Remedy Entertainment has never shied away from strange stories that are open for interpretation, but Control's story is perhaps its most bizarre yet. The game is set in a shape-shifting building called The Oldest House, which is run by a secret government organization that specializes in "Objects of Power" - seemingly normal, everyday objects that actually have special abilities that are often used to terrorize people.
In Control, players take on the role of Jesse Faden, a woman who arrives at the Oldest House in search of her brother Dylan, who was kidnapped by the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) when they were children. Unfortunately for Jesse, the Oldest House has been taken over by an evil entity known as the Hiss that has converted many FBC agents into mindless drones. Jesse teams up with the surviving FBC agents to fight back against the Hiss and push it out of the Oldest House, all the while searching for her missing brother.
Control's plot is weird but fairly easy to follow for most of the game. Even so, it's safe to say some will be confused by the ending. For those who have finished Control and are wondering what exactly happened at the end of the game, we will do our best to provide a suitable explanation. Please note that this article will contain MAJOR SPOILERS for Control.
The Fake Ending
As players progress through Control, they learn a lot about Jesse, her brother, and the event that saw the FBC snatch him away from their hometown (hilariously called Ordinary). When they were children, Jesse and Dylan found an Object of Power in the form of a slide projector, which triggered a supernatural event in Ordinary. The FBC came to investigate and then took Dylan with hopes that he would eventually become the new "Director" of the FBC. The Director, armed with a Object of Power called the Service Weapon, is in charge of keeping all of the paranormal happenings at the Oldest House in check. Dylan was considered a "prime candidate" for the role due to power he possesses after the event in Ordinary, but he was deemed too unstable to take the position and was quarantined after killing some FBC agents.
When Jesse and Dylan used the slide projector as kids, it added or awoke a being inside of Jesse named Polaris. Jesse talks to Polaris throughout the game, and it is revealed that Polaris's presence is what keeps Jesse from being possessed by the Hiss.
Jesse discovers that the physical version of Polaris is being kept in the Oldest House, with its energy used to protect the building from inter-dimensional threats. Unfortunately, the physical version of Polaris is destroyed, and then Jesse appears to be taken over by the Hiss. The credits start to roll, as Control's fake ending is triggered.
Slide Projector
The credits then start to smear and the screen is covered in white. Jesse then finds herself working as a regular employee at The Oldest House, without any of Control's supernatural weapons or abilities at her disposal. Jesse completes tedious office work, making multiple trips to the office of Director Trench, who seemingly shot himself in the head at the beginning of the game, in turn allowing Jesse to acquire the Service Weapon and become the interim Director.
Jesse has multiple visions in Trench's office that reveal Trench to be the one who was originally manipulated by the Hiss and who let the Hiss into The Oldest House using the slide projector Object of Power. It's also revealed that the Hiss are what compelled Trench to kill himself, as opposed to him doing it of his own free will. Jesse is able to fight back against the Hiss and is able to make her way to her brother Dylan, who is channeling the Hiss with the slide projector. Jesse is able to cleanse Dylan of the Hiss, which puts him in a coma. She then officially becomes the Director and plans to continue fighting the Hiss, which is where players enter Control's endgame and can clean up side quests or fight optional bosses like the Anchor.
The Janitor and the Motel
So in summation of the main plot, Control ends with Jesse saving her brother from the Hiss, accepting her role as the Director of The Oldest House, and deciding to wipe out the Hiss entirely. However, there are a couple of loose ends that some players may still not quite understand - the janitor Ahti and the Oceanview Motel.
The Oceanview Motel could be representative of many things, but it appears to be a literal place. Perhaps it's an Object of Power itself. It seems to let Jesse travel through dimensions, and the Janitor closet in it implies that Ahti has some sort of strong connection to it as well. Ahti, meanwhile, may literally be a God of some kind, as it's implied that he has a hand in what's going on and may even be actively manipulating things in an effort to bring balance to the world.
Ahti disappears after players complete the game, so it's possible that Jesse is meant to take on his duties as well. Honestly, there is a lot open to interpretation when it comes to Control's ending and any deeper meanings the game may have (which is fitting since it was inspired by Stanley Kubrick), may have to wait for DLC to reveal more.
Control is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.