Why Control is so much better on PC

We have already sung the praises of Control, an action game blending existential horror, forces of strength inspired by Star Wars and a sci-fi story that mixes with the realm of David Mitchell. However, we have not spent so much time defending its technology, mainly because it is difficult to find the right words. Control, especially on a high-end PC, is a centerpiece of the new generation of video game visuals.

Digital Foundry has come up with a detailed exploder of what makes ControlThe graphics are so special. The goal of the video is based on ray tracing, which Nvidia introduced to the owners of GPU RTX GPUs last year. But before debating Controls Alex Battaglia, Ray Tracing's flagship app, explains the steps that games have taken graphically over the last 12 years. Digital Foundry is one of our favorite video creators, but this video is particularly suitable for newcomers curious about how game designers mimic reality by combining the powers of software, hardware and art design.

I played six hours of Control on a RTX GPU, and I spent a good part of that period wandering through the brutal architecture of the game, obsessed with realistic reflections on the glass walls and detailed shadows of office rubbish scattered in the various rooms conference and laboratories. It is not only that the game works better than its sisters, but also that the visuals look more, if not a better word, holistic. Each element of the game feels like part of the shared space, their shadows and reflections superimposed rather than a discreet accessory fallen into a world of video games.

Is playing Control on the maximum parameters worth hundreds of dollars from a new graphics card? This is the internal debate of the PC player who has an unquenchable need to rotate each game to the maximum. If your priority is to make the most of every dollar, Control (or any game) will probably not justify the price. But if you like to see the future of video game graphics, as much as you like to play games, the answer is a little more troubled.

As far as a ray trace goes, Metro: Exodus was the proof of concept and Quake RTX felt like a new technological demo but Control is the first game that really looks like something new. It reminds me when The matrix published alongside the rise of the DVD player. What seemed like a useless improvement suddenly took on a little more meaning.