TLDR:
+ great graphics and art style
+ great combat mechanics
+ great level design and exploration, especially later on
+ Decent and good story, told in a smart way, but one with which I failed to emotionally connect. But it was good enough on an intellectual level. Thankfully the amazingly imaginative side missions all make up for this
- some unbalanced fights
Overall, Control might be my favorite Remedy game. It's fantastic in terms of gameplay, combat and exploration. Great level design, with some amazingly imaginative architecturally impossible levels. The only part where it's good, but not really excellent is maybe the story. And not in the intellectual sense, since it's a pretty smart story, or at least told in a smart way; but unfortunately I didn't connect very much emotionally with Jesse's plot. But aside from the main plot, it's also got plenty of side missions, which again are very imaginative, fun and just plain cool.
Graphically and in terms of art direction it is absolutely stunning. Especially the lighting in many of the levels, combined with the brutalist architecture that's taken to impossible dimensions, often just makes everything seem like one of those physically-impossible perspective illusions. They artists obviously have had loads of fun creating these levels. And they're just as fun to explore, as I constantly had a grin on my face while seeing what else they came up with.
Combat is probably the most dialed-in and tightly animated of all Remedy games. You also have plenty of ways to build your character's abilities, and they even managed to insert some randomly generated loot that contribute to your character's identity in terms of abilities. This all together with the amazing physics engine they have and it turns most fights into chaotically fun dances of death. A lot of the abilities are derivative of jedi powers, but they're done so much better than any game that there really is no comparison. Everything just so tightly comes together, with yourself and enemies also levitating, and you throwing pieces of concrete or marble at enemies; it's all a serious blast.
Exploration is also very nicely done, with loads of hidden areas, and once you unlock the levitate ability exploration unlocks on a whole new level, with plenty of areas that were beyond access before, suddenly come into play. It was so fun, that I went through the whole game once over after getting levitation. And there's plenty other hidden secrets that I don't think I would've found had I not ultimately also used a guide for anything I missed on my own.
Besides the main plot which is intriguing enough and delivered pretty intelligently, there's also a lot of side missions that are just a blast. From imaginative stuff that feel like they are heavily inspired by tv-series like The Twilight Zone, to things I'm not sure where they came up with. The game is just full of little surprises, and often from the most insignificant-looking missions.
The two expansions, Foundation and AWE, do a decent job of giving you more of the same, with Foundation especially having two very cool and smart missions, that again managed to have me grinning. AWE, which is a tie-in to the Alan Wake universe, is the one I'd been expecting the most, since I'm a big fan of that game. And sadly that's the one that kind of dissapoints the most. It can't all be due to expectations, but it does feel like just a giant tease for Alan Wake 2, which Remedy have announced. I mean, the bulk of the expansion, you have almost no tie-in to Alan Wake himself, throughout the expansion; expect for some reports that you find, plus the element of darkness (which I'm glad they did not go overboard with). And a particular foe that you keep chasing. Alan Wake himself only has 2-3 short moments, which add to the mystery, but it all feels very superficial. I mean, to not be so negative on it, it's decently enough, but I certainly expected more. As I said, more of a tease for Alan Wake 2.
The only truly negative parts about Control is that for some reason 2-3 boss fights felt incredible unbalanced. Two of them could be explained to my character build (plus these fights were also done in environments where you easily die by falling off into the void), especially since I hear others did not have the same difficulty. But the last fight of the Foundation expansion, one where I'm certain I went in overpowered to hell and back, having unlocked 95% of all existing skills, having max and regen health buffed, and I was not able to finish it without cheesing it. This is also due to the way they implemented the health system, where most of the time you only regen health by diving back into the fray. So, it forces you to gamble with your character's life. And this has worked decently most of the time, but in certain fights it has proven to be more than I can handle. Suffice it to say, I was really happy they took a different approach to the AWE boss fight.
Anyway, I guess that's about it. My score would be a 9/10.
EDIT: I also just realized how chunky the game has been. Took me 48h to get through everything, but a part of that is also some of the achievements. Since I really loved hunting for them in this one, as I do in most games I really enjoy.