Control pre-E3 hands-on: The modern-day X-Men video game we’ve always wanted

Enlarge / One of the game’s deformed monsters. (credit: Remedy Entertainment)

SANTA MONICA, Calif.—For nearly 20 years, Remedy Entertainment has put out a streak of cinematic, weird, memorable video games. But its Alan Wake series seems to be DOA, while 2016’s Quantum Break was a low point. Does that mean the studio’s glory days are behind them?

After my latest hands-on session with the studio’s summer 2019 adventure game, Contact, I think I spot a bright light ahead for Remedy. That light is smothered in bold red tones and beams from a creepy underground lair, maybe, but it’s still bright and promising.

From what I’ve played thus far, everything I liked about Quantum Break—jaw-dropping visuals, dimension-shifting weirdness, and telekinetic superpowers—has been paid forward to a new universe where mystery and plot don’t get in the way of compelling action.