FBC: Firebreak, developed by Remedy Entertainment, is now available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. This cooperative, first-person shooter is set in the Control universe six years after the original game’s events. This is Remedy’s first multiplayer project, combining the studio’s signature mystical and recognizable style with dynamic team gameplay. In this review, we’ll examine how well Remedy has executed this concept and determine if the game merits the attention of Control fans and cooperative shooter enthusiasts.
Chaos is a common occurrence in the “Oldest House.” Sometimes, the building runs out of office paper. Other times, the boundaries of reality become blurred.
The Remedy team has decided to reopen the doors to their concrete labyrinth. This time, it’s up to the cleaners in rubber suits to deal with the anomalies. The new cooperative shooter looks and feels like a plan hastily cobbled together — but there’s a certain appeal to that.
- Developer: Remedy Entertainment
- Publisher: Remedy Entertainment
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S
- Release Date: June 17, 2025
FBC Firebreak is a game set in the Control universe. But that’s all we learn about our location. Sometimes, the loading screen displays brief hints about what’s happening, but they disappear before we can read them.
If you’re not familiar with Control or Remedy’s universe, you’re out of luck.
The plot plays a secondary role in Firebreak. There are no cinematic cutscenes or complex narrative lines, which may disappoint those expecting deep lore similar to that in Control or Alan Wake. Instead, the story is conveyed through the environment, notes, and dialogue, creating an atmosphere of mystery and absurdity characteristic of the Remedy universe. But even in Control, there were over 200 notes. I know because I collected all of them that you’re supposed to find to expand your knowledge of the universe. This opportunity was missed here.
While newcomers don’t need to be familiar with the events of Control to understand what’s going on, fans of the original will find plenty of references to familiar characters and events. These include hints at Jesse Faden and mysterious objects of power.
Rather than a director with telekinetic abilities, they put the so-called Firebreakers in charge. These employees of the FBC (Federal Bureau of Control) have a terrifyingly simple task: to eliminate the consequences of anomalies in a building that operates according to its own laws of physics and logic.
The combat team wears armor made of acoustic panels and operates on a “figure it out on the spot” basis. The enemies are the same as before: infected employees led by an entity called The Hiss. However, the approach to gameplay is fundamentally different here.
FBC: In Firebreak, a three-player PvE shooter, the team completes missions to clear out instance locations. Players choose equipment sets that serve as character classes. For instance, one set enables faster repair of devices on the map, another enables extinguishing fires, and a third focuses on heavy weapons. These sets include primary weapons, gadgets, grenades, and paranormal enhancements, which allow players to experiment with tactics and create synergy within the team.
Currently, the game consists of five linear missions, each of which is like a mini-episode within an absurd series. You must repair the cooling system before the house (the entire office) melts, clean the power plant of pulsating gum, and collect radioactive leech pearls.
All of the game’s mechanics are based on strange yet interesting and appealing concepts. One of the most popular episodes is Paper Chase, in which players must clear an endless field of yellow stickers. If you step on them, the sticky pieces of paper will cover the screen and then your character.
Each mission offers visually striking ideas and unique gameplay mechanics. For example, wetting equipment with a water pump makes enemies vulnerable to electricity. Players with different equipment can immediately take advantage of this by discharging electricity onto groups of enemies. In theory, all of this provides ample room for experimentation. Sometimes it works as intended, and the resulting cooperative chaos gives rise to a feeling of competent coordination. More often than not, though, chaos prevails.
Each level is divided into three zones of increasing difficulty that must be completed in sequence before returning to the elevator. The missions are short, taking half an hour to complete successfully. However, due to repetitive tasks at each step, you grow tired of them much sooner than you have time to enjoy them.
The difficulty level is also debatable. The standard “normal” difficulty ranges from an easy walkthrough to a total disaster. One particularly memorable part is the jump in the aforementioned Paper Chase mission, where the second zone turns into an exhausting battle with endless waves of enemies. Killing them is difficult, and so is avoiding them. There are countless enemies, and they disintegrate into stickers. Strategy is necessary, but the game rarely allows time for it. The finale of the Pink Slime mission seems broken altogether — the slime regenerates so quickly that completing the level becomes nearly impossible. Everything is blocked, paths are cut off, and monsters come out of every crack. There are countless monsters, and you’re out of ammo.
Unlike in Control, where every battle felt like a superhero fight, here the player is just a guy with a shotgun and limited ammo. The characters move more slowly, the weapons are simpler, and the accuracy is lower.
Firebreak’s weapons and abilities are another strong point. In addition to standard pistols and machine guns, players can use absurd weapons, such as a rifle that shoots boiling water or grenades that have paranormal effects. The environment also plays a role. Control points allow players to manipulate objects to create barricades or activate traps. Character progression boils down to improving equipment and unlocking cosmetic items, making progress unobtrusive.
The idea is clear: these are not elite agents, but rather the last line of defense. However, that’s no excuse for weak gunplay. Some weapons are simply unpleasant to use. The basic assault rifle, for example, is weak. Only the shotgun or hunting rifle gives you a sense of superiority.
Graphically, Firebreak cannot be called an outstanding game. Firebreak is not an outstanding game. Don’t get me wrong; visually, the game looks good. However, this “retro” style filter may not be to everyone’s taste. FBC: Firebreak also falls short of the original game in terms of graphics. It looks outdated, and at times, Control itself looks better. I have many complaints about the visual noise caused by the abundance of questionable effects and color schemes. It’s similar to Control, but with a significantly inferior appearance. Unfortunately, it feels like the project was outsourced.
Using the Northlight engine, Remedy created detailed locations with dynamic lighting and ray tracing support. After the game’s release, they promised to add path tracing, which should improve the visual experience.
Compared to Alan Wake 2, Firefight is better optimized. I didn’t encounter any performance issues on my RTX 3080. The developers are also aiming for Steam Deck support and a low entry threshold for PC gamers.
The sound is definitely one of the game’s strengths. The soundtrack, which combines industrial motifs with an eerie atmosphere, heightens the tension during combat. The sound effects, ranging from the roar of anomalies to the clicks of paranormal devices, create a sense of presence. The voice acting is full of dark humor, adding lightness to even the most tense moments.
Rainbow Six: Extraction most resembles FBC: Firebreak, but with progression similar to Helldivers 2. Not conceptually, of course, but generally speaking. Unfortunately, Ubisoft Montreal’s ambitious project felt more complete and high-quality at launch than Remedy’s.
Finally, there’s a problem that was hardly part of Remedy’s plan. On the first day of press testing, the game crashed, the servers were down, the connection was lost, and strange things happened that definitely shouldn’t have. Even after all that, though, I want to go back to it. Not everything is perfect, but the game has a chance to prove itself.
FBC: Firebreak is Remedy’s bold foray into the cooperative shooter genre, and it largely meets expectations. The game combines the studio’s signature style of mysticism, absurdity, and dark humor with dynamic gameplay inspired by Left 4 Dead and Helldivers 2.
Despite its flaws, Firebreak is not to be dismissed. It has an interesting and engaging core. Its recognizable style, numerous crazy ideas, and constantly changing mission context could make the project vibrant and unique with serious refinement.
Perhaps the Remedy team did not expect instant success. Future updates and new levels have already been announced for FBC Firebreak. In about six months, this project could become a solid cooperative shooter with a recognizable personality.
But right now, it feels rushed. The balance needs a thorough overhaul, and the missions need tweaking to encourage player retention. For now, it’s an interesting failure with enormous potential.
