10th June 2019 IGN First Reveals First Thirteen Minutes of Control [Spoilers For The Beginning]

IGN is turning their attention to Control for their next IGN First feature! A little while ago, Joe Skrebels (UK Deputy Editor for IGN) and Simon Cardy (Video Producer for IGN) were given an exclusive sneak peek at what Remedy had in store for their next adventure. Throughout July, the website will be talking more about their eight-hour-long preview, plus releasing regular IGN-only content drops.

[Major spoilers for Control's opening below!]

First up is a video showcasing the first thirteen minutes of Control, which explores Jesse's motivations for being at the FBC, how she becomes the director, Objects of Power, and a little more about who exactly is in control of the organisation. In the same announcement, IGN also released a series of new screenshots. You can view the report in full, HERE.



Starting off the game, we hear Jesse Faden talk about her adventure in retrospect, similar to the start of Max Payne, Max Payne II, Alan Wake, and Quantum Break. The vibe from the dialogue is that it's similar to the 2016 title; potentially part of an interview or one side of a conversation rather than addressing the audience. Given the early introduction to her younger brother, Dylan, and his importance established within the first few minutes, it's possible that she's talking to him. (Although we will know for certain in August.)

Jesse, Internal. "Fair warning. This is going to be weird than usual. Can't be helped. You called me. So here I am. I know I shut you out sometimes. I'm always glad to hear from you. It's just that... I get my hopes up. So many times, it's led to nothing. I found nothing. It's like... we live in a room... and there's a poster on the wall. We stare at it and we think "that's the whole world"; the room and the poster. The picture is something nice, a landscape, a famous person, like in that movie... urgh, what is it call? The prison movie. The room's a cell and the pictures it's different for each of us; it can be beautiful or terrible but we're all transfixed. But it's all a lie; something to distract us from the truth. They're lying to us. We're lying to ourselves. The room's not the world, the world is much bigger and much stranger. There's a hole hidden behind that poster that leads to the real world. We all feel safe in that room. But sometimes, sometimes, something crawls out from behind the poster, and the ones that see it happen freak out and try to forget what they saw. I'm here. Why did you bring me here?"

Throughout the introduction, we see flashes of characters, including one previously not shown, played by actor Sean Durrie (Nick Masters in Quantum Break) who is wearing a prisoner outfit. We also see the FBC's former director dead on the ground, presumably a suicide.

New Control screenshot, posted by IGN. Check out their page HERE for more!

As the gameplay begins, we see Jesse step into the Federal Bureau of Control's reception. Its emptiness prompts her to investigate and try to find someone. In her search, she passes through a security section which appears to have been abandoned in an emergency. Bags are still left in the boxes, and a collectable narrative piece "Prohibited Items Reminder" rests on the machine.

She walks upstairs and gets attracted by a TV which suddenly switches on in the next room; it's static highlighting a folder with the FBC seal on it. Jesse sees the FBC logo “a long time ago” revealing that she sees it in her dreams. In the same room, an expenditure summary for executive sector Q2, reporting mould removal. Outside the room, and lining the corridor are oil paintings of Dr Casper Darling, Ahti, and Director Trench. Beyond is a set of offices and meeting rooms, the corridor is dark, only highlighted by the light spilling out from the meeting rooms and through the glass walls. Further along, Jesse comes across Ahti, the janitor, working in the dark and humming to himself. Interestingly, he is able to respond to her internal monologue. Believing that she is attending a job interview, he provides her with directions. As she enters the lift, the doors close behind her, the Control logo flashes on the screen.

Jesse, Internal. "The cell, and the poster. I was eleven years old when I first saw behind the poster. They told me I imagined it. I've been trying to pull it down ever since. Did I lose you there for a moment? You know what's on my mind. My baby brother. Dylan. Seventeen years since the men of this bureau took him."

She exits the lift and follows the corridor to the Director's Office. The location which is much grander, with a huge seal at the end above the door. As she approaches, she hears a loud bang coming from behind the door. As she opens it, she sees Director Trench dead on the floor surrounded by blood, in what looks to be a suicide.

New Control screenshot, posted by IGN. Check out their page HERE for more!

The Board. "Testing testing testing. We are broadcasting from the Pyramid/Other. Only the Director can wield. The Gun/Sword/Intentionally left blank. Your application will be processed."

Jesse is seen holding the service weapon to her head, mirroring Trench.

Jesse, Internal. "And there goes the poster."

The next few minutes is a series of fragmented scenes; we get shots of Trench, of Jesse, and a video recording of Dr Casper Darling played on a projector. 

Dr Darling. "Objects of Power can cause, or be results of, AWE; Altered World Events. Intrusions upon the procedural reality. Now, the service weapon is, of course, a prime example of an OOP, a very powerful one. Ingrained in the bureau's DNA, a key component in our prime candidate program; come out of that Russian Roulette a winner and you, you're it. "

The Board. "Only the Director can bind. The Service Weapon and Live/Die. This is your Ritual/Challenge. You must choose to be the Chosen One."

Jesse is transported to the "Astral Plane", a place made up of light and stone blocks forming a path. She is ordered to follow the Board’s instructions and complete the challenge. Faceless humanoid enemies emerge suddenly and she instinctively punches them. They immediately break apart, as if made of stone or coal. On a ledge she discovers the aforementioned Service Weapon hovering in mid-air, as her hand approach it, she struggles to remove it from its invisible grip, but successfully recovers it.

New Control screenshot, posted by IGN. Check out their page HERE for more!

The Board. "Bubblegum/Polaroid. All/None of the above. These are the Concepts/Tattoos we see in your Minds. The Service Weapon. It has many forms. Like the House/Prison you occupy. Destroy the Copies/Targets.

After shooting the enemies that emerge in the Astral Plane, a combat sequence that lasts several minutes as instructions appears on screen, the Board announces "You/We wield the Gun/You. The Board appoints you. Congratulations, Director."

As Jesse returns to the FBC Director's Office, she hears his voice, "something's coming. This threat. An attack. Duty as Director. Keep the Bureau safe." He remains still, unmoved and very dead on the floor, surrounded by his own blood. His voice is in her head.

Jesse. "Did you hear that? It’s the dead man. Right after the pyramid spoke to me, and it was just noise and.. I understood every word. And this gun's alive. You know what? I'm happy, happy to be here. Things have quieted down outside. Is it safe to go?"

As Jesse leaves the Director's Office, she is transported to another location, another corridor. There is a red hue everywhere, indicating the presence of the Hiss in the area. Bodies of former FBC employees are suspended in midair. A piercing scream sounds and Jesse covers her ears as the demo ends.

Posted in: IGN First 2019