Control: Ultimate Edition – (PS5/Xbox Series)
Back in 2019 I Reviewed Control on the PS4 and had some pretty nice things to say about it. Such as, “Remedy and 505 Games have made a confusing, engrossing and strangely approachable title…and I loved every damn minute of it” And “Well considered, impeccably balanced, yet still beautifully surreal – Control now sits atop of my 2019 Game of the Year list.”. Now we have Control Ultimate Edition.
The “Ultimate Edition” version for the next gen consoles has finally arrived and all my gushing statements stand. Control is still a brilliant, brilliant game. I played the Ultimate Edition on the PS5. It has been polished up to be even prettier and includes all the DLC packs; which I also reviewed and are very good as well.
Importantly, the PS5 version has addressed the major issue with the last-gen version of the game, its technical performance. Both its lighting and particle effects pushed the PS4 to its limit and frankly broke its back at times. Control suffered from massive frame drops, long loading times and momentary freezing coming out of menus.
The unbridled horse-power of the PS5 and the Series X have crushed those issues and now we have a silky smooth play experience at 1440p up-scaled to 4K. Controls performance is finally worthy of the stunning world envisioned by Remedy.
If I had to furnish a gripe at the next gen version, it’s the doleful splitting of the Ray-Tracing “Graphics Mode” and the 60 frames-per-second “Performance Mode”. I had to choose if I wanted pretty lighting and reflections OR butter smooth 60fps. I am no computer engineer and would never claim to understand the witch-craft that goes into making a Video Game. But in a brand-new, space age 2021 video game console the fact I have to choose feels a bit crap. (Que the PC master-race trolls)
It would be great if down the road Remedy would see fit to have a “Ray-tracing combined with 60fps mode”, but alas. That was shot down on twitter by Thomas Puha Remedy’s Communication Director.
“No. Not something our small team can do. We ensured the two modes we do offer are as good as they can be.”
But, with my entitled gamer gripe put to one side, Control “Ultimate Edition” is still a must play. It was in 2019 and it most certainly is now on the next-gen machines. In fact, with it coming to PS Plus for free in February, you literally have NO EXCUSE not to play this fantastic game.
