When it comes to games, we’re pretty familiar with the trappings of fantasy, sci-fi or war narratives, but you might be a little less up to date with New Weird. Coined by author M. John Harrison to describe the work of (among others) China Miéville, it’s a form of speculative fiction that revels in inexplicability – it’s often a bit horror, a bit sci-fi, a bit fantasy, but if you put it up against any of the canon texts in those genres, it wouldn’t look like any of them. It’s telling that many authors who get told they’re part of the New Weird immediately reject it, because they think being defined at all is too limiting.Control
might well be the first mainstream New Weird game. New Weird fiction is often about a place, not people, and The Oldest House – Remedy Entertainment’s unknowable new setting – very much fits the bill. New Weird also reflects the underlying weirdness of the modern world, and Control’s fiction regularly weaves in real-life events, recontextualising them for a world in which there’s a government bureau to combat paranatural occurrences. Most of all, New Weird is really f**king odd. And yes, Control is that too.
Perhaps more than anything else, it’s that genre choice that makes Control stand out – but it might also make it feel unfamiliar. That’s why we asked narrative designer Brooke Maggs to put together a New Weird reading (and watching) list to help get you acclimated to the genre, and learn the influences that Control’s twisting to make its own New Weird narrative:
Southern Reach Trilogy – Jeff Vandermeer (Book Series)
Vandermeer quite literally wrote the book on the New Weird, so there’s no better place to start than with this trio of oddities: Annihilation (recently turned into a movie), Authority and Acceptance. The series is named for a secretive government agency (one overt connection to Control) and centres on its work in Area X, an abandoned portion of the US that’s begun creating inexplicable changes to both places and people inside. If you want some sense of how deep the homage goes here, the second book begins with a character becoming a new director of the agency in the title – also the opening to Remedy’s game. Oh and that character’s codename? ‘Control’.
House of Leaves – Mark Z. Danielewski (Book)
Perhaps the best way to understand The Oldest House and its shifting innards is to try to understand House of Leaves. This work of staggeringly eerie weirdness revolves around the effects of a (possibly fictional) house that doesn’t conform to the laws of reality and a (possibly fictional) documentary made about it in which things go horribly wrong, all told (possibly fictionally) by a tattoo artist going slowly insane. It is, in some ways, a haunted house story, except the haunting is by physics.
No One May Ever Have the Same Knowledge Again: Letters to Mt. Wilson Observatory 1915-1935 (Book)
The only non-fiction entry on the list, this collection of 33 missives sent to an LA observatory includes rants on extraterrestrials, cosmology and the general state of the universe from real people across the world. It’s a fascinating mixture of science and fantasy, often written with the intimate touch of those who weren’t expecting to find their words reproduced for a book. The collection’s inspired a whole section of collectibles in the game, the Dead Letters, which are similar pieces of correspondence sent to the government and intercepted by the Bureau.
The Bone Clocks – David Mitchell (Book)
The Cloud Atlas author’s multi-character, multi-time period novel is distinguishable for hiding so much of its weirdness. Most of its main characters (and the reader following them) aren’t initially aware of quite how dark and strange this seemingly normal world is behind the scenes, extending into immortality, ritual sacrifice and psychic warfare. Control places you inside of that stranger side, with protagonist Jesse Faden becoming more and more aware of how deep and dark the rabbithole gets.
Stalker (Movie)
Tarkovski’s sci-fi masterpiece centres on those travelling through the Zone, a military-protected area in which reality doesn’t function as expected, and even gravity needs to be tested to proceed safely. The Zone is a clear inspiration for the The Oldest House (not to mention Southern Reach’s Area X), but the titular Stalker – able to sense the route ahead and help those less able – also feels like an antecedent for Jesse, who becomes the Bureau of Control’s means of tackling its world-warping problems.
Twin Peaks (TV Series)
David Lynch’s landmark series doesn’t resemble Control very much – besides its government agent protagonist – but it’s absolutely a tonal reference. The series’ ability to segue seamlessly from soap opera to nightmare is reflected in how Control can turn on a dime from straightforward shooter into esoteric adventure. It’s also a visual reference – expressive lighting and a love of the colour red are a major part of both Twin Peaks and the game.
Legion (TV Series)
Noah Hawley’s adaptation of this comic book tale about Professor X’s son constantly plays with perspective, never quite letting you feel sure that what you’re watching isn’t inside someone’s head. You’ll quickly begin to feel the same about Control, where rooms can shift themselves around, portraits change in their frames, and nothing feels quite right. I haven’t seen an extended dance sequence yet, but I wouldn’t rule it out. On a more surface level, Legion is also the story of someone with extremely entertaining telekinetic powers – Control’s Jesse definitely fits that bill.
The X-Files (TV Series)
Perhaps the most straightforward comparison of all, Chris Carter’s magnificent series features government agents hunting for conspiracies, monsters and paranormal events that silently plague an otherwise unremarkable world. The Federal Bureau of Control – when it’s not being attacked from within – is much the same, as you’ll discover from its own case files strewn around The Oldest House. Just like the X-Files, some of those cases shine a new, weird light on real-world events you may have read about – you’ll want to stop to do a lot of reading.
Joe Skrebels is IGN’s UK Deputy Editor, and he still thinks about how House of Leaves made him read parts of it in the mirror, like a chump. Follow him on Twitter.
