In 1964, an investigation into an "altered world event" in New York City's subway tunnels led to the discovery of The Oldest House. From the outside, it's a nondescript building, typical of the time and place. Inside, as Remedy revealed today in a new game world trailer for Control, it's something else entirely.
The Oldest House is a "place of power," Federal Bureau of Control director Max Payne—sorry, Zacharia Trench—says in the video, that "breaks the laws of our reality: unstable, mad, and shifting." In rooms called Thresholds, other dimensions leak into our own, bringing unknown, sometimes hostile forces into this world.
"These forces gravitate toward everyday objects: a gun, a television, a house with a reputation of being haunted. So, somehow, we affect these events. We're holding the key but we don't have a clue on how to use it," Payne—sorry, sorry, Trench—says.
"But there's something in us, in the dreams we dream, in the conceptual reality we power with our minds. What's the cause and what's the effect? Are we the starting point, or just a necessary evil in this? We're dealing with dangerous, unknown forces here. We're on a mission to find answers to these questions—or we die trying."
I'm willing to admit that I have no idea what he's talking about, but it's weird and definitely not good. Fortunately, Andy laid it all out in a much more detailed preview in November. Control will feature many familiar elements of Remedy games, including a strong narrative focus and a dark surreality, but will take place in a sandbox-like environment rather than over a linear story, with the Oldest House serving as a hub for missions that will unlock as you progress through the game.
The House itself has been largely overtaken by the Hiss, one of those threatening, other-dimensional powers (they're the cree-heepy floating guys in the trailer), an incursion that's somehow the result of Trench's failure as a director. Now it's up to you, as new Bureau director Jesse Faden, to put things right.
Control is currently slated to come out in 2019. Hit up controlgame.com to find out more.
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