Video Game Review: FBC Firebreak
Remedy Entertainment is known for its heavy story driven games, diverse characters, and rich world building. As a company, Remedy has always tried to innovate in the gaming medium. As their first self-published game and first co-op First Person Shooter, FBC: Firebreak is a departure from their previous style of games. However, for new and current Remedy fans, this game is entertaining and worth your time.
Official Summary
As the Bureau’s headquarters faces a deadly and prolonged siege by otherworldly forces, only Firebreak—its most adaptable response unit—has the skills and courage to restore order.
Quick Information
Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Release Date: June 17, 2025
Genre: FPS
What is FBC: Firebreak?
It’s been six years since the Federal Bureau of Control was invaded by paranatural entities known as the Hiss. Stuck in lockdown, you must rise to the challenge to defeat the invading waves of Hiss while still managing your everyday tasks around the Oldest House. The Firebreak team is a special task force which wrangles both the Hiss and rogue Altered Items.
This game takes place after the events of Control (2019) and is set in the strange world of the ever-shifting headquarters of the FBC: the Oldest House. For players being introduced to the universe for the first time, you may be interested in playing Control to learn about the context of events which led to the creation of the Firebreak unit. Even if you haven’t played Control, you can still experience what FBC: Firebreak has to offer. For fans already familiar with the universe, the continuation of the story is light with only some ambient dialogue and new Bureau documentation. However, this game still feels like a familiar romp through the Oldest House.
Gameplay
For context, I’ve spent over 24 hours playing this game on Xbox Series X and have all but one achievement left (curse you elevator that needed repair). I’ve played most of my time either solo, with friends, or with randoms on every single setting and job. I have maxed out every single Crisis Kit and have unlocked every single strong trait.
Gameplay wise this co-op shooter has you play in a team of three to take on one of five current jobs which are this game’s version of levels/missions. To assist you on these jobs, you can choose one of three Crisis Kits. Each kit consists of one tool, a special ability, and an ultimate which charges up over time and will unleash the power of an Altered Augment. The three Crisis Kits are:
The Splash Kit, which allows you to put out fires easier, heal your teammates with the power of a mobile water cooler, and spilling scalding hot tea on your enemies (and sometimes friends) with an altered teapot.
The Jump Kit, allows you to power up generators quicker with your Electro-Kinetic Charge Impactor (it also doubles as a pogo stick for those that like to get airborne), a portable boombox which plays only the Finnish Tango and taunts all enemies, and the Garden Gnome which summons an aerial strike stronger than an AC-130 above unable to distinguish friend or foe in its destructive path.
The Fix Kit, which allows you to wield a large wrench to fix anything that may not be working during a mission. Just give that broken shower a smack and it will be working properly for your team in no time. This kit’s special ability is the swivel cannon which consists of an office chair with a cannon on top. This turret is great at providing covering fire… just don’t stand in front of it. This kit also comes with the Altered Augment Piggy Bank which requires a boop to the snoot before empowering every wrench swing with the ability to unleash a tornado of coins towards your enemies, creating some much needed personal space for you and your allies.
Before selecting your job, you can change several different settings to adjust the game's difficulty, rewards, and random effects. These options are Clearance, Threat, and Corruption.
Clearance has three settings which change how long the job will be, with three being the longest. Threat adjusts the difficulty of the job, ranging from Easy, Normal, Hard, and Extreme. Corruption is a three tiered option which adds a degree of randomness to the job. Corruption spawns random Altered Items which are seemingly mundane items empowered by the paranatural which debuff your gameplay in different ways. Examples of these debuffs include increased enemy health or hindered movement as you progress through a job. It's always best to grab a Black Rock Neutralizer and destroy the Altered Item before it catches you by surprise at the worst time.
The jobs are straightforward with objectives on screen letting you know which tasks you will need to complete in each map. Objectives may involve destroying thousands of sticky notes, fixing some fans, or finding mannequins for a fussy ski-lift. Jobs aren’t all about fixing things, as you are assaulted by waves of Hiss which also can include strong elite enemies (like the special infected in Left 4 Dead).
While you start out with a base weapon ranging from a pistol, double-barrel shotgun, or submachine gun, you can choose to unlock different weapons throughout your play with various currencies. Lost Assets and Research Samples are items you find around the map which turn into currency if you survive the job. You can then use these assets to upgrade your tools, weapons, or unlock other perks or cosmetics. You can unlock additional weapons such as the bolt-action rifle, pump-action shotgun, and my personal favorite the machine gun (aka Helen Marshall’s weapon).
The gameplay loop reminds me of Left 4 Dead, which any long time fan of co-op shooters will fondly remember. Back then we didn’t need high mobility moves, deep stories, or complex classes to enjoy the game. The goal of Left 4 Dead is to navigate the level, find some gas cans, turn on the generator, fight the horde, and make it to the chopper. FBC: Firebeak’s gameplay loop executes on this concept in the exact same way. The only difference is this time we get a Remedy flair to the missions, objectives, background story, and visual aesthetics.
However, players who are used to fast-paced games like Apex Legends or Call of Duty will probably struggle if they try to compare FBC: Firebeak to those games. In my opinion, if fans of those games come to FBC: Firebreak with an open mind and try to experience the game for what it is, I think they’ll have a good time.
Review
Overall I have enjoyed my time with FBC: Firebreak. I couldn’t wait to get back to the Oldest House since I finished Control, and this game let me walk those familiar halls once more. This is a relaxing shooter set in one of my favorite video game universes and has been a joy to play. I wish there was a little more story content, but I’ve appreciated the snippets of lore intermixed with the gameplay. Having played Control, I have several questions about what’s going on with Director Jesse Faden and everyone at the FBC, but it seems like I’m just going to have to continue to wait for Control 2 for answers. This game feels like an expansion of the universe but not a mandatory requirement bridging us to the next Control game. It’s also a perfect opportunity to introduce fans of FPS games only to the unique world of Control.
I’ve always been a fan of PVE shooters, but nowadays it seems most FPS games now focus on PVP combat systems. FBC: Firebreak is a refreshing shooter in this regard. The Crisis Kits feel distinct and fun to play with. Every kit feels important and synergizes with each other and the environment itself. In a coordinated group, having one of each Crisis Kit is invaluable and makes the job much easier, especially on harder settings. The option to pick the gun and grenade set up separate from your Crisis Kit allows additional flexibility. FBC: Firebreak is also the first game in a long while where I don’t feel that one kit is the best for every job or the one I have to play every match. This allows you to explore each kit to find out which one suits your playstyle best.
Unlocking everything that I wanted to unlock didn’t take 60+ hours of gameplay. I was able to upgrade my weapon of choice and perks fully shortly into my time with this game (and this was before the recent progression updates). Now, going forward, I can jump into a game at any time and feel comfortable with my kit. Some people may feel disappointed there isn’t an infinite progression system, but for me, this isn’t a problem. I prefer mastering a game and having everything at my disposal as opposed to logging on and grinding out upgrades over time like a job. I just want to play the game.
Aesthetically, this game’s design and attention to detail is phenomenal. Each Crisis Kit looks like the Firebreak team has literally cannibalized anything and everything inside the Oldest House to create their kits and even their uniforms. The job sites feel familiar and immersive.
While FBC: Firebreak is not without its fair share of bugs, Remedy has been actively updating and patching the game. Some of these updates include making it easier to unlock perks, making Lost Assets and Research Samples easier to identify, and matchmaking improvements. Some of my earliest complaints have been mostly alleviated by these changes.
However, one of my biggest issues is the individual collection of Lost Assets and Research Samples. I understand they want players to explore around the jobs individually, but this also goes against the game’s core team concept. In my opinion, a good quality-of-life change Remedy could make would be to have Lost Assets and Research Samples be a group-wide currency. Because the currency is currently earned individually, there is a risk for friction and griefing through friendly fire. Obviously this problem can be avoided by playing with friends or by playing solo. If you’re queueing up with random players, you may run into situations where your teammates are less than friendly players.
Another huge quality-of-life change would be to have to only use one perk slot for a strong trait instead of currently having to use two slots. This would allow players to try out different perks other other than the ones that feel mandatory such as Shower Thoughts and Iron Liver.
One of the common complaints I’ve seen about the game is that players who haven’t played Control have no idea what they are doing because there isn’t an in-game tutorial. While I understand this opinion, there are text and video previews which explain each Crisis Kits’ abilities. You may need to do a few games before you learn your way around, but you’ll pick it up fast.
It's also worth noting that there is no in-game voice or text chat. While I don’t think in-game voice is necessary as most people hardly use a mic nowadays, it is a little odd not to have the option.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen a lot of negativity surrounding FBC: Firebreak. I think this is because people wanted it to be something that it was never marketed to be. Remedy was very clear from the beginning over what type of game FBC: Firebeak would be. FBC: Firebeak was never going to be Control 2 or Alan Wake 3, meaning it was never going to be the single player game we’re used to from Remedy. Fans who expected more than a co-op shooter set in the Control universe are going to be disappointed. This isn’t a story based game. It was never going to be, but that’s ok. This is a shooter set in the familiar Remedy Connected Universe, and it’s an addition which stands on its own.
Conclusion
As for FBC: Firebreak’s future, Remedy has already shared a post-launch roadmap for the rest of the year which includes two more jobs: Codename Outbreak and Blackout which will respectively drop this fall and winter. The best part of all future content is that it will be free!
Remedy has stated multiple times on their development streams that they are dedicated to free post-launch content that will never be FOMO in its design. Once it's in-game, it will stay in-game forever. No monthly rotating store, no daily quests, no temporary, limited time rewards. As someone who has a busy schedule, I cannot stress how great it is not to worry about something like this. I wish MORE companies would do this. It would make gaming much more manageable.
FBC: Firebreak breaks the mold by being a different type of game from Remedy, but it is no less deserving of your time. While you may not play this game every single day or every single week, you can still find hours of entertainment within the confines of the Oldest House. So grab some friends, select your kit, and I hope to see you at the firebeak.