FBC: Firebreak, the next project from Finnish developer Remedy Entertainment, was one of the standouts of Thursday’s Xbox Partner Preview. Known before as Project Condor, Remedy had long teased the existence of this three-player co-op shooter and spinoff of 2019’s Control. And this debut finally shows players exactly what they’re in for when it releases next year.
While the trailer shows a return to the enigmatic headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control known as The Oldest House and the creepy floating enemies that plague it, there is one familiar and underrated element from Control that Remedy is leaning into this time around: absurdity and humor.
In the upcoming game, players assume the role of a volunteer member of a new FBC crew called Firebreak. These volunteers are given unique weapons to fight off Hiss that threaten to take over The Oldest House. It’s a simple premise that adds a twist to what was established the last time we walked through the ever-shifting halls of the FBC headquarters. Instead of being an all-powerful bureau director like Control protagonist Jesse Faden, these volunteers are mortal and expendable.
“You will see more of Control’s world,” Game Director Mike Kayatta promised in an interview on Xbox Wire. “Meet more of the people who work there. Explore more of the Oldest House. Run into more weird stuff. And importantly, experience this world, old and new, from a completely different perspective.”
It’s a fun prospect for Control and Alan Wake 2 fans. With Remedy fully embracing a connected universe, Firebreak offers a unique point of view on the weirdness of the developer’s world. What’s even cooler is that Remedy isn’t just bringing over the spooky and unsettling vibe Control is known for. It’s also matching the game’s understated humor.
As much praise as Control often gets, it does not get enough credit for being consistently laugh-out-loud funny. Whether you’re reading notes left behind by the agency’s frustrated pencil pushers or discovering the unpredictable properties of an Altered Item, Control makes players laugh as much as it makes them tilt their heads in curiosity.
Firebreak’s first trailer betrays just how unserious it is. Cutting between players mowing down supernatural threats to the workplace mundanity of taking a chemical shower is the perfect distillation of Control’s entire shtick. The trailer's final shot is of a volunteer readying a superweapon, only for that superweapon to dispel a garden gnome capable of exploding an entire room.
“FBC: Firebreak is a game about people trapped in an absurd world fighting for their lives,” Kayatta explained. “What we may interpret as ‘funny’ from our couch, like seeing a bunch of murderous sticky notes evolve consciousness after reproducing like bunnies, would actually be really frightening to the character living it. And that’s always been the magic of Control, that juxtaposition of unexpected weirdness and earnest stakes.”
Remedy’s ability to make players crack a smile even in the darkest of moments has always been part of the studio's DNA, from Max Payne’s corny one-liners to Alan Wake 2’s most joy-inducing scene. Seeing the developer lean further into it with their next project is just as big a hook as its intense first-person combat and its promise to expand on the Remedy Connected Universe.
The game’s director said that he wouldn’t describe Firebreak’s as “lighter” in tone, but more of a remix of the elements that made Control a hit.
“It was important to me that we found a way to keep those same, fundamental ingredients of ‘absurd’ and ‘serious’, but then play with the mix in a way that works for Firebreak—for the specific situation our characters find themselves in but also for the specific type of gameplay we’re building.
Firebreak will hopefully continue Remedy’s hot streak. Both Alan Wake 2 and Control won numerous awards and accolades for their originality and pushing the boundaries of storytelling in video games. Alongside Firebreak, the studio has several projects in the works, including a sequel to Control and remakes of Max Payne and Max Payne 2. Next week, the developer is releasing The Lake House, the second DLC expansion for Alan Wake 2.
