Control vs. FBC: Firebreak

It has been several years since Remedy Entertainment announced its work-in-progress on a spinoff for the 2019 award-winning game Control. That spinoff, previously code-named Condor, was recently announced as FBC: Firebreak at an Xbox Partner Preview event earlier this month. The game is currently (2024) under development and will launch in 2025. However, its announcement has provided enough details to give a good idea of what to expect. FBC: Firebreak will stand out from Control and other games from Remedy Entertainment in many notable ways. However, it also shares a few crucial similarities with Control. Here is a comprehensive comparison of Control vs. FBC: Firebreak. 

What is Control?

Control is a third-person action-adventure game from Remedy Entertainment. It is popular for its quite disturbing atmospheric setting. The setting includes a paranormal world with strange and unsettling occurrences like floating objects, teleportation, and overall unpredictable environments. The game blends various gameplay aspects, including a surreal adventure, intense combat, intriguing storytelling, and a few creative puzzles. Players explore the paranormal world as they fight an ominous enemy called the Hiss. Notably, the game has bagged over 80 awards since launching in 2019. 

What is FBC: Firebreak?

FBC: Firebreak is a first-person multiplayer shooter currently under development by Remedy Entertainment. Interestingly, it is a significant departure from other games by Remedy Entertainment, which seems to focus on third-person, single-player games. Game director Mike Kayatta noted this during the game’s announcement: “The narrative style you’ve seen in our previous games just wasn’t ever going to work here for this kind of game.” 

Notably, while the game is designed as a stand-alone experience, it is also a spinoff of Control and is set in the same world. Kayatta added the following: “That said, you will see more of Control’s world. More of the Federal Bureau of Control. Meet more of the people who work there. Explore more of the Oldest House. Run into more weird stuff. And importantly, experience this world, old and new, from a completely different perspective.” 

Story

The plots of Control and FBC: Firebreak are set in the same universe and based on a similar concept: fighting otherworldly monsters threatening to invade the world through the Oldest House. Furthermore, they are intertwined. Notably, the story in FBC: Firebreak takes place after the events in Control. 

The story in Control revolves around Jesse Faden, the game’s hero, and the Hiss, a supernatural enemy invading the Oldest House, the FBC’s headquarters in New York City. Jesse works for the Federal Bureau of Control, a government entity that studies, documents, and handles the paranormal. Interestingly, she first interviewed for a position as an assistant janitor. However, she becomes the director after the boss dies, and it emerges that she is one of the few personnel who can handle a special weapon called the “service weapon.”

Jesse becomes the FBC director at a crucial time when the Hiss starts taking over the Oldest House. The Hiss turns the personnel in the building into monstrous, zombie-like creatures. Moreover, it causes unexplainable environmental phenomena in different parts of the building. All containment measures have failed, and the ominous enemy threatens all of humanity if it is not stopped. Only Jesse has the power to stop this powerful enemy. 

The story in FBC: Firebreak follows up on the events in Control. The siege of the Oldest House by the Hiss has been going on for several years now. Only the bureau’s most versatile unit of first responders, called Firebreak, has the necessary gear and skills to fight the Hiss. As such, you and your colleagues must venture into the shape-shifting building, confront the enemy, and take back control. Admittedly, the story sounds shallow at this stage in the game’s development. However, the plot will evolve over time with regular post-release updates. 

Character- Control vs. FBC: Firebreak

The main character in Control is Jesse Faden, a female protagonist with a unique ability to wield the service weapon. Jesse has incredible powers and feels larger than life. In contrast, the main characters in Firebreak are mortal and easily expendable. Firebreak will also feature some of the other notable characters from the Control universe. 

Gameplay

The gameplays in Control and FBC: Firebreak incorporate combat, adventure, character development, storytelling, and a bit of puzzle-solving. However, the biggest difference between the games’ gameplay is that Firebreak is a multiplayer with a 3-player co-op mode. 

Combat is Control’s biggest gameplay aspect, and you can spend lots of time fighting wave after wave of enemies. The combat system is incredibly versatile, thanks to Jesse’s amazing abilities and diverse weapons. Jesse can do lots of amazing, superhuman things, such as flying and moving objects with her mind. Additionally, Jesse can upgrade the special service weapon with diverse abilities. As such, you can customize Jesse’s abilities to adopt different playstyles. 

Exploration is also a major aspect of the gameplay in Control, although combat can get in the way. The Oldest House is vast and has diverse, surreal environments for you to explore. The world within the building is open, allowing you to go wherever you want. However, you can only access some of the areas after gaining certain abilities or completing certain objectives. 

The Oldest House is full of mysteries, which is where storytelling comes into play. Moreover, it features a few environmental puzzles that you have to solve to use certain machines. You can also go on various side missions, most of which also involve lots of combat. 

Like Jesse, the heroes in Firebreak can acquire incredible abilities by equipping Altered World objects with paranatural properties. Moreover, you can choose from various weapons before deploying. You also have a Crisis Kit that you can use to equip grenades, specialized tools, support items, and paranatural augments. 

Verdict

Control is an exemplary game, and its 80+ awards are undisputable proof. FBC: Firebreak, a spinoff from the same developer, set in the same world and based on a similar concept, is expected to be better. However, only time will tell, as we await the release of FBC: Firebreak in 2025. 

So, from your take, which one takes the cup home between Control vs. FBC: Firebreak? Let us know on our socials here or in the comments below.