FBC: Firebreak was released today, and the reviews aren’t looking good. FBC: Firebreak is a multiplayer spin-off of Control, but much of what made the original game special is missing. Remedy, known for cinematic single-player games, takes a swing at cooperative multiplayer here, with mixed results.
According to reviews, the concept only sounds promising on paper. Instead of playing as a powerful director with psychic abilities, players step into the boots of ordinary workers tasked with routine jobs. Teams of three take on strange assignments across government buildings, cleaning out infestations of sticky notes, repairing broken machinery, and fighting off waves of hostile entities. There are clever touches here and there, like a possessed traffic light that forces a teammate to freeze in place or risk instant death, but many missions drift into familiar shooter territory.
The combat doesn’t help much. Most of the guns feel bland, with little impact behind each shot. Elemental combinations offer brief variety, such as soaking enemies before zapping them with electricity, but tricks like that have been done in better ways before. One of the highlights involves taping a piggy bank to a wrench and sending enemies flying in a tornado of porcelain and loose change. Moments like that are rare, though, and not enough to break the cycle of repetitive objectives.
There’s some charm in the details. Showers act as healing stations, with absurd achievements tied to deaths in the bathroom or entire squads cleaning off together. That kind of oddball humor matches the tone of Control, but most of the tasks feel more like work than fun. Missions drag on through stages that often repeat objectives with slight variations, and many of the game’s more interesting perks stay locked behind hours of replays.
Optional modifiers, called corruption toggles, add quirks like low gravity or faster enemies to the hardest levels, but they don’t meaningfully change how the game plays. Much of the early content feels like filler, stretched out in hopes of keeping players invested long enough to chase better upgrades.
There’s potential in the concept of an office worker fighting paranormal threats, especially in Remedy’s strange universe, but Firebreak doesn’t take that idea far enough. What’s here at launch often feels like checking off tasks on a list, rather than uncovering something memorable. The flashes of creativity are buried under repetition, and without stronger mechanics or sharper surprises, Firebreak lands closer to forgettable than fun.
Looks like fun!
Delighted to find this site on Bing; just what I needed and saved to favorites!
Sounds like Rikki wasn’t a big fan.
😂