I’ve been following Remedy Entertainment’s work pretty consistently since Control released in 2019. I recently had the chance to play all of its games throughout its history for the first time: from Max Payne all the way to Alan Wake 2. What surprised me the most is how consistently Remedy has managed to experiment with different genres and styles.
For instance, Max Payne is a third-person shooter with a camera focused on the character’s back, while Alan Wake 2 is a survival horror title similar to the likes of Resident Evil, but where the absurdity is turned right up to 11. If you pick up a Remedy game, you can be sure to expect something unlike anything you’ve ever played before, complete with a rich story and exciting gameplay. So, where does its latest title, FBC: Firebreak, fit into this incredible legacy?
FBC: Firebreak foregoes the company’s traditional focus on single-player action and instead opts for a multiplayer-centric co-op shooter. It takes players back to the Federal Bureau of Control from Control as they attempt to solve the messes caused by the countless anomalies running wild across the facility. In theory, this may seem like another instance of Remedy daring to experiment with a brand new style and a great blend between its iconic storytelling and the popular co-op multiplayer genre. In execution, however, it unfortunately strays too far from what makes both these genres special and fails to establish an identity of its own.
Take Control
Right out of the gate, the oddest thing about FBC: Firebreak is how the game just starts. There is no intro, no explanation of the stakes of who you are and the work you’re doing, not even anything that distinctly ties the game to the events of Control. Instead, you’re thrown right into the main menu. If you haven’t been following the promotional material, you’ll likely be very lost at first.
In the menu, you see six things: quick-play, select a job, loadout, customization, research, and requisitions. Right off the bat, you have access to three crisis kits that you can choose from: a fix kit, a splash kit, and a jump kit. These have their own perks and secondary weapons, each with its own utility. For instance, the fix kit can instantly repair certain electronics such as turrets or generators with a wrench, whereas the splash kit has a water gun that puts out fires and can weaken the waves of post-it note-covered enemies. There are also selectable weapons like an SMG, revolver, rifle, or shotgun.
Once you pick your loadout, weapons, and perks (and also customize how you want your character to look), you can pick one of five jobs. You play the role of a Firebreaker, meant to mitigate some of the ongoing crises in the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC). These can vary from having to destroy anomalous post-it notes scattered around that can consume both players and other objects, or using heaters to destroy clouds of frost.
Currently, there are only five jobs available to choose from. Two more will be added later this year, but the main foundation of FBC: Firebreak‘s replayability comes from replaying these jobs over and over again with varying difficulty and new objectives. If the idea is to consistently play the same missions constantly, then the actual moment-to-moment gameplay had better be fun. Thankfully, it is fairly addictive for the most part.
When you pick the right tool for the right job, the gameplay can click in just the right way. For instance, the Post-it note missions require you to splash them with water in order to stop their spread. There are multiple ways to do this: for one, you can knock out the sprinklers and use them to splash the Post-it notes, albeit with a very small coverage. You can also splash yourself with water and walk over the Post-it notes, getting them wet enough so you can destroy them. The last option is to equip the splash kit and manually moisten the Post-it notes with the water gun.
Of course, in between completing objectives like carrying heaters or fixing turbines, you’ll frequently encounter waves of enemies. These will usually be the Hiss, who return from Control as they continue to invade The Oldest House. You’ll either take on floating enemies who throw objects telekinetically, hordes of monsters that attack with melee weapons, or a few riflemen that can attack from a distance. Gunplay feels as satisfying as other Remedy games, and the choice to use World War 2-esque weaponry feels right at home with the lore of the Control franchise.
Of course, as this is a multiplayer game, you can play it both solo or with a party of three people. I will say that the solo options are fairly lacking, and the game simply isn’t as enjoyable if you’re playing by yourself, in comparison to if you’re playing with other people. It’s kind of a shame coming from a company known for delivering rich single-player experiences, but at the end of the day, this is what was promised through the marketing, so it’s not all bad.
Playing with others is a key part of the experience and allows you to divvy up the work. Back to the post-it note mission, instead of one person trying to cover the entire zone with water, you can split up between two areas in order to cover more ground. There are a few instances of synergy that can happen between different crisis kits. If one person is equipped with a splash kit and the other has a jump kit, you can splash an enemy with water, and then your partner can immediately zap them with electricity.
Further, the more items you collect, the more you can purchase certain augments and anomalous items that can help you in combat. You can also get new weapons and throwable grenades that each have their own utility in gameplay. There is certainly a fun gameplay formula at the core of FBC: Firebreak, and the prospect of replaying missions isn’t too daunting. Unfortunately, I’d say that the missions themselves are overall lacking, and the overall game isn’t what I’ve come to expect from Remedy.
Repetition = Monotony
The name of the game in FBC: Firebreak is repetition. Oftentimes, you’ll be doing the same things over and over again ad nauseam. This doesn’t just apply to the fact that you’re going to be replaying the same five missions repeatedly, but also to the aforementioned gameplay formula.
There are two stations in every level that you’ll return to constantly: the shower and the ammo station. The shower will help recover your health and rid your body of any status effects, while the ammo station allows you to, unsurprisingly, refill your ammo. The latter of which requires you to do a quick-time event in order to fully replenish your stock. These same quick-time events spread to other elements of the design, like when you need to jumpstart a generator.
At first, these mechanics can seem fun and exciting and add a great amount of tension to the gameplay. However, as you invest more time into FBC: Firebreak, the repetition can quickly grow exhausting and downright frustrating. The waves of enemies that constantly rush you, the mad dash to the elevator at the end of a mission that is paused by a high-powered enemy that blocks your progress, even the basic process of constantly reloading your gun all feel less satisfying and more monotonous compared to other games in the genre with similar styles.
While the different difficulty options and unlockable items are a good enough incentive to endure the monotony, I personally never felt any motivation to take part in the repetition. Part of that is due to the lack of immediate rewards for completing a mission. Yes, you get more experience and points that allow you to purchase items in a battle pass-like system, but for some reason, the first page of the battle pass is mostly composed of upgrading items you already own. Furthermore, the upgrades you do purchase are negligible and hard to notice immediately.
These issues wouldn’t matter if there were a story that helped to ground the entire experience and keep players motivated to learn more about the FBC. However, as far as I can tell, there is no story to speak of in FBC: Firebreak. There is some dialogue between two off-screen characters (Hank and Jerry), but there is little explanation of who these characters are. There are some minor references to the events of Control (and even a mention of its protagonist, Jesse Faden), but nothing that continues its story in any meaningful way.
There aren’t even files to read or audio logs to pore over like in the last few Remedy titles. The files you do collect are only used to unlock new items and do not expand the lore of either Control or Alan Wake in any way, despite the two games being connected. Even exploration has little incentive other than finding objects that allow you to purchase more weapons, tools, and sprays. Maybe there are some things I missed while exploring, but the levels themselves are so bland and devoid of any environmental storytelling that I had no desire to go beyond the beaten path.
In any other multiplayer game, this wouldn’t be an issue. After all, there are plenty of modern-day co-op titles that have no story to speak of. However, this isn’t just any ordinary multiplayer co-op shooter: it’s a Remedy multiplayer co-op shooter. Remedy has always been known for delivering narratives with rich storytelling, intricate writing, and charming characters. Here, though, there is no storytelling, very little writing or dialogue, and only two characters are present. At that point, is it even a Remedy game anymore?
If you’re coming into FBC: Firebreak as a fan of Remedy’s previous games, you’ll likely be frustrated at the fact that the game lacks all the qualities that make its games so special. If you’re buying the game as a fan of multiplayer co-op shooters, the repetitive missions and lack of replayability will likely deter you from wanting to play more. While the gameplay formula is solid, the overall experience is severely lacking from what you might expect.
A Game Nobody Asked For or Needed
I adore Remedy’s entire catalog of games. Even the titles that are filled to the brim with frustrating flaws, such as Quantum Break, have elements that I really enjoy. No matter what games it develops, I will always be there for whatever Remedy makes next. Yet, when I found out that it was making a multiplayer title, even I was a little bit skeptical.
Why would a company known for incredible single-player titles dip its toes into the co-op shooter genre? However, I went into FBC: Firebreak with an open mind, knowing that Remedy has had a great track record with experimenting with new genres. Unfortunately, I left FBC: Firebreak feeling quite disappointed.
The gameplay formula is solid, don’t get me wrong. The overall premise of utilizing different loadouts that prioritize utility over combat is great, and unlike anything I’ve seen in the past. Plus, the overall gunplay is really satisfying and holds up to what you’d expect from Remedy’s style. Everything else, though, is lacking compared to its previous games.
The constant repetition of tasks, the lack of replayability, the limited missions, and the constant grind to unlock new items make the gameplay loop more monotonous than fun. Further, the lack of a proper narrative compared to other Remedy games is a major setback since there is no incentive to replay missions in order to discover more lore from the Remedy Connected Universe.
Overall, FBC: Firebreak is a game that lacks a proper identity. It’s really hard to recommend this title if you’re a fan of Remedy’s previous games or the multiplayer co-op genre, let alone if you happen to like both. This is, unfortunately, one of the rare instances where Remedy’s desire to experiment with new genres has not paid off. Maybe the game’s quality will improve as more updates are released, but as it is now, I can confidently say that this is probably my least favorite game from Remedy Entertainment.
Disclaimer: Remedy Entertainment provided a PlayStation 5 copy of FBC: Firebreak for review purposes.
