Control: The Foundation

Are you waiting for an answer? So get ready, because you will also have new questions.

 

It took several months, but Control's first expansion is finally available for PC and PS4 - unfortunately Xbox players will have to wait until the end of June, due to an exclusive agreement that benefits no one. The Foundation is the first of two story expansions that Remedy will launch for Control, and is available for sale separately for € 14.99, or as part of the expansion pass, which costs € 24.99.
AWE will be the second expansion, and everything indicates that it will have connections to Alan Wake, which seems extremely interesting, but for now, let's focus on The Foundation.

How does the expansion works?

The expansion can only be played after finishing the main story of the game, and as the name implies, it will take players to the foundation of the Old House. Jesse Fayden, more comfortable in her role as Director of the Department, is sent by the Council to the Foundation, to try to solve a terrible problem. The Astral Plane is overflowing into our dimension through an object identified as Prego, and unless Jesse manages to stop the process, it could imply the end of the Old House and possibly the world. During his foray to the Foundation, Jesse also learns that Helen Marshal, missing during the first game, is somewhere at the Foundation, and will do anything to find her. We will not reveal any more specific details of the story, but we can say that you will discover new details about the Old House, the Council, and the selection process for Directors.

These answers, however, usually bring even more questions, which means that you should not expect everything explained by Remedy. Control's story was quite abstract and mysterious, and the same is true of The Foundation, which we like.

The game offers just enough for players to speculate about this strange world, leaving many details open to interpretation. The guiding thread of the story is presented directly, with cinematic sequences and dialogues, but as it happened in the base game, you will also have many opportunities to enrich your knowledge of this world through audio files and documents.

You can read the description of strange events and occurrences, as if they were little parallel stories. All of this, of course, is optional, but if you are ignoring Control documents and files, then you are missing one of its best elements.


The Foundation is divided into a series of new areas, divided into caves, scientific camps, and sections in the Astral Plane. There are some interesting locations, and one or another area that is genuinely impressive, but doesn't quite match the best zones and sequences in the base game. We agree that it was not easy, considering that the Labyrinth of the Ashtray was one of the best gaming moments of 2019, but it is still slightly disappointing.


The expansion also introduces two new powers, which can only be used at the Foundation. 
The powers involve expanding or breaking crystals attached to the walls, ceiling, and floor of the levels, although initially you only have access to one of them.
You can choose which of the two powers you will receive first, which will allow you to access some places, but to access the others you will need to revisit the areas after acquiring the second power.

These powers are mainly used for sequences of platforms, especially the power to expand crystals, but they are also useful in combat, since it can hit enemies with crystals, or literally destroy the ground under your feet. These are fun powers that add some extra depth to combat, although the biggest draw is the opportunity to continue using base powers, such as levitation, pitch, and shield - which has been improved.