Remedy Entertainment has a reputation for producing very immersive games, most of which share continuity. While they may have stumbled with Quantum Break, an ambitious project that unsuccessfully tried to combine video games with television, they managed to rebound with Control, a surreal action game drawing on Half-Life and SCP Foundation. The game was a huge success both financially and critically, with the possibility of a sequel getting fans excited.
Control is full of mysteries and strange encounters, many of which are, at most, only partially explained. Given the entire premise hinges on a government organization investigating unexplained occurrences, it is not surprising that a lot of what Jesse experiences leaves questions, many of them unsolved. While some of these may be addressed in a sequel, they currently lack a concrete answer.
7 Where Did the Hiss Come From?
Nobody really knows what the Hiss is or how it managed to get into the Bureau. What is their ultimate goal? Are they trying to take over Earth or do they have some larger agenda, or are they just operating in some strange way that only makes sense to them?
The Hiss invasion apparently started with the slide projector in Ordinary, though that leaves other questions. Was the dimension they came from where they originated? Have they invaded other worlds similar to how they're invading the Oldest House? And if it was the slide projector that brought them in, why is it only now that the Hiss are showing themselves.
Furthermore, just before the Hiss invaded Dr. Darling produced HRAs and began handing them out to agents without much explanation, leaving many confused, implying he knew about or at the very least anticipated the Hiss invasion and his team was either unable to or unsuccessful in preventing it. What did he know and why could it not be stopped? Is there more going on? Was the Hiss's arrival an accident or co-ordinated invasion- or worse, someone intentionally letting them in?
6 Who or What is Polaris?
Jesse encounters a variety of bizarre entities over the course of Control's story. Most are enemies, but one is an ally. Yet know so little about the entity that is seemingly on her side. The name "Polaris" is one that Jesse gives, and she refers to Polaris as female, insofar as the concept of gender can be applied. Even Jesse herself only knows so much, only being able to describe Polaris as a "being."
Just what exactly is Polaris? The game never offers a clear view of her, and only Jesse's sides of their conversations are heard. Jesse sees Polaris as benevolent but Dylan claims otherwise. Is Polaris really trying to help her, or is there an underlying motive? Is Polaris good, bad, or somewhere in between? Is she "employing" Jesse to perform tasks for an unclear end similar to G-Man in Half-Life. Or does she have her own reasons for fighting the Hiss? Or is she operating on some strange moral code or agenda that only makes sense to her?
5 Why Jesse?
It does seem like an odd choice that Jesse would be chosen to be the new director after Trench. The board made the deliberate decision to appoint someone with zero government or managerial experience to run the organization that protects humanity from interdimensional threats, not exactly standard procedure. It does beg the question of why the board chose Jesse, rather than any of the more experienced FBC employees. Even more bizarre is the reveal that there is a "prime candidate program" where potential future directors are identified and brought to the Oldest House where they go through a training process- and also suggests that hiring people from outside for the director position is reasonably common.
The most logical conclusion is that the FBC is trying to meet the standards of the Board, but exactly what those standards are is anyone's guess. It may also be why the FBC is so willing to accept Jesse as being in charge. What was it about Jesse that made her fit the Board's requirements?
4 Who or What is the Board?
"The Board" is apparently in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and it does not appear to be human. They are represented by a black pyramid in a white void, speaking through distorted noises. The odd tendency to use slashes in between words also suggests that they have a limited understanding of human languages, and are only able to approximate what they mean to say. Although the FBC is supposedly part of the United States Government, the board appears to be a separate party that only exists outside of space and time.
There are definitely a lot of questions that come with their odd behavior, not the least of which is just who or what they are. What exactly are their motivations or goals? Are they on Jesse's side or merely using her? What is its interest or even connection to the FBC? Is the board even really in charge or is this a situation like G-Man in Half-Life, where the board oversees the FBC but itself answers to someone else? Or do they operate on some alien agenda that only makes sense to them?
3 What is the Deal With The Slide Projector?
While only seen at the very end, the slide projector becomes an important part of Control's story. Jesse first found it in a dumpster in her hometown of Ordinary, and it caused some very bizarre situations to happen, including somehow causing the disappearance of every adult in the town. The slide projector apparently produces portals to other dimensions when specific slides are inserted, which caused problems when Jesse's classmates encountered an entity referred to as the "Not-Mother" that performed grotesque transformations on children.
But all that is available to go on is Jesse's word and the FBC's reports, which still leave a lot of questions. Where did the projector come from and how did it end up in a dump in the first place? What exactly are the places it leads to? And who exactly is this "Not-Mother" that frightened Jesse so bad? Supposedly the Not-Mother somehow turned Jesse's classmates into "dung monkeys" which begs more questions about what that means and what her intentions were. And they also indicate that the Not-Mother was only locked away, not defeated. Could she still be a threat? Is she somehow connected to the Hiss?
2 What is the Deal With Ahti?
From the moment he appears Ahti comes off as a strange, if ultimately benevolent, figure. He takes an immediate interest in Jesses, declaring her his janitorial assistant and giving her maintenance jobs even after she has been made the director, a job which should technically make her his boss. From what is shown, he is no stranger to strange and unnatural occurrences, the point where he talks about interdimensional monsters the same way a custodian describes a dirty toilet. He talks about going on "vacation" while the Oldest House is under lockdown, and somehow manages it. He even knows how to get through the Ashtray maze that only the director and approved personnel are supposed to be able to pass.
Clearly, Ahti knows more than he lets on. Nobody even seems to know when he started working, just that he is apparently acting as a cleaner. This begs the question of who he really is, and where did he come from? Is he human or something else? Why is he in the Oldest House and what is his connection to the place?
1 Where is the Oceanview Motel
Several of the game's missions result in Jesse having to navigate the surreal "Oveanview Motel," usually only accessed by pulling a lightswitch three times. At first, it looks like a fairly normal motel aside from the conspicuous absence of staff, but the strange nature of the place quickly reveals itself with the call bell that opens three rooms in sequence, which usually contain a strange puzzle that needs to be solved before Jesse can leave. And sometimes these puzzles manifest in very strange forms, like entire rooms being upside-down.
Just exactly where is the motel? It looks like a standard roadside motel but Jesse is unable to leave through the front door, which seems to imply that it exists in its own space and there may not even be an "outside"... except for the fact that people can sometimes be heard outside the motel. It seems to act as a gateway between different places, with Jesse normally having to traverse it while moving between sections of the Oldest House, which begs more questions. Why does the motel exist? Where does it come from? Does it exist somewhere in the Oldest House or is it another space entirely? If it is its own space, then who are the people heard outside?