FBC: Firebreak: 6 Fun Nods to Control

CNET

17-06-2025

FBC: Firebreak is studio Remedy Entertainment's first multiplayer romp. As a Left 4 Dead-esque objective-based horde shooter taking place in the Oldest House (the headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Control), the game is heavy on action and light on story.
That doesn't mean that the game is completely divorced from the shared Remedyverse that bridges the events of Control and the Alan Wake series. Firebreak takes place six years after the events of Control, and dimension-hopping Hiss invaders are still causing havoc throughout the building.
There are many references and bits of dialogue that hint toward the events that transpired in Control, but you might miss them as you hose down the Hiss, stomp out sticky notes, pick up radioactive pearls and do more of the jobs no one else wants to volunteer for. As a matter of fact, the entire Firebreak initiative is named after the black rock-lined bridges that disconnected entire sectors of the Oldest House from one another when the Hiss initially invaded the FBC.
Readers beware -- if you haven't yet beaten Control, this article will contain spoilers for events throughout the game. Here are the most interesting nods to Remedy's take on the X-Files/SCP Foundation genre of government agencies taking on the supernatural.
This ragtag team of volunteers better hope and pray their HRAs don't get knocked off during the more frenetic fights.
Remedy Entertainment/Screenshot by CNET
Every player is carrying a Hedron Resonance Amplifier
No matter what cosmetic skin you apply to your Firebreaker, you'll notice there's a little black box strapped to your suit somewhere or another. Those are Hedron Resonance Amplifiers, and it's a good thing you're carrying them around. If you lost that piece of your kit, you wouldn't be yourself for much longer.
These devices prevent the Hiss from taking over the human body by pumping out a different frequency from a more benevolent resonance-based organism: Polaris, Jesse Faden's symbiotic mental passenger, who accompanies you during the events of Control.
Lots of care was put into differentiating the character cosmetics in Firebreak. The ragtag team of volunteers isn't armed to the teeth, but they've devised different ways to armor themselves against gunfire, flames or other field hazards.
The single constant is the HRA, because no one would survive a mission without it. It's a nice bit of attention to detail -- keep a keen eye on your character model as you try out different cosmetics, because you'll always be able to spot Dr. Casper Darling's protective device.
There's a fun narrative reason that the Black Rock Neutralizer will be an integral map pick up for your team.
Remedy Entertainment/Screenshot by CNET
The Black Rock Neutralizer is the only way to handle paranatural threats
Those Hedron Resonance Amplifiers didn't spawn out of thin air. The FBC's head of research, Dr. Casper Darling, needed to find a way to stabilize the anti-Hiss resonance. The Oldest House contains its own paranatural quarry containing black rock, a rare ore that can destroy or contain other powerful, unexplained phenomena.
Black rock was used in the construction of the HRAs, and the FBC frequently boxes in altered items and dimensional thresholds with this material to ensure they can't spread throughout the agency's headquarters.
In FBC: Firebreak, players will find special weapons called Black Rock Neutralizers that use chunks of black rock ore as ammunition. The ore is fed through a grinder, fragmenting it at high velocity toward enemies. (It's very similar to the skull-spewing guns from Doom: The Dark Ages.)
During Jobs with a corruption variable, players may run into paranatural threats that make their lives harder. The Black Rock Neutralizer is the only way to eliminate these level-modifying altered items. The existence of this weapon is a testament to how inventive the Firebreakers are, creating an effective arsenal with the resources they have on hand.
The Federal Bureau of Control planned ahead for paranatural emergencies -- and these bunkers were the result.
Remedy Entertainment/Screenshot by CNET
The safe areas scattered about are what saved the FBC during the Hiss outbreak
You'll feel an overwhelming sense of relief when you find the bunkers scattered throughout FBC: Firebreak's levels.
Sure, opening them up will flood the zone with a wave of Hiss enemies, but after you deal with that pesky inconvenience, you'll have access to a new safe area filled to the brim with ammo drops, grenades, lost asset folders and a functioning sink for emergency healing. If you need to respawn, you'll come back from the closest shelter you've opened, which is far nearer than the elevator. If you're lucky, you'll even find a Black Rock Neutralizer to tear through the next bunch of baddies that come your way.
These bunkers will be familiar to anyone who has played Control, because they were the last bastions of safety for some of the most important FBC agents once the Hiss invaded the Oldest House.
Emily Pope, a research specialist and one of Jesse Faden's staunchest allies, was trapped in one of these bunkers in the Executive Sector until the Hiss presence was brought down to a more manageable level.
These shelters also contained mods that buffed up Jesse Faden. In every game they appear, these bunkers are kind of just well-armored treasure chests, so crack them open and get to looting.
The victims of the Bureau Book Club faced suspiciously similar fates to the fictional characters they read about.
Remedy Entertainment/Screenshot by CNET
The reformation of the Bureau Book Bunch
Control contains tons of collectibles that tell side stories that flesh out the day-to-day lifestyle of FBC agents. We got an idea of what the average work-life balance looks like for these folks as they balanced their time between fantastical paranatural jobs and the banalities of office paperwork.
One of the most interesting sets of written correspondence players could run across was the notes from the FBC's Bureau Book Bunch. This quartet of agents would routinely meet in the Oldest House's cafeteria to discuss novels together, though the novel itself seemed to have paranatural properties, as each FBC agent involved in the book club would write a different synopsis of events contained therein.
The Bureau Book Bunch fell apart during the Hiss invasion, with at least two of the members falling victim to the resonance-based hivemind. Though the Oldest House is still in a state of crisis by the time the Firebreak initiative is put together, it seems as though some FBC agents are trying to retain a sense of normalcy.
During one dialogue exchange before players embark on a Job, the leader of Firebreak, Hank Flowers, is invited to a new iteration of the book club being put together by an agent named Francine. He quickly turns down the offer, but that doesn't mean the Bureau Book Bunch won't be riding again by the time a full sequel to Control comes along.
Your parautility will give you a much-needed burst of firepower when the going gets tough in the Oldest House.
Remedy Entertainment/Screenshot by CNET
Your ultimate ability is a paranatural force in and of itself
The Firebreakers are pretty expendable foot soldiers in the grand scheme of things, but that doesn't mean Hank is sending them out there intending for them to bite the dust. This volunteer force is made up of amateur parautilitarians (individuals who have bound and use paranatural items).
Each Firebreaker carries a single altered item -- the garden gnome, piggy bank or tea kettle, depending on which kit you choose -- so they don't have the luxury of mix-and-matching powerful items like Jesse Faden does. Still, it's likely that these altered items (and the altered items that get in your way during corrupted levels) were released from the Panopticon area featured during the back half of Control.
The Panopticon housed some of the most dangerous paranatural items and entities that the FBC has come across, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Now these powerful items are crisis management tools for the Firebreak initiative.
Jesse Faden better be involved in a case well above my paygrade if she's not showing up to lend us a hand.
Remedy Entertainment/Screenshot by CNET
Director Faden doesn't have time for the Firebreakers
Control protagonist Jesse Faden is one of the most powerful parautilitarians known to the FBC. After the death of director Zachariah Trench, she becomes the next wielder of the Service Weapon and subsequently takes his place as the acting director of the agency.
Director Faden struck the first real blows against the Hiss invaders and other paranatural organisms in the Oldest House by binding herself to nearly a dozen altered items. She's absurdly strong, which would make her a great asset against the sticky notes, pink goop and other threats that players encounter in Firebreak.
However, the most you'll hear about Director Faden is a couple of lines of dialogue explaining that she's busy dealing with more important issues. Hank grumbles that her presence would probably be good for the team's morale. When I'm armed with only a revolver and a glorified Super Soaker, I can't say I'd disagree.
The Hiss have been running amok around the Oldest House for six years now, and things seem to be getting a little, y'know, out of control. Jesse Faden better be palling around with Alan Wake on a quest to save the world or something if she's not helping the CNET crew deal with the Hiss in Paper Chase.