Stay with me on this one. Just hours after my first taste of FBC: Firebreak, I was face-to-frosting with a decadent cream cake. In a move true to my clumsy nature, a generous scoop of cream plunged into my blood orange cocktail, melting into a milky swirl. As I stared at the mixture, my mind instantly flashed back to the halls of the Federal Bureau of Control, where I was firing searing white bursts of liquid at the pulsating red enemies stalking its corridors. This is precisely the kind of bizarre mental connection a visit to Remedy's creative world can forge.
Remedy's catalog is wonderfully eclectic, spanning horror, sci-fi, and neo-noir detective tales. Yet, what has always captivated me about the studio behind Alan Wake and Max Payne is its fearless embrace of the absurd. Firebreak, their newest venture into first-person co-op multiplayer, is profoundly silly. During a two-hour session, I managed to decimate foes with a homicidal garden gnome and battle a skyscraper-sized sticky note monstrosity. This experience convinced me that if any studio can distinguish itself in the oversaturated, often overly solemn online shooter market, it's Remedy—a developer relentlessly committed to injecting the wonderfully weird into everything it creates.
FBC: Firebreak - Gameplay Screenshots
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Set six years after the events of Control, Firebreak returns to the familiar, unsettling confines of The Oldest House. Fans will recognize both the imposing brutalist architecture and the quirky details, like Finnish folk music piping from bathroom speakers, creating a comfortingly eerie homecoming. Your squad's mission is to re-enter this X-Files-esque government building to contain localized outbreaks of the Hiss—the interdimensional threat from Control that corrupts everything in its path. You and up to two teammates become this universe's Ghostbusters, trading proton packs for double-barreled shotguns. The key difference? Here, crossing the streams isn't just allowed—it's the entire strategy.
Let me elaborate. Beyond standard firearms, you choose from three distinct "kits," which function as classes. Each supports the team differently. The Fix Kit lets you rapidly repair essential machines like ammo stations and healing showers (yes, FBC agents regain HP by standing under a deluge of water—the silliness is a feature). The Splash Kit equips you with a hydro cannon that can heal allies or drench enemies. The Jump Kit provides a short-range electro-kinetic impactor to stun foes. Individually, these kits are useful, but their true power emerges in combination. You can probably guess the devastating effect of sending a high-voltage charge through a soaked enemy mob.
Teamwork and communication are paramount in Firebreak. While playable solo, the design clearly encourages a coordinated trio, especially when chaos erupts. Every mission, or "job," follows a core loop: infiltrate, complete objectives, and retreat to your entry elevator. My first assignment was straightforward: repair three overheating fans in a furnace while fending off enemy waves, then sprint back to safety.
But as mentioned, chaos is inevitable. The next mission, "Paper Chase," was a drastic shift. Our goal was to destroy thousands of scattered sticky notes plastered across office walls and floors before we could exit. The catch? Regular Hiss assaults slowed our progress, and the notes themselves could latch onto us, causing damage—truly a case of "death by a thousand paper cuts." While a melee attack could remove them, they were far more efficiently eliminated with a quick soak-and-spark combo, brilliantly showcasing the elemental kit synergy. This cooperative depth is backed by solid gunplay, ensuring you're never helpless without a teammate. I gravitated toward the machine gun, relishing how the red-hued ghouls burst into the iconic oily haze from Control.
The third mission, set in the Black Rock Quarry, demanded the most coordination. We shot squelchy leeches from cavern walls to collect lethal radioactive pearls, contained them in a shuttle, and transported them deeper into the quarry. This was the most challenging job, emphasizing clear communication. Hindered by radiation requiring frequent shower breaks, relentless enemy waves, and instant-kill astral spikes, progress was hard-won. Yet, even in the frenetic chaos, the fun never dissipated.
While I appreciate the mission variety, I have mixed feelings about the map design. In Control, The Oldest House was a devilish, shape-shifting labyrinth. Here, the layouts are simpler and more linear, which likely benefits first-person navigation (though my team still got turned around occasionally without a minimap). However, this approach does sacrifice some of the headquarters' unpredictable magic. Don't expect wonders like the Ashtray Maze; instead, you'll navigate more grounded, functional spaces.
These missions may sound simple, but completing them unlocks higher clearance levels with new objectives, expanding the maps and complexity. Bosses, a staple from Control, gate your progress. These range from bullet sponges to more inventive foes, like the giant sticky note beast that pummeled us with massive yellow fists. The latter was a highlight, requiring the communication and puzzle-solving teamwork I crave in co-op shooters—a blend of brute force and brainpower reminiscent of late-stage expeditions in games like Space Marine 2.
Monsters born from mundane objects were a favorite part of Control, and I'm thrilled that brand of weirdness carries over. This extends to randomly spawning corrupted items, which I didn't encounter but sound tantalizing (a misdirection-casting rubber duck did spawn, but its small size made it impossible to find—a readability issue the devs are addressing). Another example described was a set of traffic lights whose red beam inflicts massive damage, injecting a dash of Squid Game tension into the brutalist grays.
The potential is clear, though my reservations center on readability.
These signature Remedy flourishes are Firebreak's ticket to standing out. They extend to your loadout, where mission rewards grant tokens for unlocking delightfully bizarre tools. These include ultimate abilities like the Splash Kit's Teapot, which scalds enemies with superheated globules, and the Jump Kit's erratic garden gnome, summoning a localized electrical storm. That gnome ensured glorious chaos reigned throughout my session. While typically a blast, there were moments where the screen became a cacophony of color and effects, making tactical play difficult.
The potential is clear, though my reservations center on readability. Sometimes objectives or paths are unclear. Other times, avoiding friendly fire or identifying the boss in a crowd is challenging. With visual effects erupting constantly, maintaining precision can be overwhelming. The development team acknowledges this and plans to improve overall clarity before the June 17 launch.
Firebreak launches with five jobs, with two more promised by late 2025. That number might seem modest, but game director Mike Kayatta frames them as "game modes" more than linear missions. I understand the perspective, given the replayability offered by multiple clearance levels and evolving objectives. Priced at $39.99 / €39.99 / £32.99 and included in Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, it promises substantial value for both Control veterans and newcomers seeking a uniquely fun co-op shooter.
The always-online co-op shooter path is a formidable one today. Yet, after my time with Firebreak, I see a robust foundation elevated by Remedy's quintessential quirkiness. This combination could carve a distinct niche in the genre. Much like that dollop of cream carved its own unique space in my cocktail—I still drank every last drop.
