The Gamers with Glasses Show: Control Spoilercast

In this special episode of The GwG Show, we have a spoiler-filled discussion of Remedy Entertainment’s 2019 game Control. We (John Ferrari, Christian Haines, Brian Rejack) talk about Jesse Faden’s strange adventures in the Old House, headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control, as well as the more general history of Remedy Entertainment games, especially Alan Wake and the Max Payne games. We also chat about the game’s use of Brutalist architecture, its level design (is it a metroidvania?), its game mechanics (do supernatural powers and third-person shooting really mix?), its lore (what happens when lore and bureaucracy become one and the same?), and some of its influences (Project MK-Ultra, occult rituals, weird fiction, and more). This is a great episode to listen to if you’re a fan of New Weird fiction by the likes of Jeff VanderMeer and China Miéville or if you’re a fan of Stephen King and horror fiction and games.