Considering Control takes place inside a top secret facility belonging to a federal organization dedicated to the investigation of the paranormal, there’s bound to be secrets. As the building transforms, reality decays, and nothing makes sense it’s only natural to believe that the walls are hiding things, waiting for the right player to find them.
Even a few days after the game's release, players were already beginning to discover the secrets this game has to offer. There are a number of hidden areas that contain helpful resources for the player to find and exploit and a puzzle that still has players stumped.
Updated on June 23, 2021, by Jeff Drake: It is the natural course of events for a game to be released, then years later more secrets are discovered by players. It is also common nowadays for games to receive DLC content, which usually contains a few secrets of its own. Both of these have held true for Control, which holds more secrets than players could imagine after only a few hours of gameplay. This article has been updated to include examples of both newly found secrets in the base game, and ones from the DLC.
15 Hidden Logistics
This secret is found in the Containment Sector. Start in the Logistics Control Point and face the map of the United States up the small set of stairs. The ceiling off to the left has a square hole cut into the concrete.
Use levitate to float up into the room, and players will find it’s a small office area with two item boxes that contain helpful goodies. It’s unclear why this office is there or why there’s a massive hole in the floor, but with a game like Control it’s not likely this will ever be explained.
14 Janitor’s Firebreak
Players should take a peek inside the Maintenance Sector, which contains a few other secrets on this list. To find this one, go to the Janitor’s Office and enter the door near the dartboard that leads to the tunnels. Following the tunnels, players will encounter a doorway on the left that leads to a Firebreak.
Levitate out and after turning all the way around, players will see another doorway next to the one they came through a good distance away. Inside this doorway is the secret they'll want to find.
13 The Secret Of The Ashtray Maze
When Control was still a relatively new game, many players immediately took notice of the song that played during the Ashtray Maze part of the game. The song fit this part of the game perfectly, and changed to flow with the action – or lack of action – occurring onscreen.
Many noted that the lyric must have a message hidden within. In a way, they were right. There was a hidden message, but it wasn't until the release of the DLC titled AWE that this message made any sense.
12 Unit 716 Secret
Inside the Containment Sector is a secret on the Upper Panopticon fourth floor. There’s a bridge that leads to the Fortified Unit 716 where players got their Levitate Ability. It’s in the area that held the tough fight against Salvador, so if players start feeling repressed anger, they're in the right spot.
Using levitate, follow the tunnel to the bright light. Here, players will find the secret lying in Unit 716. It might make them feel a little better after the hassle they went through taking out Salvador.
11 Lab 79
For this secret, players will need to be in the Research Sector, specifically at the top of the Central Research area. By Dr. Darling’s office they should see a balcony above the entrance to his office. This next part requires a bit of finesse, so be prepared for a couple of tries.
Use Levitate to get as close to the balcony as possible and then Ground Slam the rest of the way. Once up there, the player will notice two more balconies. Rinse and repeat the same trick as before to get to the final balcony. Once there, players will find Lab 79 and a helpful surprise inside.
10 Hidden Area In The Ceiling
This is another secret area in the Research Sector. From Central Research players need to take the path at the southeast corner to the shaft going down several floors. Keep the red beams to the left and continue forward after landing, going through the door with the green light over it.
Now go through the door at the far left corner of the room, then take the first left. This will lead to a large area. Levitate to the far right corner and drop down to the passage. Just beyond there is an opening in the ceiling that hides a hidden area.
9 Black Mold
Returning back to the Maintenance Sector, players will want to head to the Quarry Entrance Control Point. Start heading into the eerie quarry and make a right as soon as possible. If the player took the right path, they'll see a place where they can go below floating rocks.
Taking that path, players will be led to a wall on your right-hand side comprised of big blocks. Use levitate to go up and over, and Jesse will find herself in a room crawling with mold.
8 Maintenance Pipes Secret
Here's yet another secret in the Maintenance Sector. For this one, players will want to take the elevator from Central Executive to the Maintenance Access Corridor. Outside of the elevator is a spot in the ceiling that some of the pipes feed into.
After levitating into this area, the player needs to follow the piping to a ledge where the secret is waiting. They'll also discover a number of goodies on your way back out of this pipe maze, so keep an eye out for things to grab and loot.
7 Through The Wall To Beat The Clock
This secret is in the AWE DLC, and begins in the Shifted Passage section found in the Investigations Section. Look for a double set of three windows with a small office beyond. Once in the office, turn right and go down the corridor. The path will end in an area with a picture on the wall on the lowest level. The wall behind the picture can be destroyed.
Once through the wall, go up into another office area and continue to an area where Jesse can drop down into another small office. The bare section of wall in this room can also be destroyed, leading to a hidden area.
6 Break Room Secret
For this one, Jesse should go back to the Maintenance Sector where the Janitor’s Office is located. This is the area where players received the Evade ability. In the same room is a hole in the ceiling that Jesse needs to use Levitate to access.
Entering this hole will take players to the Astral Plane with a series of floating platforms to dodge. Don’t rush by them too quickly, though. Many of those moving platforms will have item boxes on them to loot, which is why players are here in the first place. Follow the light to end up back in the break room, completing this secret area.
5 Transit Corridor Room
In the Containment Sector is a secret hidden in the South Transit Corridor. Start moving south in the direction of the New York City Subway sign. Pay attention to the wall along the way, and players will see a window randomly set in the concrete wall.
Levitate up to this mysterious window and break through the glass into a secret office room. It’s not very big, but it's definitely worth the peek.
4 More Secrets In The Quarry
To find this secret area, players need to enter the Black Rock Quarry and keep to the left. Eventually they will come to a path on the left that has two forklifts parked near each other. One of the forklifts is near the wall by a small section made of those square blocks found all over the quarry.
Use telekinesis to throw the forklift(s) into the wall. This should open up enough of the pathway to squeeze through. Beyond this hidden passage is a shaft, leading down to a hidden area.
3 Luck & Probability
This is probably one of the more complicated secret puzzles in the game, at least so far, but it's worth the headache. In the Research Sector is a room that requires Level 5 security clearance to access. Once Jesse obtains that security clearance, go inside to find quite the brain teaser.
Players will want a guide to understand the test and the steps they need to take to help raise the odds of successfully passing the test. Even with all the right steps, it’s still down to chance, and odd things happen if the player fails. Howver, winning yields resources, ability points, and the Golden Suit.
2 Shum and Shum 2
This secret is also found in the AWE DLC. Go to the Investigations Sector, then to the bottom left part of the Active Investigations area. Near the elevator is an office containing two arcade cabinets - Shum and Shum 2.
Gamers can play Shum, but Shum 2 cannot be played – yet. To be able to play Shum 2, Jesse needs to beat one of the two games of Shum. Beating these arcade games unlocks a lot of goodies.
1 Furnace Puzzle
Throughout the player's explorations, they'll come across a number of TVs near the furnace of the Oldest House. The TVs all display a burning furnace, and seem to serve no purpose. It turns out these TVs, seven in total, are parts of a puzzle that, according to fans, has randomized results and may not be fully solved yet.
These TVs will magically back to their original position each time the player moves them, unless they throw them into the furnace. Chucking six into the flames will spawn some enemies, resources, a weapon mod, or a collectible. The reason this puzzle may still be open-ended is because the seventh TV can’t be thrown into the furnace, but possesses the same teleportation ability as the others. For those who want to tackle this brain teaser, pull up a guide and get to work.