Amazing mind-bending shooter from Alan Wake devs hits Xbox Game Pass this week

What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen? Double it and then double again and you still won't have gotten anywhere near the madness of Control. A criminally underrated third-person shooter from the folks at Remedy Entertainment. Now, the team behind Alan Wake and Max Payne is bringing the one-of-a-kind title to Xbox Game Pass. 

Arriving on March 13th, you better finish any game you're mid-way through because once Control gets its hooks into you, there's nothing else you'll think about. In it, you play as Jesse Faden, a young woman with burning red hair and supernatural powers. 

The star of the game is undoubtedly its setting and story. The entire game is set in one impossibly massive government office, the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), on the hunt for Jesse's missing brother you'll come across some truly bizarre sights. This is a building unlike any other with surprises and experiments gone wrong around every corner. 

There is a lot of silliness to be found in side missions, ever played a game with both a man-eating fridge and a poo monster? But it doesn't undermine the central narrative which is told through both in-game footage and some brilliant live-action cut scenes. No spoilers here however, this is a game where it's best to go in blind.

Unlike many story-driven games, the combat system in Control doesn't feel like an afterthought. Fighting against the possessed Hiss feels balletic at times. Jesse's psychokinetic powers are best used to keep mobile and dodge while using her service weapon - a gun infused with the spirit of the previous FBC director - to deal serious damage. It has a range of modes to toggle between, a bit like swapping between weapons in a traditional shooter. Like any good Metroidvania, as your powers grow the world opens up and enemies get tougher. 

If you attempt to beeline through the main game you'll probably be done in around 12 hours but there's a heap more to explore by the game's very nature. On top of that, the version coming to Game Pass is the Ultimate edition which features the two DLC expansions, one of which is directly tied to the Alan Wake universe.

It's well worth booting your Xbox or PC up to play from the 13th of March.