I don’t mean to imply that I need every question answered - I appreciated that there is a deep sense of mystery shrouding pretty much everything the Bureau does, and answering too many questions would ruin its mystique. I enjoyed reading the heavily redacted documents I came across - one of the first ones I found was a recommendation on how to write a letter to family of someone who was killed in action. It mentioned several words that should be steered clear of - and one of them was ‘Alaska’. Why Alaska? What does that have to do with anything? No idea, but it was fun to speculate.
But the board was so central to everything, and weaved into pretty much everything you do in the game, that I was a little surprised how little we actually learn about what it is, why it is, what it’s doing. I did enjoy discovering that one of the bosses you fight in the main game shows up as a potential ally and splinter from the board in the Foundation expansion. I would love to see more details like this, but I imagine this is being teed up for the inevitable sequel.
Oh, you may well be right. I do remember the board feeling very… random at the start. Like, we’re just not gonna talk about this at all, really? Cool, I guess. BUT they upgraded my gun for me, and thus tapped into a very special place in my heart previously reserved exclusively for the completely inexplicable ‘WHATRE YE SELLIN’ guy from Resident Evil 4.
Apparently I’m willing to let go a significant amount of side-eye for deus ex machineguns.
Anyway, I didn’t play the DLC of Control (though I own it, one of my many gaming to-dos), did the board make much of an appearance in that? Seems you still found it dissatisfying in that regard anyway.
I won’t go into the details should you ever decide that you want to try out either DLC, it’s mainly that I found it interesting that a secretive agency whose purpose is to discover, investigate and control (ha) these astral devices/events/entities, is in fact itself controlled by one of these entities. And nobody seems to think anything of it, it’s just accepted as how things work. Not a lot was really done with this but, again, maybe that’s just being set up for a future game.
My understanding is the Oldest House exists in quantum spacetime with thresholds to other planescapes with the janitor being a kind of paranormal caretaker who has always existed within the Oldest House. The rest of the characters are visitors. I think the board is just another entity from another plane that has involved itself in the Oldest House/FBC affairs.
I guess I’m just curious as to why. Why does the board want to meddle in the affairs of people? Why and how does the board select a new director? Along those lines, why is everybody in the bureau ok when someone just walks in off the street picks up the director’s gun and is now in charge of everything? I get that there’s a certain attitude of ‘shit happens’ in the day-to-day existence of the Bureau, but we’re talking someone with no experience or any real knowledge about how things work in the Bureau nor how to lead them. I’m not sure if I’m expected to just roll with this, because it’s a game, or if they’re laying the foundation to tell these stories down the road. I guess I’m ok either way, just seems like the game kind of ended with a whimper for me.
I think there was a certain mythos about the gun, and that people it finds… wanting, it just forces them to kill themselves with it. So that bit at least makes some sense - FBC members appear somewhat indoctrinated into the idea that who wields it is also wielded by it, and that even a rando off the street deserves the role just by surviving ‘selection’.
(of course that doesn’t get into to the why of them surviving selection)
He does, but then again, she was designated as a prime candidate years ago too. So when I say that she walked in off the street and took the job that’s not really true; they’ve been tracking her for years since the Ordinary event, they all knew who she was so I guess they weren’t really all that surprised when she came in and assumed the director position. But then if they know that’s a possibility wouldn’t it make sense to prepare her, or Dylan? I guess it’s just a very ‘on the job training’ kind of gig.
IIRC It’s the Board that provides the service weapon to appoint a new director, so maybe if the director becomes unfit, then the service weapon kills them (by any means) and it passes on to a new director.
I may have missed something that spelled out his ultimate fate, but I got the impression from what Emily said that Northmoor met an unfortunate end. But that may have just meant he was fired.
It’s explained in one of the Hotlines and maybe a few redacted documents. His obsession was with power, and he got it: he’s powering The Oldest House from the NSC–the Northmoor Sarcophagus Container.
I missed it the first time through because I didn’t realize that the Hotline videos that you see out in the world are abbreviated versions of the ones you watch through the menu.
I didn’t think that is how the position always changes. You may simply retire.
Trench caused the Hiss invasion and needed to be removed from his position by force. And a new director was needed post-haste to combat the new threat.
I can’t stand this game. Luckily I Played it using family sharing, but steam in it’s wisdom, won’t let me publish a review.
It is so oppressive and downbeat and from reading others in this thread, it doesn’t improve. The enemies just gain more HP with each level and I find this very repetitive. And while I think the push / pull / throw ability is cool, it’s not enough to keep me interested after 7 hours of play.
After coming off Dishonored 2 and Horizon Zero Dawn, which are both so much better than this it’s not even funny, I can’t help but think my enjoyment with those games highlight how poor of a game Control is.
And the map in Control sucks balls. I wasted way too much time just trying to navigate to somewhere and hit way too many dead ends.
The setting made up for the repetitive and overly difficult combat for me. And then the setting kept on making me enjoy the game more and more. But then I also enjoyed the exploration of the Oldest House and you clearly did not.
