Control Ultimate Edition

Alright, so you're diving into Control Ultimate Edition, huh? It's a wild ride! Let's talk about how to make it a bit smoother. First off, don't think of this as your typical cover shooter. While those pillars and ledges are great for blocking bullets, you can't just hunker down forever. Enemies will flank you, and those nasty suicide bombers will find you no matter where you hide. Your only real healing comes from running into the open and grabbing those Health Elements dropped by fallen enemies, so staying mobile is key.

When you start unlocking abilities, focus your early points on beefing up your health and the damage of your Launch ability. The fancy side-skills for Launch can wait. After that, pour some points into your Shield and increasing your energy bar. Seize is less of a priority, and honestly, upgrading your melee attack should be the very last thing you do. Yeah, your melee hits hard, but so does everyone else's, and getting that close is usually a death sentence.

You'll get abilities like Shield, Seize, and Evade through side missions, but don't skip them! Seriously, some enemies are almost impossible without Shield. Seizing enemies is a fantastic way to turn the tide when you're outnumbered, and Evade's invincibility frames can save you from attacks that would otherwise be fatal.

Quick tip for using Launch: if you grab an item and decide you don't want to throw it, just press the interaction button (it's Square on PlayStation) to drop it instead of launching.

You're going to find a ton of mods as you play. Since you have limited inventory space, get into the habit of clearing out the ones you don't need. You probably don't need five mods that just slightly increase ammo efficiency for Levitation, but you might want a few Damage Boost mods. If you find a better version of a mod you already have, ditch the old one. If it's junk, toss it immediately. Speaking of mods, it's generally better to spend your resources upgrading your weapons rather than crafting new mods. It's only really worth crafting mods late in the game when you can make 'Infinity' level ones, and even then, you might just waste precious resources.

Here's a weird one: there's a crouch control that's also mapped to Ground Slam (part of Levitation), which is R3 on PlayStation. This is super annoying because you'll accidentally trigger Ground Slam when you just want to crouch or move the camera. I ended up remapping it to the D-pad down. Trust me, you do NOT want to accidentally Ground Slam into a boss fight like I did – instant death!

If you're struggling or just want to make things easier, check out the Assist Mode in the pause menu (added in the AWE expansion). You can toggle things like Immortality and One-Hit Kills, and as far as I know, it won't mess with your trophies.

Trophy Hunting Tips:

• The platinum for Control is a tough one, mostly because the game demands you do almost everything. You'll need to claim the entire ability tree, which means doing all side missions and finding every Hidden Location and Control Point. Plus, you have to take down five optional superbosses.
• Even after doing everything, I had a few Ability Points left over. So, you might be able to skip a couple of things if you're short on points, like the first Hidden Location in the Executive Sector, the first in the Research Sector, or the second part of the 'Langston's Runaways' mission where you fight a boss you've already beaten.
• To help with trophies, try to keep three Board Countermeasures active at all times until you get the one for completing 25. The rewards are usually pretty good, and if one is too annoying, just ditch it and grab a new one.
• Bureau Alerts can stop appearing later in the game, so try to get that trophy done early. Destroying Hiss Nodes is the easiest category. 'Major Target' alerts become manageable once you have some Launch damage upgrades. Missions where you have to protect FBC personnel are incredibly difficult. These alerts pop up pretty frequently in the middle of the game.

After the introductory sequence, proceed through the body scanners to your right. Once through, look on top of the X-Ray machine for the collectible, Prohibited Items Reminder.

There are three trophies associated with collectibles: Strange Collection, Record Keeper and Bureau Archivist for collecting 40, 80 and 120 collectible items. You don't need to search every nook and cranny, as there are around 270 collectibles in total.

Head upstairs and enter the door on the left. Examine the green folder on the desk, then turn around and look on top of the filing cabinet for Bureau Expenditures.

Back in the hallway, run to the end and turn right. Make your way to the open office at the end of the hallway. Look on the corner desk for Security Order.

Leave this office and turn left. Press forward, as the walls will shift behind you, blocking your path. Duck into another office on your left to find R4 Reports Reminder on a table.

Follow the hallway until you meet Ahti, who directs you to an elevator. Ignore the cupboard to the left of Ahti and continue to the red-carpeted corridor. Ignore the elevator for now and go down the stairs. You will find yourself back in the main lobby where you can access a new office. Look on a sideboard for Visitor Evaluations.

Retrace your steps, use the elevator, and follow the signs to the Director's Office. Go into the Security Room on the left to find Approved Terminology Reminder on top of a filing cabinet. The level 1 door across the way requires higher clearance.

Continue forwards, ignoring the open offices on either side. When the area opens up, look on a filing cabinet to your left for Trench: Do Not Disturb.

Investigate the noise in the Director's Office

Go through the double doors at the end of the hallway to find the director. Pick up the Service Weapon to trigger a scene, after which you will find yourself on the Astral Plane.

Complete the Astral Plane challenge

Head forward, drop down, and leap across a gap. Clamber up to the next platform where an enemy will appear. Run up to it and use a melee attack to destroy it. Afterwards, look up to see the Service Weapon hovering above a platform. Climb up and grab it to unlock the Choose to be Chosen trophy.

Shoot the two enemies below, then drop down and fight off several more enemies. Destroyed enemies leave behind blue Health Elements that restore your health.

Use the white rope to return to the material world.

Proceed further into the Bureau

After another scene, you will have to kill three Hiss Guards. You will acquire several new collectibles: Director Trench Photograph, Service Weapon, and Objects of Power. Killing the enemies will also give you your first piece of Hiss Research, Hiss Guards. Approach the area where you killed the guards to acquire 300 Source.

There is a trophy, Interdimensional Defender, awarded for killing 1000 Hiss. There is another, Paranatural Collection, awarded for accumulating 100,000 Source.

Follow the red carpet towards Executive Affairs. When you reach the sign for Central Executive, you will engage in a firefight against several waves of guards. Use cover and take them out with your gun.

From the Central Executive sign, go right. Ignore the first door on your right (a toilet) and go into the next office to find Executive Meeting Minutes on the floor. Continue to the meeting room to find a tape recorder with FBC Reminder: Building Shifts.

Go past the Central Executive sign and turn right into the open office area. Go to the end to find Dinner Reservations on a filing cabinet.

Backtrack a short way to find the door to a Shelter. On the toilet cistern is the collectible, Marshall: AWE Investigations. There is also a loot container inside.

Continue towards Central Executive. In the open office area, look in the office on the right to find Urban Legends on top of a cupboard. The left-hand office contains a radio.

Head forward to the landing overlooking the red room. You can shoot figures dangling from the ceiling to fight enemies below from this vantage point. When no enemies remain, jump down to face a standard grunt and a Hiss Ranger.