6 Years In Lockdown And The Janitor
Is Still Not Back

Coming from the triple Michelin Star kitchen of Remedy, who have served us with some of the most fire dishes in gaming history such as Quantum Break, Max Payne, Alan Wake II, and Control,they do something daring and try to incorporate a new ingredient into a new dish: multiplayer Co-Op!

However, even the best of chefs can struggle to adapt a new ingredient into a great dish. FBC Firebreak is definitely a hot dish which might not suit all tastes, but it comes with a great base.

Reviewed by

Sabber, Mohamed

A duo driven by co-op chaos and creativity, mirroring Firebreak’s wild energy and Remedy’s strange, brilliant worlds.

Genre: Action

Developer: Remedy Entertainment

Publisher: Remedy Entertainment

Release Date: 17 Jun, 2025

Other short headline options

Gameplay

Content

Visuals

Performance

Back Again In The Oldest House

FBC Firebreak takes place in the same location as Control. The Federal Bureau of Control or as known by Control veterans, The Oldest House.

It follows in the same lore of the original and keeps it in the background, which makes the game more accessible for players that are new to FBC. A lot of the aesthetic and design directions from Control carry over into Firebreak.

Visually, the game is very appealing, from map environments to UI elements. The design language feels very deliberate and effective at embodying and amplifying the atmosphere of the FBC.

I Can See The Remedy In It

The core mechanics of the game are mostly solid. It does not feel outright bad to play or anything like that. Movement is not too fast or slow. Shooting and reloading is decent. Weapon variety is good.

The three available kits (roles) are unique, fun and synergize really well. The level of chaos can make for a lot of fun with the right team.

And unlike most other games of a similar type, monetization is a background element. There is no season pass, no in-game shop, no premium currency. You can still buy cosmetic packs though from store fronts like steam.

The Cake Has Frosting But No Filling

While the game has everything going pretty well for it, it still has some major shortcomings.

The most glaring of all is the amount of content available, specifically when it comes to replayability. You can feel like you have experienced everything the game has to offer in less than 4 hours.

Considering the USD39.99 price tag, that is not the best value for money. The game gets very repetitive quickly, as progression is basically just a chores checklist

Premium Chore Simulator Experience

As the game stands now, there are 5 maps that each have 3 clearance levels. To unlock one you have to win a round in the previous level. The objective for each map is to do a certain task (X) number of times.

When you get to the next level clearance, you have to do the same task but three times more than you did in the previous level. So even though the task itself is different for each level, it all feels too similar.

Adding to that, none of the enemies feel unique or particularly challenging. There are different enemies in the game, but they all feel the same to fight against.

A Game For Telepathetic Individuals

For a Co-Op game that focuses on teamwork, it is a big question mark on why there is no way to communicate with your teammates effectively. They have a barebones reaction system with 4 options, and that is it.

No voice chat or text chat. So if you are playing with randoms, it is very difficult to organize. There is also a ping function, but with all the chaos that happens, it is difficult to notice what your teammate is pinging across the map.

More Time Needed On Constructing The Dish

If you are to pay the USD39.99 price tag today, you might end up feeling like you did not get your money’s worth.

If you are getting this from a game service subscription and have two other friends that you can get on a call with, then you can actually have some fun within the chaos that takes place over a few widely spaced sessions.

If Remedy supports the game and updates it over time, it would probably be a better offer down the line. So unless you know that you specifically want what this game has to offer, you might end up underwhelmed quickl

The Skepticism Was Justified

Considering the record of Remedy thus far, the expectations for FBC: Firebreak were not through the roof, but it did have good expectations and skepticism combined.

The product we got, while it has some of that Remedy sauce in it, unfortunately falls a little too short. Replayability is just not there for a game that is supposed to be highly replayable.

Even if you add a ‘wild card’ factor to your matches, being the altered items, it does shake up the gameplay a little but not enough to add to replayability. On top of all that, network functions and stability are not that good.