Multiplayer Control? Remedy begins a new chapter with FBC: Firebreak

The air is chilly and the trees are just on the verge of budding, even though the calendar says May 8. The reason? I've travelled to the Arctic Circle to visit Remedy, who are releasing their first multiplayer game FBC: Firebreak next month. They've invited me to their offices in Espoo, just outside Helsinki, to play for three hours, interview director Mike Kayatta, and of course to see the facilities of one of the most exciting studios of its time.

We are a small group of three who will be travelling together all day. In addition to myself, it's former Dutch TV host and current editor-in-chief of Power Unlimited magazine Simon Zijlemans, who is running late, and VGC's Jordan Middler, who has chosen to wear the same, slightly too springy, Uniqlo jacket as me for the occasion. But in a different colour, thankfully.

After a short taxi ride in a very comfortable electric Mercedes, which every driver in Helsinki seems to drive around in, we arrive at Remedy's offices in Espoo. This is where they've always been based. Since moving into the current building in 2019, the studio has grown from around 200 people to around 350 - some of whom work remotely or from the Stockholm studio. The fact that Remedy has become a studio that works on multiple projects at a time is something you can't help but notice as you're taken around the different floors. The Firebreak team only occupies a small corner, while the teams working on Control 2 and the Max Payne remake occupy other parts that we're not allowed to take a closer look at - although I do my best to pry. The Northlight team is also in the building, and Remedy even has mocap in-house. In this way, they remind me of Massive, which I visited last year. I also managed to steal a slightly too long glance at Sam Lake, who sits in an office near the Firebreak team, and have a chat about Finnish pancakes with the studio's composer Petri Alanko.

But we're not (only) here so I can get starstruck by various Finns, so after an ultra-short onboarding PowerPoint - partly facilitated by communication director Thomas Puha - we're taken down to Remedy's mocap studio, which has been thematically decorated for our visit so it's like something out of The Oldest House. And then it's time to get started.

Over the next three hours, we'll be playing three of the five jobs (read: missions) that FBC: Firebreak launches with: Hot Fix, Paper Chase, and Ground Control. Five missions may sound like a lot, but they are each divided into four sections that you have to continuously unlock. Completing a job at clearance level 4, as it's called when you tackle all sections, can take up to 45 minutes, so it actually aligns very well with what one of the game's big inspirations, Left 4 Dead, contained when it was launched. What's more, two more jobs will be added later in 2025, both for free.

A Remedy game inspired by Left 4 Dead is not the most obvious choice given the developer's history of almost exclusively story-driven third-person games. But that was actually part of the point, director Kayatta told us during our interview later that day. "We have an interest in being known for more than single-player games," as he soberly puts it. He elaborates: "It started from the perspective that Remedy used to only work on one game at a time, and then we transitioned into becoming a multi-project studio. When that happened, people questioned whether we should 'only' do a series of story-driven, third-person, nail-biting action games focused on exploration in the RCU (Remedy Connected Universe, for the uninitiated). Those games are fantastic. We're not moving away from them at all, but now that we're working on a lot of different things, we can make other types of games that we're passionate about."

One of those is FBC: Firebreak. "Control in multiplayer", Kayatta explains it as with a twinkle in his eye. But Control was actually part of the plan all along. "We had three pillars: Multiplayer, the Northlight engine, and the world of Control". However, as the trailers have made clear, this is a slightly different and more unpretentious take on the world of Control. There's more room for what my grandparents would call a lot of silliness, although there were still moments where the atmosphere felt more threatening. In practice, it feels much more natural and appropriate than the image the trailers create. It's unmistakably Control's world, the perspective is just different.

But let's go back to the Left 4 Dead thing for a moment. Based on a presentation I also attended and covered on this site, FBC: Firebreak is more Left 4 Dead than Live Service. A statement Kayatta seems pleased with when I present it to him. "Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 are the granddaddy of session-based co-op shooters," he says with obvious enthusiasm for the genre he works in, although he recognises that the name is not good. "Many of those who followed took the genre in a direction I'm not so keen on. The more live service-orientated focus," he continues, before offering praise to kindred spirits like Warhammer: Vermintide II, Helldivers 2, and Deep Rock Galactic.

FBC: Firebreak feels - like Left 4 Dead - like a game you can enjoy every now and then without feeling like you're missing out on anything. Not a second job. There won't be constant events and daily challenges. No, what we get is a handful of distinct levels, each with their own unique hook. In Paper Chase, for example, you have to eliminate post-it notes, while in Ground Control you collect radioactive material to put in a cart that you push through the level. If it sounds down-to-earth, that's because the inspiration is: "We had firefighters in mind when we designed the missions and the loop," says Kayatta. The down-to-earth, but still bizarre, missions are one of the things that make FBC: Firebreak stand out from the crowd, but of course you and your friends won't have the peace and quiet to complete the task. The Oldest House is still hermetically sealed due to the threat of The Hiss, who are tasked with harassing you while you're transporting radioactive material.

The Encounter design, like its predecessors, is built to overwhelm, and we quickly realised that coordinated cooperation was an absolute necessity to succeed. This is where the game's three Crisis Kits come in. FBC: Firebreak doesn't have classes as such, but it does have some. For example, everyone can use all weapons equally well. The selection we tried was of the classic variety - shotguns, SMGs, pistols. In turn, each Crisis Kit provides three unique abilities. The Jump Kit, which was the kit I played with 90% of the time, for example, is focused on electricity. The basic ability is a shot of electricity that can quickly wake sleeping machinery or deal extra damage to enemies affected by water - conveniently, Splash Kit users can spray water. In addition, you can unlock two additional abilities. BOOMbox is a, you guessed it, boombox that attracts enemies before it explodes. The wildest, however, is the so-called Altered Augment named AL19 "Garden Gnome", which creates an electrical storm that can quickly finish off enemies and friends.

The other two kits are completely distinct, and the experience of playing with the Splash Kit towards the end of our time with the game was markedly different. Suddenly, I was the one who had to get The Hiss wet so Middler could shock them; I was the one who had to act as a healer for the group. And then I had to replace my beloved but volatile garden gnome with a fire-breathing teapot, which was also fun, although its level of chaos is inferior to the gnome's equivalent.

At its best, FBC: Firebreak is a chaotic, but coordinated, struggle to complete the various tasks under increasing pressure from the Hiss hordes. Firing your weapons feels good, and the different abilities require skill and experience to use optimally. The clear objectives of each job ensure that there is always direction and momentum, and the rock-paper-scissors system introduced by the three Crisis Kits necessitates that everyone understands their role and communicates their intentions. In Hot Fix, for example, it was extremely important that the Splash Kit holder stayed close at all times, as their firefighting skills were indispensable because the rest of us were constantly on fire.

I get a little nervous that playing the same sections over and over again while opening up clearance levels will become monotonous. In fact, it already did a bit towards the end. And I don't know if seven jobs by the end of 2025 is enough to keep people hanging around. But maybe we don't need that either. Maybe it's ok that FBC: Firebreak is a game you play a lot of at first and then just check in with every now and then? For me, it's clear, the question is whether it makes sense financially if you don't keep people hooked.

Between jobs, you can use earned currency called lost assets to buy new weapons, skills ,and cosmetic upgrades. All content that affects gameplay is opened with the earned currency, but certain cosmetic items like armour embellishments cost real money. It doesn't seem greedy, but as always, it's worth keeping an eye out to make sure Remedy doesn't take monetisation in the wrong direction.

Some people will probably try FBC: Firebreak because it's a Remedy game set in Control's universe - even if multiplayer isn't their favourite. It will be a bit of a shock to the system, but as part of that group, I was surprised at how quickly I found the different take on the universe natural. It's strange to play a Remedy game where there's almost no story in the traditional sense, but it's clear that the world building is still simmering in the background. "Even though we're not story-driven, we're 100% canon and relevant to the RCU," as Kayatta points out. You just have to look for the flair in other places - loading screens, dialogue snippets, for example.

I leave my visit to Remedy filled with enthusiasm for the game they are about to release. FBC: Firebreak marks several new beginnings for the Finns. It's their first multiplayer game and the first game they will publish themselves. So, they're excited. And nervous. Of course they are. I was one of those who was sceptical about the game when it was announced - too silly and not enough narrative was my knee-jerk reaction. But slowly I've started to soften to it, and the three hours with it in my hands acted as a catalyst. It's a focused, chaotic extraction shooter that feels great to play and has plenty of Remedy's signature style - just look at the title cards that introduce each job. Now I can't wait to return to the Oldest House with a few friends and clean up the mess.