There’s something really intriguing about being an everyday schlub in a fantastical world, dealing with eldritch horrors or clandestine organisations and then clocking off to go home at the end of the day. FBC: Firebreak is a game tangentially about that, as it casts you as a member of a clean-up crew assigned to the Oldest House, headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control and setting of the game Control.
Being a part of Remedy’s universe already guarantees a level of weirdness, but Firebreak taking place in the Oldest House, one of the strangest places that exists even in that reality, means you can expect the bizarre and horrifying in equal measure. Which is probably why Firebreak falls flat a little.
There are quite literally endless possibilities to shock, enthral, gross out, or dazzle the player in FBC: Firebreak, and unfortunately what we get feels entirely pedestrian throughout. The game is divided into jobs, of which there are currently five. These jobs involve heading into the depths of the Oldest House with a crew of three operators to put paid to any lingering anomalies.
You equip special Kits to do so, which include a Fix-it Kit that allows the Operator to repair damaged items and machinery with a clunk of their wrench, a Jump Kit, which lets you electrify things, quickly charge power points and propel yourself to higher platforms, and finally the Splash Kit, which allows you to put out fires, clean goo and other substances, and douse items and enemies to boost the Jump Kit’s effects.
While the Kits themselves synergise well and are tailor-made to work effectively within the confines of each Job, the rest of the loadout consists of normal guns and normal grenades. The lack of imagination here is what turns me off, when Jesse Faden ran around Control with a shapeshifting gun and abilities that blurred the lines with outright magic. Likewise we saw her cross realities, be transported to wondrous places like the Ashtray Maze – here you run around grey corridors dealing with anomalies that don’t ever manage to thrill, while being constantly bombarded by the Hiss, possessed humans who do little more than run or walk towards you.
There’s fun to be had in completing the Jobs themselves, but it’s short-lived because they’re just not all that interesting. It’s a laugh with friends to pop giant leach sacks and collect balls of goo to power a huge machine, but you never see any actual giant leeches. It’s frantic to charge barrels and load them onto a zipline to close a semi-sentient furnace, but it’s a very mechanical process. It’s telling that one of the best moments comes when you fight a giant humanoid made entirely of evil sticky notes.
FBC Firebreak never really feels like it’s saying anything or pulling out the stops. There’s no story, no context beyond the barebones premise, and no further exploration of the lore. You’re rewarded with various currencies used to unlock perks like faster movement speed or increased grenade capacity, or with which to unlock pretty functionally identical cosmetics. Where are the Alan Wake or Jesse Faden skins? Where’s the imagination in simply unlocking a welding mask with graffiti on it?
Within the missions you’ll find shelters like you do in Control, where you can heal by drinking tap water, restock ammo, and occasionally find special items like a gun that destroys anomalous objects – which, by the way, also bring little to the game beyond adding modifiers to certain areas and Jobs. The traffic light, for example, stops you going past it when it turns red, which is fun but doesn’t feel nearly interesting enough for this world.
You heal by finding and repairing showers, and can restock ammo at special stations, while you can interact with the environment to use elements to your benefit. There’s a focus on water, fire, and electricity, all of which can be used to impede or harm enemies, deal with anomalies, or even cleanse you and your teammates when necessary. The focus on teamwork is impressive and well-implemented, as even your shield won’t recharge unless you stay close to one another.
I should also give credit where it’s due to the aesthetic. It really feels like you’re back in the Oldest House, and some elements like the big text splash when you enter an area feel quintessentially Remedy-esque. Ultimately though, the biggest problem with FBC: Firebreak is that it’s so ordinary. With an endless well of weird ideas to draw from, the Jobs on offer just can’t sustain my interest, even with multiple difficulty options and some interesting final encounters. It looks good and plays very well, but right now it’s much too normal for its universe.
