When it comes to any government clean up job, there’s going to be some dirty work. The work just happens to be dirtier when extra-dimensional ghouls are involved. That’s the premise of Remedy Entertainment’s new cooperative shooter, FBC: Firebreak (out now), and it’s one that the developers have leaned into with hilarious results.
Set in the world of Remedy’s 2020 paranormal action-adventure game Control, Firebreak takes place six years after the events of the mainline title, wherein a government organization dubbed the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) has set up shop to contain an otherworldly threat known as the Hiss. Whereas Control was a single-player, third-person adventure that focused on exploration and backtracking, Firebreak is Remedy’s take on cooperative first-person shooters like Left 4 Dead (2008).
It’s a very different kind of game for the studio, whose previous work like Control and the Alan Wake series have been celebrated for their atmospheric and often experimental storytelling — routinely blending live-action footage with in-game graphics to eerie effect. Here, the plot takes a back seat to gameplay, making for a strange mash-up of inspirations that feels equal parts dollar store Ghostbusters and intense extraction shooter.
But does it work?
What is FBC: Firebreak?
FBC: Firebreak is a three-person cooperative shooter that sees players take on the role of Firebreakers, a unit of not-quite-elite soldiers tasked with quelling the chaos inside the FBC’s HQ, known as the Oldest House. Under perpetual siege by the Hiss, the FBC relies on Firebreak to mow down monsters that have possessed their office workers and solve an escalating series of problems (often mundane tasks like fixing ventilation and cleaning up haunted stick notes) before things get out of hand.
Players can choose from three Crisis Kits, which serve as specific class specializations. The Fix Kit is a wrench-wielding mechanic, the Jump Kit is an electrician, and the Splash Kit is a poor man’s firefighter. Weapons and gear (like grenades) are interchangeable between the kits, but each serves a specific purpose. Around each level, certain jobs must be completed, like fixing machines dedicated to powering fans or workstations, which can be done more quickly by Fix and Jump classes. For the Splash players, their glob-shooting hose can heal their teammates, put out dangerous fires, and weaken the Hiss, who are vulnerable to H20 (and fire, ice, and radiation!). The last bit is key, too, because players themselves can quickly fall victim to environmental hazards and having a Splash Kit handy can quickly correct a series of mishaps.
Prior to queuing up with others online, players must select a specific level that revolves around a job. Hot Fix requires them to fix all the fans in the area as rising heat becomes dangerous. Paper Chase is a level where players eradicate possessed sticky notes like a power washing simulator. Ground Control is set deeper in the depths of the Quarry, where players pop leech pods like pimples to find irradiated pearls to shove into a cart. Frequency Shift is pulled directly from Ghostbusters 2, where pink slime gunks up the gears of the facility and must be cleared before antennae can be restored. Lastly, Freezer Duty sees the team igniting portable generators to heat up frozen extra-dimensional anomalies.
The jobs themselves are mostly easy to perform. Some only require smacking a machine with a wrench, while others can be more puzzling at first — like rapidly hitting button prompts to kickstart a fire generator and tossing it into a frozen anomaly without setting yourself on fire. Most tasks have some sort of inherent threat that must be managed, and multitasking becomes key. Gathering pearls in Ground Control requires shooting pods that are high up, collecting the bright green pearl and racing back to the cart (which can be pushed, but slides back on the rails when left alone). In this instance, the pearls themselves are radioactive, and can kill you quickly if not tossed. Players must then either rinse off in a nearby shower (or Splash Kit hose) to reduce their radiation levels.
There’s also the ever-present threat of the Hiss which, fortunately, comes in clearly telegraphed waves. When the comms ring alerting players to a Hiss invasion, it’s time to drop the job at hand and hunker down for battle. Enemy difficulty and density can be decided prior to the mission, and for veteran players, a Corruption modifier can be added making certain high-powered foes appear. But at the base threat level, the game is manageable, even in single-player mode. With moderate coordination, enemy AI can be overcome handily — at least at lower levels.
Does it work?
Mechanically, FBC: Firebreak feels excellent to play. The controls are tight and generous with the stamina meter, meaning that all the sprinting, lifting, and throwing required for jobs can be done plentifully without constantly stopping down to rest. Aiming and shooting is solid, with snappy gunplay and reasonable levels of recoil keeping firefights enthralling. On the PS5, the adaptive triggers have a defined crunch when pulling the trigger, which rarely becomes distracting even when the odds are overwhelming.
Jobs and the individual tasks required can become a little redundant, however. Hotwiring a generator or mining ammunition from a workstation always requires the same rapid input of shoulder button presses, which can harm the player if they mess up. The design shines when players are under duress; fumbling to properly string together prompts for just one more clip of ammo as an enemy’s footsteps loom closer can be riveting. But when the same actions are repeated ad nauseum regardless of the threat level, it can be monotonous.
This is somewhat offset by the pace of each level which, unlike the 40-minute plus journey of each level in Left 4 Dead, can be made to run much faster. Jobs can be selected at levels one through three; choosing level one means there’s only a single area to clear, which can be done in a couple of minutes. Each additional level essentially doubles the playtime, forcing players to clear out and complete a job, then move deeper into the facility to do a larger scale version, then race back to the starting point to extract via elevator. The option to go deeper for better and more plentiful materials (used for unlocking and upgrading gear and skills) can be worth the extra effort, but it’s nice to be able to play a cooperative shooter than offers a blitz mode. Not everyone has time to descend every layer of hell, every time; an occasional jaunt can be just as fun.
At present, matchmaking can be hit or miss. Starting up your own team by selecting a job and waiting for other players rarely pans out; it’s easier to begin a mission solo and hope someone jumps aboard. Annoyingly, quick start tends to drop you into a mission at random, meaning that any specific goals you might have (like completing certain levels to unlock more) are at the will of the draw. It’s commonplace to be disconnected from servers too, losing progress toward unlockables.
While the game is a cooperative shooter with different skins and progression systems, Firebreak isn’t exactly a live-service — meaning there’s no battle passes or ongoing events to keep up with. At $40 (technically a budget title!), what levels, classes, and unlockables there are what you get, although the developers have a roadmap for releasing more classes, jobs and more for free. For players accustomed to grinding out every inch of content out of their games, there might be a limited pool of rewards compared to games like Call of Duty or Fortnite that dole out endless updates season after season.
For fans of Remedy’s previous games, the tone of Firebreak could be the real issue. While Alan Wake and Control aren’t themselves deadly serious, Firebreak hues much more heavily into broad comedy than the mainline Remedyverse titles. If the humor clicks with you, there’s joy to be had in accidentally setting yourself on fire over and over again while being chased by a Slenderman-like apparition made of Post-Its. But for anyone looking for deeper storytelling or nuance, it isn’t to be found here.
It’s hard to say if FBC: Firebreak will have longevity as a multiplayer experience. It packs in plenty up front, but with some redundant missions and tasks, it might be better suited for occasional spurts of high-octane gameplay with friends or strangers. But that’s not necessarily a knock. Gigging as a ghost buster doesn’t need to be a full-time job.
FBC: Firebreak is out now for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
From Rolling Stone US.