Control The Foundation Xbox One X Review

The Foundation serves as a good first step for the future of Control.

Reviewed by Grayshadow on  Jun 25, 2020

Control was one of 2019’s best games but the title ended poorly. With a lot of questions left unanswered, The Foundation adds more to the pile but also provides context into certain mysteries. With Jesse heading below The Oldest House into a new area unknown to most and discovering that The Board may have some hidden intents.
 

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The DLC opens with Jesse being given orders by the Board to head into the Foundation, a hidden location beneath The Oldest House that only a handful of people know about. Marshall went down there and she hasn’t been heard of since. When entering Jesse finds that the Hiss have found their way into the area, the Astral Plane is bleeding into their reality, and a mysterious object called the Nail has broken. Jesse must repair the Nail in order to stop the Bleeding and prevent a complete collapse.

Much of The Foundation plays like the base game. You’ll encounter a new type of Hiss and a new enemy type that mimics that Hiss’ combat patterns. Jesse will have 2 new tools to while down here, the ability to morph and destroy crystals only seen in this area. This new ability provides Jesse to build platforms at specific locations, summon spikes in crystal areas, and destroy them to open new paths. You’re given the option of 1 of the 2 abilities but eventually get both.

The best part of The Foundation is the context it provides, specifically about The Former. This optional boss from the core game was one of the best encounters in the entire game. This time the creature is not really a threat, instead, it only becomes hostile based on Jesse’s behavior. Showing despite its scary exterior there’s more to this creature than meets the eye. However, before things can manifest the DLC ends but now you know that things are not what they seem.
 

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The DLC also allows you to explore the Astral Plane more. While it’s nothing we haven’t seen from the core game spending more time in the white-out area of this supernatural world was more thrilling than the office spaces of The Oldest House. The Foundation is a series of caves that eventually lose their luster but the Astral Plane remains a place of interest.

The Foundation shines a light on Jesse and her abilities. She starts off the DLC a bit cocky, assuming she can handle anything. However, once something completely unexpected happens Jesse quickly unravels and becomes frantic. This leads to a quick and ill-advised leap of faith, literally. While it works out in the end it’s clear that Jesse still has a long way to go and her position as Director may have been intentional due to her lack of experience. 

Outside of the core set of missions, there are 3 optional objectives. 2 of which are locating and containing Altered Items in entertaining and unique side missions. Both are excellent in their own right and offer distinct objectives, one of which has Jesse playing out an action scene in a movie.
 

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The DLC takes about 3 hours to complete, 5 if you decide to obtain all the collectibles and get all the achievements. It’s a short expansion that plays on Control’s strengths and works in that regard. The next expansion will have to deliver more in terms of information as Control teases are starting to become vexing.  For now, The Foundation serves as a good first step for the future of Control. Providing great combat, supernatural thrills, and lots of weird things to fight.
 

Adam Siddiqui,
Managing Editor, NoobFeed
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Adam Siddiqui

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Verdict

80

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