Fresh off the Hotline, directors Ben and Tao uncover the mysteries of the Oldest House and resist the Hiss, all while clearing out a serious Mold infection in Remedy’s third person shooter, Control. (Yes, Ben does take Issue with the Lazy Naming Convention of all those Proper Nouns.) Subjects include why gaming tropes are so persistent, the power of actors to make or break a game, and if criticising female characters risks you getting labeled a chauvinist. Heavy spoilers from around half way through.
Content Warning: PEGI 12. Some strong language. Creepy kids videos. Disembodied voices.
Clarifications:
Remedy also released Alan Wake’s American Nightmare in 2012.
Dr Casper Darling is played by Matthew Poretta. He also voiced Alan Wake and starred in Robin Hood: Men In Tights
The music for the Ashtray Maze is by Old Gods of Asgard - ‘Take Control’
The last game we talked about was Outer Wilds, not Outer Worlds! God damn…
Greedfall (our next game to be reviewed) is by developer Spiders. They’ve been around since 2009 and Greedfall is their 8th game.
Audio extracts:
Barton Fink (1991) - Coen Brothers film
Lost - TV series intro
Old Gods of Asgard - ‘Take Control’
‘Time’ by Hans Zimmer, from Inception
Max Payne theme by Kärtsy Hatakka & Kimmo Kajasto
Keymaker scene from The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
The Witcher 3
‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams
Popeye theme song
E8 Control