PLATFORM: PC, PS4, XBOX ONE | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Control is something of an underappreciated gem from 2019 – we gave it 8 out of 10 at the time (here!), although it seems that some of the technical hitches that held it back a bit have since been addressed, so perhaps it’s more deserving of a slightly higher score now. Either way, it would have been somewhere near the top end of our 2019 “games of the year” list if we’d bothered to do one. Its first major story expansion, The Foundation, was released a few months ago on PC and PS4, and is now also available to Xbox One owners.
Following immediately on from the end of the main game (you need to complete the story before you can access the DLC), players rejoin Jesse Faden as she investigates a new threat that has emerged in an ancient unmapped network of caverns deep below the Oldest House. Returning to Control for the first time since last summer, it remains a wonderfully offbeat world perfectly suited to Jesse’s supernatural abilities. You’re given several objectives that can be completed in any order, so you’re effectively free to spend your time with The Foundation in whatever way you see fit. A handful of new enemies and a couple of new abilities and mods lend some extra excitement to Jesse’s journey, and the story that unfolds adds some intriguing lore to the game’s overall narrative.
It’s superbly presented, just as the main game is, and looks tremendous with huge stark cliffs and canyons that contrast nicely with the deep red sandy ground. The Foundation adds around 3-4 hours of content that expand both the gameplay and the narrative in really pleasing ways – if you enjoyed what you’ve already played and have a hankering for more, this DLC is exactly what you’ve been hoping for.
