Control

Lore & Background

The Federal Bureau of Control is a secret U.S. government agency tasked with investigating, containing, and studying paranormal phenomena. Its headquarters, the Oldest House, is a Brutalist skyscraper that exists in a shifting, non-Euclidean space, accessible only to those with a certain paranatural aptitude—everyone else just sees a run-down office building. The Bureau's history is steeped in experiments with altered items, Objects of Power, and the Astral Plane—a dimension of pure thought and energy where floating pyramids talk to you. Jesse Faden arrives at the Oldest House seeking answers about her brother Dylan's disappearance years prior, an event tied to an FBC experiment called the Ordinary AWE (Altered World Event). She soon discovers she is the new Director, chosen by the Board—a mysterious entity from the Astral Plane that communicates through floating, glowing text—and wields the Service Weapon, a shape-shifting firearm that can morph into a pistol, shotgun, sniper rifle, and grenade launcher, and is both key and tool. The Hiss, a resonant parasitic entity that sounds like a broken radio and speaks in poetry, has invaded the Oldest House, corrupting FBC personnel and reality itself, and Jesse must navigate this chaotic, bureaucratic nightmare to reclaim control—one flying desk at a time.

In Their Own Story

The air in the Executive Sector hums with a low, wrong frequency. Jesse Faden steps over the body of a former agent, their eyes glowing a dull red. The Hiss whispers in her mind, a chorus of broken words. She grips the Service Weapon, its weight familiar now. A desk phone rings—impossibly, it's still connected to the Hotline. She answers. A voice, not quite human, speaks: 'Director, the Board is watching. The Astral Plane is waiting. Find the anchors. Stop the song.' The line goes dead. Jesse looks up at the flickering fluorescent lights, the walls breathing slightly. Somewhere in this labyrinth, Dylan is waiting. Or the Hiss has already taken him.

Reader's Guide

Control's campaign follows Jesse Faden as she enters the Oldest House, which has been overrun by the Hiss—a malevolent, psychic resonance that corrupts all it touches, turning agents into floating, chanting zombies. She is immediately appointed Director by the Board, a collective of entities from the Astral Plane, and gains the Service Weapon. The story unfolds through main missions that involve exploring distinct sectors of the Bureau—Maintenance, Research, and Containment—each with its own altered world events and Objects of Power, like a rubber duck that causes reality to glitch. Key plot points include Jesse's quest to find her brother Dylan, who was taken by the FBC years ago and is now a central figure in the Hiss invasion. She encounters allies like Ahti, the janitor who may be a god in coveralls, and Dr. Casper Darling, whose recordings provide crucial lore—and a growing sense of dread. The narrative culminates in a confrontation with the Hiss's source, the Hedron resonance, and a choice regarding Dylan's fate. The campaign also features the Ashtray Maze, a legendary sequence where Jesse fights through a shifting labyrinth set to a thumping rock track—easily one of the most memorable moments in gaming.

Did You Know?

• The Oldest House is based on the real-life AT&T Long Lines Building in New York City, a Brutalist skyscraper that is famously windowless, a feature the game's version faithfully replicates.
• The game's map is deliberately disorienting, with rooms and corridors shifting between visits, reflecting the building's paranormal nature.
• Jesse's psychic abilities are tied to Objects of Power, which are based on real-world paranormal concepts like the 'Ashtray Maze' and 'Flaming Eye.'
• The Hiss incantation, a recurring chant in the game, was written as a form of 'language poetry' by Remedy's narrative team.