A rough start for Remedy’s co-op Control spin-off. FBC Firebreak lands with mostly negative reviews on Steam
Firebreak fails to channel Control’s magic. Instead of the eerie atmosphere and slick powers fans loved, it delivers a barebones co-op shooter that hasn’t quite figured itself out yet.
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A multiplayer spinoff from a popular IP with a sequel on the horizon sounds like a good chance to try something different, and maybe cash in along the way. It seems like Remedy went that route with FBC: Firebreak, assuming anything tied to the Control universe would be a hit. But early Steam reviews and OpenCritic score suggest that players just aren’t feeling it.
Firebreak – all chaos, no Control
When Remedy showed off its latest dive into the co-op FPS genre during a livestream, Firebreak came across more like chaotic fun than the kind of deep narrative experience we’ve come to expect from the studio. But as one of my colleagues who tried it back in May pointed out, it just doesn’t capture what made Control so special.
So, with the rough parts often outweighing the good, Firebreak launched to mostly negative reviews on Steam, with players saying:
There is a shocking lack of content. The enemies feel very anaemic as they just sort of walk towards you and don't do much and the guns have no punch. Every mission itself is just walking to a switch and clicking it or walking around the map to find items to place while some enemies who pose no threat occasionally spawn.
- LSC
Not worth $40 at the moment. Enemy and equipment variety is very limited, and mission progression and character movement are very sluggish. The foundation is here, but its missing half of the building materials.
- UCEY
The fact that there is NO way to communicate with your team is a major oversight. At least a text chat but PLEASE put in voice chat
Now that things are cooling off, Firebreak has climbed from negative to mixed reviews, with about 40% of players giving it a thumbs-up. So there are definitely things to enjoy there – the core gameplay seems to click for some. There’s potential here, for sure, but let’s be real: even Sticky Ricky can’t defend this game on its own.
No, that's not Sticky Ricky yet, you will meet him eventually.Source: FBC: Firebreak; Developer: Remedy Entertainment
All we can do now is hope the dev team takes the feedback (harsh as it may be) and turns things around. And fingers crossed that Control 2 still delivers in full force, even if Remedy trimmed the budget.
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Author: Olga Racinowska
Been with gamepressure.com since 2019, mostly writing game guides but you can also find me geeking out about LEGO (huge collection, btw). Love RPGs and classic RTSs, also adore quirky indie games. Even with a ton of games, sometimes I just gotta fire up Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, KOTOR, or Baldur's Gate 2 (Shadows of Amn, the OG, not that Throne of Bhaal stuff). When I'm not gaming, I'm probably painting miniatures or admiring my collection of retro consoles.
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