050
process. Control itself has been in
development for at least three years,
with even the rough demo version we
play exhibiting a high level of polish
and stability. It helps that we cannot
die in this early demonstration as
heavily armoured enemies lob
explosives, bullets, and worse at Jesse.
And, as she descends into the ‘new
weird’ world of the Oldest House and
the Federal Bureau Of Control that’s
set up its base of operations within, it
can get a lot worse.HISS ME DEADLY
After a strange event in her childhood
Jesse Faden visits the Bureau, an
organisation committed to the study
and containment of forces that
humans should possibly not attempt
to restrain or even understand.
Shortly after she arrives, bizarre
creatures called the Hiss invade,
capturing, possessing, and killing
many of its employees – including
the organisation’s leaders. Without aCONTROL
short bus ride from the coast,
capped in Finnish snow, lie many
worlds within one location. Remedy
Entertainment emerged from the
early ’90s demo scene; two decades
later it’s the place Max Payne and
PC’s Alan Wake call home. The
studio is now preparing to welcome
a new member to the family: the
telekinetic protagonist of Control,
Jesse Faden.
At Remedy more than 200
employees work on a range of projects
at any one time. The team responsible
for making Control takes up the better
part of an entire floor within the
firm’s Espoo offices, and our hands-on
takes place in a room containing a
delightfully esoteric mural, complete
with crumpled notes covered in
cryptic scrawls.
Control is built using
Remedy’s in-house
Northlight engine, like
many of the studio’s titles
–though we are told
during our visit that a
small team of six
is currently
working on an
experimental
co-op project
called Vanguard,
which uses Unreal
Engine 4. The studio
also hopes to move
towards a yearly
release schedule, a
dramatic change in
direction from
Alan Wake’s
five-year-long
development