Mothergamer Plays Control And It's Spooky Fun

  I had never played Control so I did not know what I was in for, but I was ready to check it out. Control is based on the SCP Foundation stories which I thought was interesting and piqued my curiosity. Right from the start I was able to make the game more accessible for myself with subtitles, adjusting the audio, and tweaking the controls so the game would be easier for me to play. I always appreciate it when games are accessible for everyone. Control introduces us to the Federal Bureau Of Control (FBC) which investigates supernatural altered world events. The start of the story also introduces us to Jesse Faden who arrives at the FBC building looking for her brother who she hasn't seen for seventeen years led by an entity in her head called Polaris. Control is a slow burn because as you enter the building it seems perfectly normal at first, but then you notice things that are unsettling such as the complete lack of people and rooms that have been destroyed. It causes you to wonder, where did everyone go? Why are rooms destroyed? As the initial introduction to the story progresses Jesse finds the body of the director of the FBC and something dictates to her to pick up the service weapon and become the next director. It is so weird to see Jesse transported to an astral plane where a strange black pyramid called The Board telling her she's in charge. It's surreal how the normal and strange blend together in Control like this, but it works beautifully. 

Meeting Jesse Faden. 

When Jesse leaves the astral plane she is attacked by agents that have this eerie orange glow surrounding them. It turns out the agents are possessed by something called the Hiss and the FBC has been compromised by them and the building is under an emergency lockdown until they deal with the threat. This is where for me Control becomes a lot of fun because Jesse has abilities like telekinesis which come in handy fighting Hiss enemies. She also has other powers like being able to levitate which helped if a fight got too dicey for me and I could get myself out of there and attack from a distance turning the tide of battle in my favor. Jesse's service weapon helps a lot too because you can modify it with upgrades. I went for a sniper style which worked for me because I did not like to get too close to the Hiss enemies. 

Jesse levitates and battles some Hiss. 

You can also upgrade Jesse's abilities as she levels up, making them stronger as well as increasing her health meter. This helps a lot with fighting the Hiss standard enemies and quite a few bosses. Telekinesis was my personal favorite ability and I upgraded it a lot along with the other abilities. Exploring the building could be unnerving because I never knew what was going to come out from which room. I love horror movies and games, but I'm a big chicken when it comes to these things. Best jump scare for me was a Hiss coming out of an elevator when I least expected it. The game definitely keeps you on your toes as you explore. I also found the files, videos, and tapes that Jesse found throughout the building during her search fascinating. Each one described supernatural things that couldn't be explained like a light switch that transported people to a hotel in a desert or an x-ray machine that hypnotized people. There were also some interesting videos from an FBC researcher, Casper Darling. Darling would talk about things like how the Oldest House as the building is called works with different dimensions or being excited describing how certain items had abilities that humans couldn't really explain. These things added that extra layer of mystery to Control and it was great.

Upgrading abilities. 

The building itself is huge and each area could be confusing at first because it is a paranormal building so there would be dead ends or rooms that had nothing at all. The map helped a bit, but sometimes there were puzzles you had to solve in order to unlock new areas. It took me a little bit of time to figure some of those puzzles out, but once I did I was excited to see where the new area led me. The biggest lifesaver in the game is fast travel. Jesse can find what are known as control areas and from there she can fast travel to other spots like it in different areas in the building. I was grateful for this because there are a few moments in the story and with various side quests where you do a lot of back and forth to areas you've already visited. Fast travel made all of that easier. 

Fast travel spot found. 

I couldn't write about Control without talking about Ahti. I was fascinated by Ahti who looks like a Finnish man and is the janitor of the building. The first time I met him I wondered where he had come from. He called Jesse his assistant and would swear in Finnish or use Finnish sayings while talking to her. Jesse can help Ahti with various tasks that he asks her to do such as starting coolant pumps to stop a meltdown or talking to plants to cheer them up. Ahti didn't seem threatening. In fact, he seemed quite charming in an odd way, but as I spoke to him more and more I definitely got the impression that he was not human especially since he could do things like talk to Jesse telepathically and sometimes would talk to Polaris also. He could move throughout the building freely and didn't seem vulnerable to the Hiss. It caused me to wonder if it was possible Ahti was a Finnish god. I genuinely liked Ahti and Martti Susosalo did an amazing job portraying him. 

Ahti the janitor. Or is he a Finnish god? 

While Ahti was my personal favorite, there are a lot of interesting characters in Control that Jesse meets who help her after she helps them and it makes complete sense that they work at the FBC. Emily Pope for one is full of information and is also a researcher. She's very smart and she seems to really want to help Jesse and learn about her as well. She's a little awkward, but she's sincere which shows in a lot of conversations with Jesse. There was also Helena Marshall who was no nonsense, but she was smart and wanted to protect everyone. There are also some side quests with some of the supernatural objects in the FBC like a fridge that has to be constantly watched. With each of these quests Jesse is transported to the astral plane and has to pass a test or a battle for each one. The writing in Control is smartly done with the right mix of mystery, unsettling, and humor. It made the story great because each layer adds depth to the characters, experience, and world building. 

Watching a supernatural fridge. 

There were a couple issues I had with the game however. One of the biggest issues was the game crashing after a couple hours of playing. I was playing this game on PS4, so I had to look up things regarding the game crashing. I tested other games and no crashes, just this one. Game crashes happen of course, but it got very frustrating to have to redo an entire quest line because of it. There was also a game breaking bug in a main story quest. I had to talk to an NPC and it wouldn't let me and we just stood there staring at each other. The only way to fix it was to quit the game, and select the chapter to play again from the beginning, and then it worked. The game has been out for at least a year or more and frankly there is no excuse to not patch and repair that issue. The good news is that seems to be the only bug I ran into and I was able to keep going forward with the story. 

I became invested in the story with Control, wanting to know the answers to every single mystery and wanting to find each secret. The great writing, intriguing premise, and well thought out characters made Control a really fantastic adventure that kept me playing, wanting to know more even when I was tense because of all the spooky fun. I'm so glad I checked it out because of that great storytelling. 

This was a spooky fun time! 

*Control is available to play on the following platforms: PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch

*Come join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

 

Tales Of Arise: An Amazing Adventure

 I am a big Tales Of fan so I was excited for a brand new Tales game when Tales Of Arise was announced. I have played all the Tales games and have enjoyed them all with a couple personal favorites being Symphonia and Vesperia. When I started Tales Of Arise, I was blown away by how great it was right from the start. It felt like new life had been breathed into the Tales series. The accessibility for the game is great  ranging from being able to adjust the difficulty setting, to being able to adjust the size of the subtitles. 

 The story for Arise sets up the events for the worlds of Rena and Dahna explaining that the Renans invaded Dahna and conquered the Dahnan people and enslaved them 300 years ago and the Renans have been in control ever since. This is where we are introduced to Alphen a Dahnan slave in an iron mask who has no memories of his past and can't feel pain. Alphen is charming, kind, and helpful going out of his way to be a protector to his fellow slaves. This initial introduction gives you a feel for the game controls, how the mini map works, and how to track quests. It's fairly straightforward and easy to follow. 

Meeting Alphen for the first time. 

After a certain point at the start of the story Alphen meets Shionne a Renan woman who can't be physically touched because of magic thorns that erupt from her body and attack making the person feel like they're being struck by lightning repeatedly. Alphen and Shionne share the lead role and it was quite interesting to see how they went from working together out of necessity to becoming close friends over time. This is where Arise really takes off as Alphen and Shionne explore the world of Dahna, seeing different cities, meeting people who become allies, and understanding that each person has things that they're going through and trying to navigate it to grow and be better. Exploring the world in Arise was incredible because no two areas were alike. Each place had its own beauty and style which really made me appreciate the wonderful art work in Arise.

Alphen admires a snowy vista. 

I loved all of the characters in Arise. Each one brought a unique perspective throughout the story because of their experiences and strive towards learning how to cope with the painful things and working together to move forward to build a better world while holding onto hope. Throughout the story Arise touches upon the horrors of war, the inhumanity of slavery, and recognizing one's own privilege and how to address it and learn what they can do to help. Those seem like such heavy topics for a JRPG like Arise, but it is done in a mindful and thought provoking manner that raises valid points and allows each of the characters to explore this organically in their various conversations and skit conversations  during their journey. 

The combat in Arise is fantastic and the small changes that were made are subtle, but really make the combat shine and still feel like a Tales game. Party members can now link with each other and do combo attacks on enemies. Each character has their own specific skill that is mapped to the d-pad and can be used to counterattack enemy actions. For example, Kisara has an ability that blocks an enemy charging and stops them in their tracks or Law has an ability that can punch through a shielded enemy so the team can unleash a ton of damage on them. The arte and mystic artes abilities are still there and you can adjust them and change them out to what you like. Level grinding doesn't feel like a chore simply because the combat is so much fun. 

Taking down enemies is fun in Arise. 

The main story isn't the only thing to do of course. What would a Tales game be without cooking? Each character can take turns cooking at camp or an inn before resting. This also allows everyone a chance to talk to each other and bond. Alphen can choose a person to hang out with and this strengthens his friendships with each person unlocking new artes for them. There are side quests to do ranging from fighting challenging monsters to finding certain items for people. There is also a collectable quest in the form of adorable owls. As you travel through Dahna, each area has owls that you really have to search for because some are hidden very well. This unlocks some really nice rewards with fun outfits for everyone as well as some recipes for cooking. The one side thing that really got my attention was the fishing mini game. Yes, you can fish in Tales Of Arise and it is such a good time. I became obsessed with catching every single type of fish there was in all of Dahna in order to unlock better fishing rods, lures, rewards, and bragging rights. There are boss fish that are quite challenging, but I enjoyed myself with all of it. Catching a boss fish in the game felt great and you get some cool extra skits with Kisara who does all the fishing in the game. 

Showing off our boss fish catch!

Arise is a big game and with me doing absolutely everything I could find in the game, I clocked in about 75 hours by the time I was finished. There is a new game plus which allows you to start the game over with all your levels, items, and artes unlocked. The story is beautifully told and I loved each character because they felt real and I cared about all their stories. The writing is so well done it made me care about all of them. Their are moments of humor that had me laughing and even the side quests themselves brought an extra layer to the story and for some of the characters added more depth to their personal stories. With combat that feels fresh and a story that has so many incredible surprises, Tales Of Arise is an amazing adventure that is absolutely worth your time.

A spectacular view. 

*Tales Of Arise is available to play on the following platforms: Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

*Come hang out with our community as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer