Control — Route & Tracker

The Case File

Case No.CTL

SubjectJesse Faden, Director

LocationThe Oldest House, FBC

Status10 missions + DLC · ~15–20 hrs

Case Summary

Control is an action game with a horror skin, and it runs on two habits: Launch (throwing objects with your mind) is your best damage all game, and strafe-dodge constantly because standing still gets you killed. Health only comes from picking up the shards enemies drop, so you heal by staying aggressive, not by hiding. Cleanse Control Points as you reach them: they are fast-travel, checkpoints and where you spend ability points. The building is a Metroidvania, so back-tracking with new powers is expected. First Hours is the systems primer; The Route is all five acts (10 missions plus the two DLC arcs); The Bureau is the open layer — 29 Control Points, 18 side missions (where the real bosses hide) and the collectibles; Skills & Gear is the abilities, the Service Weapon forms and the mods. Objects of Power show up inline in the mission where you earn them. Keep an eye out for Altered Items; save points into Launch first. Every tick saves on this device as you go.

0/16

Missions

0/29

Control Points

0/18

Side Missions

Overall

⚡ The 30-Second Version

Launch is your best weapon all game — rip a chunk of the world and throw it. Never stop moving: strafe and Evade constantly. You heal only by picking up the shards enemies drop, so you survive by staying aggressive, not by hiding. Cleanse every Control Point you reach (fast travel, checkpoint, and where you spend ability points). Put your first points into Launch and energy.

🟢 Easy Mode — the one thing that matters

Health comes from kills, so passivity kills you. There are no medkits and no regen; downed enemies drop health shards you must walk into. That single rule flips the genre: cover is a place to recharge the Service Weapon for a second, not a place to live. Launch something, dodge, grab the shards, repeat.

🩶 Spoiler level

Light. Systems and the opening only. For the full route use The Route; for Control Points, side missions and collectibles use The Bureau; for abilities, weapon forms and mods, Skills & Gear.

Primary wiki throughout: Control Wiki

✓Startup Checklist

The habits that carry the run. Items marked ↔ shared also live on The Route or Skills & Gear.

01How Control Actually Works

Launch is the star. Telekinetically throwing debris outdamages the Service Weapon for most of the game and costs only energy, which refills fast. When in doubt, Launch.
Health is a pickup, not a bar you protect. No regen, no medkits. Enemies drop health shards; you must move into them. Aggression is survival.
The Service Weapon never runs out. It recharges on its own, so there is no ammo economy. Its forms (Grip, Spin, Charge, Pierce, Shatter) are your loadout choice.
Energy fuels everything paranatural. Launch, Shield, Seize and Levitate all draw energy. Mods that speed energy recovery are among the best in the game.
Control Points are the spine of the Bureau. Cleanse one to make it a fast-travel node, a checkpoint, and the place you spend ability points and swap mods. Cleanse them on sight.
The Oldest House is a Metroidvania. Locked doors need clearance levels or abilities (Levitate, Seize) you get later, so a dead end now is a note to come back, not a wall.
Mods matter more than they look. Personal and weapon mods (dropped and crafted) swing your power hard; check them at any Control Point and dismantle the junk for materials.

🔴 Tourist Trap — playing it like a cover shooter

Ducking behind cover and trading shots is how you die: you stop generating health pickups and the Hiss flank you. Treat cover as a half-second energy top-up, then get back out and Launch. The aggressive player is the safe player here.

🔴 Tourist Trap — sinking ability points into the wrong tree first

Health and Energy capacity are tempting, but Launch upgrades (charge, multi-launch, efficiency) pay off on literally every fight. Max Launch first, then Energy, then the rest. Points spent early on Shield or Levitate power are points your damage did not get.

02Ability Priority

Ability	Priority	Why
Launch	★★★ first	Your main damage all game. Max it before anything else.
Evade	★★★	The dodge. Constant use is the difference between alive and dead.
Energy / Health capacity	★★★	More Launches per fight, more margin for error. Second tree.
Seize	★★	Mind-control an enemy to fight for you and drop shards. Great crowd control.
Shield	★★	Hold up debris to block fire; useful against snipers and heavies.
Levitate	★★	Gained later; opens the map and the air game. Powerful once you have it.

03The Enemy, and the Answer

Threat	The answer
Hiss grunts	Launch, or a quick Service Weapon burst, then grab the shards.
Ranged / snipers	Shield or break line of sight, close the gap, Launch them off their perch.
Floating (levitating) Hiss	Shoot or Launch them down fast; they harass from angles.
Heavy chargers	Evade the rush, Launch heavy objects, keep circling.
Shielded / armored	Flank, use Pierce, or Seize a nearby enemy to split their fire.
The real bosses	They live in side missions (see The Bureau), not the main story. Go in with Launch maxed.

Route progress0 / 0 objectives

Your ticks save automatically as you go, on this device.

objObjective step keyKey item / upgrade bossBoss or set piece mileMilestone optOptional detour

⚡ The Bureau — the open layer

The Oldest House is a Metroidvania, and this is its map: 29 Control Points to cleanse, 18 side missions (which hold the game's only real boss fights and the best mods and Altered Items), and the collectible strands. Cleanse points on sight, chase side missions for gear, and mop up as new abilities open old doors. Every tick saves on this device.

01Working the Bureau

Cleanse Control Points first. Each becomes fast travel, a checkpoint and your upgrade bench. They gate everything else.
Side missions are where the game hides its bosses. Tommasi, the Anchor, the Former, Mold-1 and esseJ are all optional. They pay in abilities, Altered Items and strong mods.
Altered World Events are timed surge fights that reward Altered Items and materials. Do them when a Control Point flags one.
Come back with Levitate and higher clearance. A lot of the Bureau opens only after mid-game powers, so a first sweep is never complete.
Dismantle junk mods for materials at any Control Point; keep the ones that boost Launch, energy recovery and health.

✓The Bureau Checklist

Control Points and side missions feed the stat cards up top. The 250-plus lore documents are tracked as per-strand summaries rather than a wall of boxes; open the wiki 🔗 for exact spots.

02Worth Chasing?

Content	Verdict	Why
Side missions	★ Must-do	Abilities, Altered Items, the best mods, and the actual boss fights. The heart of the game.
Control Points	★ Must-do	Fast travel, checkpoints, upgrades. Cleanse them all as you go.
Altered Items / World Events	Worth-it	Unique rewards and materials for short surge fights.
Document strands	Skip-run-one	250-plus pieces of lore. Wonderful reading, pure optional. Grab what you pass, do not grind them.

🩶 Honest unknown — counts and spots

Control Points (29) and side missions (18) are firm. The document strands (Correspondence, Research & Records, Case Files, Multimedia, Hotline) total 250-plus and are tracked here as strand summaries; exact per-sector counts and the Altered Items list are flagged for Claude Code's wiki resolve pass.

⚡ The short version

Max Launch first, then Energy, then Health; pick up Seize, Shield and Levitate as they come. Your Service Weapon runs on five forms (Grip, Spin, Charge, Pierce, Shatter) — run Grip plus one specialist. Mods are your real power curve: stack Launch damage, energy recovery and health, and dismantle the rest. Objects of Power (the abilities) show up inline in the mission where you earn them.

🟢 Easy Mode — aggression, fed by mods

There is no stat that makes you safe by turtling. Power here is Launch damage, fast energy, and enough health mods to survive the push in. Every recommendation below protects that aggressive loop.

✓Skills & Gear Checklist

Tick abilities, forms and key mods as you get them. Saves as you go.

01The Service Weapon Forms

Form	Rating	Use
Grip	★★★	The reliable pistol. Your default, always slotted.
Pierce	★★★	Charged railgun: deletes snipers, heavies and shields. The best specialist pairing.
Spin	★★	SMG spray for swarms and close crowds.
Charge	★★	Explosive lobs; strong area damage once modded.
Shatter	★★	Shotgun spread; brutal up close, weak at range.

02Mods & The Power Curve

Personal mods to chase: Launch damage, Energy recovery, Health, and "damage after Evade" effects.
Weapon mods to chase: Grip and Pierce damage, rate of fire, and spare charges.
Rarity matters: keep higher-tier mods, dismantle the rest at a Control Point for Source and materials.
Objects of Power grant the abilities and are earned in missions; each is shown inline on The Route where you get it, and listed here.

03The DLC, Worth It?

🩶 Both owned, both recommended

The Foundation (~4 hours, 3 missions) continues Jesse's story below the Bureau and adds two strong abilities; do it after the main game. AWE (~3-4 hours, 3 missions in the Investigations Sector) is the Alan Wake tie-in and the bridge to the wider Remedy universe — the one to play if that crossover interests you. Both are on The Route as their own acts.

04Where You Land

A first run is roughly 15 to 20 hours for the main missions, more with the Bureau and the DLC. There is no level to hit; a comfortable finish means Launch maxed, an energy-recovery mod stack, Pierce for the hard targets, and the habit of grabbing health by pushing forward. The Bureau stays open after the credits, so cleanup and the DLC are all post-story.

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