and essentially the hiss escaping leading to 3, it appears that he is the one that allows access to the House via making the elevator appear where his portrait seemingly stands guard and he faces inwards towards what later becomes the interior of the house. So much fascinating imagery in this game.
This video was a great critique. I loved the game, but have to agree that there are some points where it could be made even better. That said, if you get the chance, I would strongly recommend giving it a shot on PC with full ray-tracing. The game is gorgeous even without, but it's difficult to explain just how much the bold lighting, distinct colours used and brutalist style is enhanced by the ray-tracing. I think it's most notable on the parts, such as the Maintenance Sector, that you felt let the game down. The sharpness of the lighting and shadows, along with the ambient reflections made it feel anything but dark, a stark contrast to what I expect from levels of similar theme in other games. I feel like leveraging this was a core design component in a few sections (especially considering how heavily Nvidia RTX featured in Control's marketing), and not having it on other platforms has likely left them feeling duller and less refined than original design intended.
Similarly, I think the Service Weapon is a lot more serviceable and less of a backup on PC. Aim assist only came to Control with the AWE expansion, so I doubt the core mechanics were designed around a controller, and it likely suffers for that. I feel that's especially true in the mods, which can be extremely impactful at higher tiers (especially the unique mods at the end), and may have contributed to that progression mechanic not feeling as well rounded. That said, constantly getting a slew of mods that are straight downgrades is tedious and does just as much to dilute their impact, so that's definitely on Remedy there.
Finally a small clarification on the story ending: Hedron was not being used by the hiss in the slide planes, she was responsible for containing them (see control.fandom.com/wiki/Multimedia:_Final_Message), and this is why the HRAs empowering her resonance protects the people of the bureau. Jesse says that Polaris and Hedron are one and the same because that's what she believed, that Polaris (which was the name she gave the Hedron object as a child) was Hedron speaking to her mentally, but once Hedron is destroyed (which the Hiss do to stop her continuing to contain/resist them) she realises that instead "Polaris" is either an entity that Hedron placed in her mind as a child, or some part of Jesse that Hedron awoke. As Hedron is a resonance entity like the Hiss, and we can see that people "infected" by the hiss are able to act as "repeaters" (more accurately sources, as even when cut off they continue to emit, as the ending states) for the Hiss resonance, I suspect Polaris is a similar (non-malicious) "infection" of the Hedron resonance in Jesse. This is why, once Hedron is destroyed, Jesse and "Polaris" are able to continue to repeat the resonance and enable the HRAs to keep functioning, and to fight off the Hiss from her own mind.
Also you're totally right, the Bureau Alert missions can bugger right off.
What you mentioned about the Tape recordings and wishing you could listen to them while you walk around was basically exactly what Housemarque did with the Scout Logs in Returnal. I agree, it would have made the game feel far more fluid as there are quite a few (tho not quite as many as Returnal).
your reading of the supplemental portion of scp 696 is so magnus archives season 2.. chef kiss
I don’t think I can understate how absolutely blown away I was by the credits fakeout. Having experience with Remedy games, I was fully convinced that was the ending and I was gonna have to wait for a sequel for more information. Once I saw the credits start to crack with the hiss incantation, my mind was straight up blown. Absolutely insane.
Wait. Did you think the board gave Ahti the tape? Its an Old gods song about Jesse's life. They saw her future and wrote the song. Then they gave it to Ahti in his sauna in Watery Washington
Your little SCP clips in between sections were brilliant, especially the one about the chocolate at the end. You could rival The Volgan for how well you bring the scenarios to life through tone and background effects.
How do you only have 20k subs your reviews and critiques are so long and in depth
That means a lot. Thank you!
@@MontyZander literally keep up the great work with retrospectives like these you WILL make it big
Man your vids are so good!
I've seen a lot of people take issue with Jesse taking everything in stride and I totally get where everyone's coming from, but for me it added to the surrealist aspect and reminded me of Cronenberg's works where things are just weird and no one really seems to notice all that much. If something reminds me of Cronenberg, I'm usually extra forgiving of its flaws lol
A very good analysis of first 10 minutes. Love your work.Would love a critique of Hellblade-Senua's sacrifice.
You're in luck! I did a Critique on it a few months back. One of my favourites.
@@MontyZander Will definately check it out as well after this video. Thank you.
Makes me wanna jump back into the Control realm and go back on the exciting journey to finish this game. Thanks!!
If they tightened things up, made it like a 6-10 hours RE length kind of thing, would have worked perfectly.
I've returned to this video several times now and quite a few of those are just to hear you read out scp entries
I disagree with the hate for clarifying sub genres to be honest i like horror, but very specific types of horror. slowburn psychological horror with elements of older analog technology in either theme or medium of conveying the story.
Is way more annoying than "I like analog Horror in general. "
21:53 I _knew_ I recognized The Turing Test music! Thanks for confirming it in the descriptions, would've driven me crazy otherwise
1:25:15 very interesting theory! It lines up with the FBC noticing that there's been an increase in OOPs and AWEs over time, and though they aren't sure if that's just due to better awareness and detection, it could also be because of meddling Alan Wake is doing.
Personally, I completely agree about the upgrade system. I would propose simply unlocking weapon upgrades by finding failed OOPs. Since they are mostly concepts tied to objects, have some object that has the concept of force to add damage or of space to add range to explosions or something. Add upgrades as a continuation of the "weird" being mysterious but useful. Make them something to find instead of craft and maybe put a little cuts energy of a fading memory or something to up the mystery.
This game is a masterpiece in sci fi horror and weird fiction. I am in love with the way they presented everything. So damn creative and unique.
I think Jesse isnt the main character, the world is.
Neutral mask, hollow man, player proxy etc etc.
Lol.
Her character deisgn choice was perfect in my opinion. She's the Grey Woman.
The SCP description breaks in this video are golden, that last one got me LOL
That was wonderful! Really well assembled, well argued, well executed, and very thoughtful. Thank you so much for your time and effort!
Hey thank you so much!
@@MontyZander the audio logs and spliced footage were really nice touches too - felt like some really high production values. Hope you're proud of this one :)
Fuck your reads of the files were phenomenal, I'd listen to hours of your performances like these
''It's not an lake ..... It's an ocean!------ The sentence I'll never forget
For whatever reason, I bounced off Control really fast the first time I played it. Pretty sure that was 100% on my end though, just wasn't in the right mood or something. When I came back to it a few months later, it became one of my favorite games this side of the new millennium.
What I want is to really go deeper into the oldest house. What does it look like beyond the reach of the Bureau or the Mold or the Hiss? What factions lurk deep in the uncharted regions of the Bureaus so called headquarters?
Currently replaying Control in anticipation of AW 2 but just left this to say I'm super excited for your Lore Dump videos on the Remedy games specifically Alan Wake and Control these are games I just love and imo no one else is really doing at such a scale and quality.
Having played control, Alan wake, and quantum break. Control was the best in my opinion.
The section on Brutalist architecture was interesting! I noticed that you flashed many pictures of my hometown of Toronto. I didn't realize that it was a hotbed for that kind of architecture, but that does explain why the style feels so mundane and familiar to me.
A note for the tommasi fight, his dodge activates for launch attacks and gunfire. if you shoot first his dodge will be on cooldown, and you can launch after
I think the disassociation you are mentioning when it comes to Jesse is highly dependent on the given player.
I, for one, found her attitude incredibly relatable, and caught myself remembering that while watching X-Files, or reading SCP, I didn't find it to be alarmingly weird, I found it to be strangely alluring instead. Yeah, I would be actually scared had I come across the oldest house, but I *wouldn't want* to be scared, I would want to feel just like Jesse does. I want those places and paranormal situations to not only to be real, but to feel like home to me.
That, I think, is her entire characterization. She's not weirded out by the oldest house because she always wanted a place like that to be her home and there's a certain subset of players who would strongly relate to that feeling.
Looks like I chose the right time to subscribe!
Adding to your talk about naming things, if i remember correctly naming things also makes us feel a sense of control, hence why i think we started naming astroids and meteors, its these things that goes hundred of kilometres per hour, totally out of control, but now we have given it a name and can begin to predict its course, so in a sense we gain control over it even if just arbitrary. Btw great critiques just subbed!
1:24:46 "... We learn in the AWE DLC that Alan Wake probably created the Hiss ..."
I don't think this is true - I think Alan Wake gave the Hiss voice, made it louder and arguably stronger, to coincide with Jesse's arrival. Jesse would still have arrived, would still have become the Janitor's Assistant, and would have eventually gotten the Service Weapon.
Finally getting around to watching this one. I fuckin love your essays, man, please keep them going, and going, and going.
this channel is a gem
Small correction/clarification that absolutely does not detract from your point: "goot" game mechanics are slightly different from gacha mechanics, even when they sometimes overlap. Gacha is pretty explicitly gambling, where different items are given different rarities and chances to appear (50%, 20%, 1%, etc) and the player has to keep rerolling in order to get the desired outcome. While randomized loot is common in a lot of games, the word "gacha" to refer to a game's mechanics usually imply an exchange of real-life currency. The more money you feed the game, the more chances you get of getting the thing you want. Games where gacha is the primary mechanic (a lot of "free" mobile games like Genshin Impact, etc rely on the gacha system as their main form of income) are inherently really predatory, especially for young people and those prone to addiction, while "goot" mechanics are usually just super annoying XD Like I said no hate or anything, just noticed it and wanted to clarify for anyone curious