Control: The Foundation PlayStation 4 Pro Review

Control was already an outstanding science-fiction adventure. Full of impressive moments that has protagonist Jesse Faden diving deeper into the supernatural world. The Foundation is the first story expansion in Control's season pass and it doesn't disappoint. Providing an entirely new area to explore and builds on the existing story as Jesse takes on a new challenge that will leave her wondering if she can handle being the Director of the FBC.

Taking place after the events of the core campaign, Jesse receives a call from Helen Marshall who went missing during the main story. Jesse sets out to investigate the call and finds out that Helen went to the Foundation, the lowest point of The Oldest House. This top-secret area that is only known to a select few within the bureau. Turns out the Hiss have not only infiltrated the Foundation but are looking to capture a supernatural object called the Nail. And if things weren't already bad enough the Astral Plane is leaking through causing massive fractures within reality. Jesse must stop the Hiss from getting hold of the Nail while also stopping the Astral Plane from bleeding into her world.

If you loved the narrative within Control you'll enjoy finding all the secrets in this expansion. As you learn about the people who worked in the Foundation and the various things they've learned. There's still a significant amount of classified documents, so prepare for a lot of reading. Most importantly this is the first official mission for Jesse since taking on the role of director. At first, Jesse is confident in her ability to solve any issue but as the adventure goes on she becomes more uncertain as the weight of her role starts to fully manifest. The ending won't appeal to everyone but considering this is 1 of multiple adventures this beginning had me hooked.

The Foundation is an entirely new area full of hidden secrets and new Objects of Power to cleanse. The main adventure is about 5-hours long and provides much of the same experience of the core campaign. Along with new enemies to deal with and powers to obtain. Jesse will gain the ability to manipulate crystals called Shape found in the Foundation and use them in both platforming and combat. In addition, Jesse has a new Shield Bash ability which works wonders against when you want to smash someone who's right in your face. Jesse can also call on Rangers in specific areas to aid her in fighting, which is great and works to complement the game's setting. After all, Jesse is the Director and having her call on fellow agents to aid in missions makes sense.

It becomes incredibly obvious that the Service Weapon is mostly obsolete after playing this campaign. In comparison to Jesse's powers, the Service Weapon is very weak and can barely take down enemies with an entire clip unless you're using the Pierce or Charge mod. Any other mod serves nothing more than a way to weaken enemies to be seized.

Once you complete the main campaign there are 3 major side missions to take on. The best one has you traveling through a dark cave and using an Object of Power to repel hostile enemies while lighting your way. It's one of the best side missions I've played in Control and forced me to rely on my platforming skills rather than blasting my way through hordes of enemies.

The puzzles are basic busy work and can be vexing at times. During the 1 of the missions you had to destroy some Hiss Nodes but 1 of which was behind a gate. It took me 10 minutes to figure out that you have to use the Shield Throwing ability to destroy it despite never having a situation similar to this. Another comes in these globe puzzles where you have to use Jesse's Shape ability to destroy and reforge crystals. The issue is that your Service Weapon isn't powerful enough and often needs 2 charges to completely clear the crystals and if you're not quick enough they'll grow back. It seems trivial but it becomes very annoying very quickly as you destroy and rebuild only for the entire process to be restarted.

Control: The Foundation is an outstanding start to Remedy Entertainment's post-launch campaigns. It provides the same great experience from the core campaign with 3-5 more hours of Control. The ending was a bit of a tease but hopefully, the next part will make the finale more fulfilling. The puzzles are the low point the expansion but if you loved Control than you can't go wrong with The Foundation.
 

Adam Siddiqui,
Senior Editor, NoobFeed
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