Control's photo mode arrives tomorrow

(Image credit: Remedy Entertainment)

I finally finished Control last night and even though I'm still trying to process what the hell actually happened, I feel confident saying that if Remedy wants to just go ahead and make more Control games for the rest of time, that's perfectly fine with me. For now, though, it's continuing to work on the original game, an ongoing process that will bring us the addition of a photo mode in a free update coming tomorrow.

We lamented the absence of a photo mode when it was announced in September, and for good reason. Despite being entirely indoors, Control's weird world offers some spectacular opportunities for digital photographers. 

"With its Brutalist hallways, big open spaces and strange things creeping in from other dimensions, Control has a very striking aesthetic. Every sector of the Bureau has a unique look and color palette. Not to mention that Jesse’s supernatural abilities can leave a devastating effect on the environment and the Hiss-corrupted enemies," Remedy said on the PlayStation Blog.

"Considering all these strong visuals, there was no question that a photo mode was something we needed to do for Control. It’s a chance for you to express your creativity, and put your mark on the world we’ve built by capturing the moments that matter to you."

The photo mode will support adjustable field of view, focal distance, and aperture settings, and will also offer ten different filters to play with and options to hide Jesse, other characters, or both, for the clearest possible view of the interiors of the Oldest House. And while the announcement was made on the PlayStation Blog, Remedy confirmed on Twitter that photo mode is coming to all platforms.

Remedy also said that a new gameplay mode called Expeditions is coming at the end of the year. Players will need to complete specific objectives within time limits in order to earn "powerful rewards," but it won't be easy: "Every Expedition that Jesse undertakes will come with different modifiers that make the encounter extra tricky," it said.

Personally, I'm more interested in diving back into the story than grinding for mods (What happened to Marshall? Where is Darling? Why is Ahti?) but that's coming too: Remedy is currently working on two "full, paid expansions" for Control, The Foundation and AWE, both of which are expected to be out sometime next year.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Latest in Adventure
The character takes a test in a school room.
Expelled! review
Max, protagonist of Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Double Exposure, stares with trepidation at something off-screen with her friend.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure reportedly a 'large loss' for Square Enix, says analyst, who adds: 'The company's IP fundamentally varies too much between good and bad'
Inside
Limbo and Inside studio demands compensation from co-founder Dino Patti for alleged 'unauthorized use of Playdead's trademarks and copyrighted works'
Two characters sitting on a bench talking
Wanderstop review
Zoe showing off in front of Mio
Split Fiction review
Rusty Rabbit chomping a carrot like a cigar
Rusty Rabbit turns Yakuza's Kazuma Kiryu into a fluffy bunny
Latest in News
The jester from Balatro, portrayed in unsettling detail in real life, wears an uncanny smile and stares at the viewer.
PC Gamer vindicated by Swen Vincke: Larian boss calls Balatro his personal GOTY as it sweeps top prize from devs at GDC awards
Koana, a main character in Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, stares thoughtfully at a book in his hands.
After a controversial coding slip-up fed stalkers info on their victim's alts, FF14 wipes the slate clean to try and fix its mistakes
An edited Microsoft/Steam logo, illustrating the potential future integration Microsoft has for an Xbox app.
Microsoft crawls back to Steam ahead of schedule by leaking a screenshot of an app where you can launch Steam games through Xbox
An MSI Vanguard RTX 5080 launch edition next to a Dragon Lucky figurine
You can win an MSI RTX 5080 in Taiwan if you collect nine dragon figurines given away with *checks notes* MSI RTX 50-series GPUs
Dancouga blasting the heck out of Mazinger Z in crossover mecha fighter Iron Saga VS
This fighter is Marvel Vs Capcom for classic mecha anime sickos, launching into early access with a strategy RPG story mode on its heels
Screenshots from Half-Life 2 RTX, showing the various new effects delivered by full ray tracing and enhanced assets.
Microsoft announces DirectX Raytracing 1.2 claiming 'game changing' performance benefits but it looks like the important stuff is already in Nvidia's RTX GPUs, even the old ones