Control – Hidden Bosses, Forbidden Rooms, Lost AWEs, and the Cosmic Secrets of the Oldest House

Control is not just a supernatural action game — it is a living puzzle box.
The Oldest House shifts like a dream, storing echoes of other worlds, entities that rewrite physics, and memories that bleed into reality.
Jesse Faden’s journey reveals only a fraction of the Bureau’s truth — unless you explore deeper, into places the Board never wanted anyone to find.

These are the most intricate, lore-heavy, and reality-bending secrets inside the Oldest House.

Hidden Quest – “The Director Who Never Was”

The Board was not always planning for Jesse.
There was another candidate.

How to Trigger It:

1. Complete the Ahti “What a Mess” questline.

2. Visit the Mail Room after midnight (real-time or system clock).

3. A secret door opens behind the pneumatic tubes.

Inside, Jesse finds a dusty office with an old nameplate: “Director Candidate #7”
A recording plays of the unknown candidate arguing with Trench:
“The Board chose me. You don’t get to override them.”

The quest leads to a hidden Object of Power named The WhisperPhone, which grants a passive ability that reduces Hiss damage when Jesse is near PA speakers.

This reveals a chilling truth: Jesse wasn’t the first the Board “groomed.”

Hidden Boss – The Hollow Hiss

A terrifying, invisible entity feeding on the House’s shifting spaces.

How to Encounter It:

1. In the Research Sector, reach the lower Fluid Motion Lab.

2. Turn off every light in the facility using the breaker switches.

3. A humming, distorted presence fills the room.

4. The Hollow Hiss materializes — a swirling mass of gravity distortions.

It attacks by:

• Nullifying Launch powers

• Bending rooms inward

• Whispering Jesse’s memories at her

Defeating it grants Hollow Residue, used to unlock the Gravitic Shield mod enhancing shield strength and pushback.

Hidden Area – The Black Threshold

A forbidden dimension behind the Black Rock Quarry.

How to Access It:

1. Return to the Quarry after obtaining the Levitate ability.

2. Fly toward the farthest darkness-covered fissure.

3. A hidden door of pure black rock pulses and opens.

Inside lies the Black Threshold — a quiet, monochrome world filled with floating silhouettes.
These are implied to be agents who slipped too far into altered states.

A final mural shows a giant hand reaching toward a smaller hand — Jesse’s and Polaris’s connection manifested visually.

Hidden Mechanic – Polaris Echo Pulses

Jesse’s bond with Polaris affects gameplay far more than the HUD shows.

Unlisted Behavior:

• When Jesse survives with <15% HP, a brief white flash indicates Polaris reinforced her

• Launch damage increases subtly when fighting multiple Hiss at once

• If Jesse stands still in a Quiet Room, faint shapes swirl around her — Polaris “tidying the noise”

This hidden system reflects Polaris actively helping, not passively guiding.

Hidden Weapon – The Archivist Form

A lost transformation of the Service Weapon designed for information warfare.

How to Obtain It:

1. Collect 10 Black Rock Notes from the Black Rock Quarry

2. Find the secret archive in the Executive Sector

3. Interact with the sealed case marked “AW-07c – CONFIDENTIAL”

The Service Weapon transforms into Archivist Form, firing piercing data shards that disable enemy abilities temporarily.
Perfect against elevated and explosive Hiss types.

Hidden Quest – “The Radio of Many Worlds”

A strange radio picking up signals from alternate realities.

How to Trigger It:

1. Enter the Dead Letters archive after finishing the main story.

2. One radio emits a Morse-coded message.

3. Bring it to Ahti’s janitor closet.

Playing the message in his presence triggers a portal to a small pocket dimension filled with broken radios — each broadcasting:

• Alien voices

• Hissing ambient noise

• A woman crying and saying, “The House eats memories”

Collecting all signals unlocks the Frequency Walker mod, granting faster energy regen during weapon switching.

Hidden Enemy – The Returner

A figure resembling a dead agent who follows Jesse silently.

Where to Find It:

1. Must have completed the Brother’s AWE DLC.

2. Visit the Containment Sector’s morgue.

3. Turn away from the last body drawer.

4. Turn back.

A corpse-like agent stands behind Jesse.
If you approach, it vanishes.
If ignored, it appears again in other sectors, following quietly.

Reading hidden files reveals a note:
“Subject keeps returning to moments of their death. We cannot stop the loop.”

Hidden Area – The Director’s Past

A hidden memory reconstruction of Ordinary.

How to Access It:

1. Finish all Side Missions

2. Visit the Hotline Chamber and stare at the Board’s triangle for 45 seconds

3. A breach opens behind Jesse

Entering it shows a surreal, white version of Ordinary full of childhood objects.
Jesse hears echoes of her younger self talking to Dylan.
This area confirms Dylan first heard the Hiss far earlier than anyone thought.

Hidden Ending Variant – “The House Accepts You”

Unlocked only after maximum completion.

How to Unlock It:

1. Finish ALL side missions

2. Cleanse ALL hidden areas

3. Activate ALL secret rooms

4. Read 100% of collectible files

After the final mission, Jesse sits in Trench’s old office.
The House gently rearranges the room around her, symbolizing acceptance.
Polaris whispers:
“You are home.”

A quiet, beautiful conclusion to Jesse’s transformation.

Bonus Tip – Ahti’s Hidden Song

If you visit Ahti after cleansing 20 Control Points, he hums a new, calming tune.
Listening fully gives Jesse a small energy regeneration buff — unlisted, subtle, and delightful.

Why Control’s Secrets Make the Oldest House Feel Alive

The genius of Control is that the House itself is a character — shifting, observing, judging, and protecting its chosen Director.
Every hidden boss, altered world event, and forbidden room reinforces the idea that the Oldest House isn’t just a building…

It’s a living being.

A being that remembers.
A being that hungers.
A being that chose Jesse for a reason.

These secrets reveal the true magic of Control:
the shape of the House is the shape of the unknown — always shifting, always watching, always waiting to be understood.