FBC: Firebreak

FBC: Firebreak marks a triple debut for Remedy Entertainment. Not only is it their first multiplayer game and their first game from a first-person perspective, it is also the first game they are publishing entirely on their own.

As we know from Control, strange things are happening at the Federal Bureau of Control. Now it's time to revisit The Oldest House in Remedy Entertainment's first multiplayer game. Unlike Control, though, players control their character from a first-person perspective. This is another new territory for the Finnish studio.

FBC: Firebreak features highly replayable missions known as 'Jobs', with different challenges, objectives and environments that require teamwork and adaptability. Examples include fighting a furnace spewing fire across the maintenance sector or dealing with pink exogenic mass that explodes on contact. Then there's Paper Chase, where a rogue sticky note outbreak spirals into a paranormal crisis. Players must push through three escalting zones (which are unlocked one after the other), culminating in a chaotic showdown against a towering manifestation of these anomalies - Sticky Ricky, in this case. However, Firebreakers also need to fire radiation-emitting pearls from Astral Leeches back into space and combat frost anomalies using portable heaters, and then summon the ski lift. It's disappointing that players get to know the locations quite well after a few sessions. A little more variety, or even randomly generated levels, would have helped here.

At the end of the mission, all players must reach the lifesaving lift while facing a large number of enemies, including a powerful boss that drops valuable items for player progression. The game then takes on something of an extraction shooter feel, with the horde aspect of the enemy waves being surprisingly intense. Once a team member dies, they can either wait to be revived by others or choose to respawn, although there is a limited number of respawns.

Before diving into a job, players select a Crisis Kit to shape their Firebreaker's playstyle. These kits provide weapons, tools and reality-bending augments. The Jump Kit focuses on electricity and field control. The Fix Kit is used to solve problems by hitting them with a large wrench. The Splash Kit focuses on water and manipulating conditions. Status effects such as fire, electricity, water, frost and radioactivity play an important role, particularly in weakening enemies and making them easier to defeat. And no, there aren't any supernatural powers like in Control (Jesse Faden: Launch, Levitation, Evade, Shield). The kits' more powerful tools, weapons and, their Ultimates (Altered Augments) are unlocked in Requisitions. Perks lie at the heart of progression, each offering a twist to gameplay. Players unlock perks by levelling up their rank, and then purchase them using a combination of Lost Assets and Research Samples (only in Corruption sessions).

Every job has four difficulty levels, and it is possible to complete jobs solo, but it will be challenging, even though every objective has been designed to be achievable alone. It is also possible to start with only two players by creating a room and sharing the room code. However, the rewards increase with the number of players. Any yes, there is Friendly Fire.

FBC: Firebreak does not feature a 'heavy grind', but players start with basic equipment and steadily unlock new items as they progress. To do this, they need Lost Assets (the in-game currency), which they can obtain by doing Jobs. These are then used at Requisitions and Research to unlock perks and upgrades.

Unlike Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, which has somewhat long walking distances and idle time, Remedy has designed the game so that there is little downtime. A complete job takes about 20 to 25 minutes. The first section often takes less than ten minutes. In contrast to Control, players will only get story breadcrumbs or anecdotes in FBC: Firebreak because this game is all about fast-paced multiplayer action.

Requisitions rewards players with new gear and cosmetics for playing the game. These can include weapons, equipment, armor, sprays and more, all of which are unlockable using in-game currency earned through gameplay. The requisitions work and are unlocked in a similar way to Helldivers 2. There are no limited-time windows or rotating stores or daily log-ins. Those who want additional customisation options can purchase Classified Requisitions, which offer premium cosmetic items such as armor sets, custom voice packs, sprays and weapon skins, with real money. These items are purely cosmetic, have no impact on gameplay, and will remain available permanently.

Remedy will continue to expand FBC: Firebreak with post-launch content, including two new Jobs due to be released in 2025. All future playable content, including new Jobs (Fall: Outbreak; Winter: Blackout), will be free.

FBC: Firebreak for PC features a suite of Nvidia RTX technologies, developed by Remedy for Alan Wake 2. With the highest ray tracing preset selected, players can enjoy the game with full ray tracing. Additionally, all GeForce RTX gamers benefit from Nvidia RTX Mega Geometry, which reduces the creation and update times of bounding volume hierarchies for CPUs and GPUs. At the same time, VRAM consumption is reduced. "On average, DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation, DLSS Super Resolution and DLSS Ray Reconstruction multiplies performance by 9.3x at maximum 4K settings on GeForce RTX 50 Series desktop GPUs," Nvidia states and continues: "Gamers can play FBC: Firebreak with full ray tracing at nearly 200 frames per second on the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, nearly 250 frames per second on the GeForce RTX 5080, and 360 frames per second on the (...) GeForce RTX 5090."

FBC: Firebreak, Remedy Entertainment's first self-published game, will be available worldwide on 17 June 2025. It will be available on PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 for €39.99. FBC: Firebreak will also be available on day one via PC Game Pass, Game Pass Ultimate, and the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog (Extra and Premium).

Conclusion

FBC: Firebreak is a quintessentially Remedy game: wild, eccentric, and fun. However, the game doesn't make enough of the Control universe, and the missions feel a little repetitive. But since FBC is designed as a live service title, there is still room for improvement. The foundation is solid.

Features

• Cooperative first-person shooter for (up to) three players
• Missions with unusual objectives
• Set in the world of Control