Tommasi is the first boss in Control, Remedy’s delightfully weird new game that mashes up the extradimensional spookiness of Twin Peaks and the bureaucratic conspiracies of The X-Files in a Metroid-inspired third-person action game. Your first encounter with Tommasi is pretty simple, if you know what you’re doing. Still, it’s easy to unnecessarily die a few times while trying to get the patterns of the boss fight worked out. Let’s simplify that for you and tell you how to take this Hiss-infected creep down.
The battle with Tommasi happens after you’ve claimed the control point in the Communications Department. You should’ve just found a level one clearance card on the body of a dead guard, and you can use it to enter the locked double doors across from that body. As soon as you walk into this large room you’ll see a short cut-scene where Tommasi crawls out of a crack in the wall and then starts to levitate above you.
The first thing you should do is crouch behind something that can protect you. I recommend one of the pillars on the left or right of the room. Tommasi will rip chunks of rock from the ground and walls and hurl them at you, and if he hits you it’ll eat up a lot of your health. There’s a brief moment between when he pulls the rocks up and throws them at you, and he throws the two clusters of rock one at a time. You’ll be able to hear them hit whatever you’re hiding behind, and depending where you’re crouching and how the camera is angled you’ll probably see Tommasi throw them, as well. Once he’s thrown both clusters, you’ll have a brief second to pop out of cover and fire at him with your gun. You can also launch your own object at him; he’ll almost always dodge it, but it gives you an opening to aim and shoot before he can hurl something else at you.
After he’s thrown his two projectiles at you, or after you’ve interrupted his attacks by hurling your own rocks at him, aim at Tommasi and fire a few rounds from your gun. You should be able to eat up at least a fifth of his health, perhaps a quarter, before you have to crouch again. Just keep a close eye on him as you shoot at him—you’ll only have a short window before he pulls more rocks up to throw at you. Just repeat this process two or three times.
Watch out for other Hiss guards on the ground, though. They’ll start to charge you in groups of two or three after you’ve damaged Tommasi. If they don’t get the jump on you, they’re nothing to worry about, and killing them will help you regain a good bit of your health if you’ve been hit by Tommasi. The waves will have more advanced enemies as you do more damage to Tommasi; when the soldiers that are surrounded by a red Hiss shield appear, use your telekinetic skills to launch a fire extinguisher or other object at them and wipe that shield out.
Eventually Tommasi will fly up higher in the room and become hard to hit with your gun. At this point, run up the stairs to the second floor. There’s less to hide behind upstairs, but you’ll still want to follow the same basic strategy. Crouch behind something firm when Tommasi launches his junk at you, and then hit him with as many rounds as you can before he loads up more garbage to throw at you. Regular soldiers will still rush you upstairs, too, so remember to keep an eye out for them. The best thing about being upstairs is that it’s easier to hit Tommasi. It’s also easier for him to hit you, too, but as long as you avoid his rocks—and replenish your health as needed by killing the Hiss grunts—it won’t take long at all to shoot Tommasi out of the sky.
Of course that doesn’t mean he’s dead. A weakened and defeated Tommasi flees through his communications master room, no doubt to cause trouble elsewhere in the Oldest House. After beating him you’ll be able to access a new object of power called the hotline, although finding that isn’t as simple as it might seem—for help with that, we’ll have another guide tomorrow.