Remedy Entertainment's Control was no RPG, meaning its progression systems were fairly simple, but it offered players a variety of rewarding ways to make Jesse Faden stronger nonetheless. As players explored the Oldest House, they would collect and bond with various Objects of Power that allowed Jesse to move objects with her mind, call up telekinetic shields, fly temporarily, and more. Additionally, as players collected these objects, they would unlock skill trees that Jesse could progress through to make each ability stronger. While Jesse's collection of Objects of Power served her well in the first game, the upcoming sequel has to find a new way to handle them.
The elusive Control sequel may be tempted to strip Jesse of her paranatural tools in order to give players a clean slate. That approach would make sense, since it would also give Remedy room to rework Jesse's skillset, but there may be another way that's just as valuable. Control 2 could look into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's approach to supernatural abilities, front-loading the collection of Objects of Power in order to make Jesse feel more powerful while giving her opportunities to navigate the Oldest House in creative new ways.
Breath of the Wild's Rune Access
In most Zelda games, players steadily collect new items that let Link interact with Hyrule's environments in new ways, but Breath of the Wild had a different approach in mind. Instead of collecting key items in dungeons, Breath of the Wild's tutorial saw Link collect several Runes with his Sheikah Slate. Each of these Runes gave Link a special power that could help him solve puzzles, ranging from summoning Remote Bombs to freezing objects in place with Stasis. By giving players access to all of Link's core skills at the start, Nintendo cleverly made Link feel powerful from the very beginning of the game while enabling itself to fill the game's world with tons of creative puzzles.
Control 2 would be wise to learn from that design. Starting out with few Objects of Power or no OoPs at all would make Control 2's beginning feel like a step down, especially after Jesse Faden became such a powerhouse in the first game. The sequel would be better off starting Jesse off with as many of her old powers as possible while teasing new ways that Jesse can grow from there, much like how Breath of the Wild emphasized Spirit Orbs and new equipment over gaining new Runes. Additionally, having all of Jesse's powers right away would allow Control 2 to introduce more puzzle solving. Control wasn't overly focused on puzzles, but its sequel could use Control fans' familiarity with the Objects of Power to double down on puzzles.
The Objects of Power Can Contribute Much to Control 2
Control's established Objects of Power have a ton of potential for puzzle solving in the sequel. Remedy Entertainment could experiment with using Shield to protect an important item from a harsh environment, using Seize to manipulate NPCs in areas inaccessible to Jesse, and so on. Adding some new Objects of Power on top of these could result in a diverse new set of tools for both combat and puzzle solving. Aside from puzzle applications, starting out with most of Jesse's paranatural abilities would allow Remedy Entertainment to highlight new progression systems in other departments, whether it introduces more complicated skill trees or reworks the Service Weapon's forms and mods.
The way that Objects of Power were distributed in the first Control made sense. The need to find these objects allowed players to familiarize themselves with the Bureau while letting Jesse slowly get more familiar with the paranatural. A Control sequel, however, will presumably star a Jesse who is already very comfortable with her place at the Bureau, meaning Remedy Entertainment doesn't need to lead players all around the Oldest House with a trailer of powerful objects again. Instead, Control 2 ought to borrow Breath of the Wild's approach to starting powers in order to help players think about the Oldest House differently, diversify Control's gameplay, and showcase Jesse's growth as a character.
A sequel to Control is in development.
