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Taking on board these Control tips will allow you to dominate the maze-like corridors of The Oldest House, as you explore deeper into Remedy's weird world. There's a lot to get your head around here, from exploration and upgrades to combat and mods, and that can be tricky when the game is already determined to twist the rules of reality and confound logic. The unusual encounters you face can leave you understandably confused, which is why we're here to help with some pointers to set you on the right track. Follow our top Control tips laid out below, so you can get through this unique journey and emerge on the other side with your sanity intact.
1. Use Control Points to heal regularly
When you access a Control Point Jesse will regain her health, which isn't clearly explained. This means that if you’re in a brutal battle and need to heal, simply check your map and rush to a nearby Control Point. The enemies won’t despawn or reset either. Sometimes it's even worth rushing and area and ignoring combat to unlock a new Control Point. Even if you die, you'll be able to respawn there straight away and carry on.
2. Exhaust every line of dialogue so you don't miss anything
There are several NPCs in The Oldest House you can talk to and get side quests from. The dialogue in generally good but, more importantly, you’re going to want to revisit Emily at the main hub as well as the other NPCs you find scattered around the sectors on a regular basis to catch up with new topics and unravel more mysteries behind the FBC. Also, when you’re speaking to a very important character who is trapped in a cage later in the game, make sure you keep talking to them until they start repeating themselves. That might sound very vague but trust me here - there’s a huge payoff.
3. Explore thoroughly and revisit areas with new abilities to find hidden places
There are Hidden Areas in Control that are quite difficult to find and don’t usually appear on your map. Crucially, when you get the Levitate ability make sure you go back and revisit every single area you've uncovered so far, floating into all the nooks and crannies to make sure you've not missed anything. The multi-story Research sector is especially lucrative in this regard. No spoilers, but the Hidden Areas provide you with the best Control Easter eggs, and ability points, which are crucial if you want to max out Jesse’s ability tree and supercharge her powers.
4. Find the optional Objects of Power outside the story
There are three optional Control Objects of Power for you to find, that you're not lead to and can be missed. If you do that you’d be locking yourself out from the Seize, Shield and Evade abilities, which are all very important to mobility and defence in combat. So check our guide to make sure you locate everything. Not only will you maximise your abilities, you'll find some brilliant side missions too.
5. Use your abilities for mobility as well as combat
As you progress you’ll unlock abilities like Evade, Levitate and Ground Pound. Evade is basically a dash that can be used mid-air to cross gaps and close the distance to enemies. You can unlock Ground Pound by pushing through the Levitate tree once you unlock that ability, and it’s very much worth it given that it allows you to pound onto any platform within reach, dealing incredible damage. Always think about how you can use your abilities to reach new heights and manoeuvre around obstacles instead of focusing on their efficiency in combat.
6. Experiment with Weapon Forms
You can earn tons of resources and credits to spend on mods, but resist! Instead, save up and spend everything on unlocking and upgrading Weapon Forms. Weapon Forms change the shooting style of your Service Weapon, turning into a charged, penetrative laser, a short-range shotgun and even a grenade launcher. They’re all useful and you can use them to adapt in battle when you’re facing new types of enemies. Weapon mods are so easy to come by in Control that you should never need to buy any, especially if you like to explore, so avoid them and go all-in on Forms!
7. Deconstruct mods you don't need for rewards
In the same as Weapon Forms above, you’re going to want to deconstruct any mods below the level of the ones you currently have equipped. More slots become available as you upgrade abilities and Forms, so make sure you focus on that first, but when your slots are full, simply vacate every remaining mod you don’t need and you’ll be resource-rich and able to spend your hard-earned cash on the things that matter.
8. Read everything to learn more of the story
There is so much mystery in The Oldest House you should make an effort to read every document you can. Eventually, you’ll get so many it’ll be hard to read each one in turn, but make a pit stop every once in a while to pause the game and read about Altered Items and Altered World Events and the enigmatic walls of this fascinating world will start to unravel. You also want to make sure to turn on every vacant TV you find to tune in to a riveting episode of Threshold Kids and be on the lookout for Easter eggs relating to past Remedy games, as there are TONS.
9. Focus on the branching upgrades with new abilities at first
In Jesse’s ability tree many upgrades simply add a percentage increase to your efficiency with a certain ability. This is useful in the late game but early on you want to look at the tree and focus on the offshoot abilities that branch off the main linear trees. This is how you unlock side abilities like Ground Pound and improve your Seize power so you can use it on more dangerous enemies. Improving your health by a percentage can be handy, but you’ll be more powerful early on if you focus on the branching abilities that give you immediate new powers.
10. Use cover during boss battles
The boss battles in Control can be as brutal as the architecture, and take some getting used to. The game itself is generally quite difficult and requires you to think on your feet, make quick escapes while conserving your power for when you need it. This means that when Control locks you in a room with a tough enemy there’s no shame in using the environment to your advantage. Distance yourself from the boss with a bit of environment as a shield and pop up frequently to hurl rubble at them, ducking back behind cover when you need to heal. It’s a bit cheesy, but it gets the job done and given how tough the checkpointing can be, it’s a clever way to even the odds.
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