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From Control to Resonant

I have played Remedy’s Control once. I’m still not sure did I like it or not. It has interesting story and setting, even though it can be very confusing. With this I mean the world Remedy has built in Control is just so out there that it might be difficult to follow the story completely. So, Control Resonant, the sequel to the first game, was released some time ago and only now I got myself to play it through.

I played Control Resonant through on PS5 Pro.

Plot

Seven years after the Hiss first bled into the Oldest House, Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) Director Jesse Faden commits a desperate, unthinkable act. Driving the Aberrant—a volatile Object of Power—deep into her comatose brother Dylan, she forcefully awakens him from his years of slumber before vanishing. But salvation carries a catastrophic cost. As Jesse disappears, the Bureau’s long-standing containment completely shatters, unleashing a violent reality shift that ripples across the streets of Manhattan. With the otherworldly Hiss suddenly breaching their lockdown and spilling into the unsuspecting city, a newly awakened Dylan Faden is left to navigate the unfolding supernatural crisis.

Amidst the brewing chaos, Dylan makes contact with FBC Agent Zoe de Vera, who delivers a grim revelation. The Hiss did not escape by chance; their containment failed while the Bureau was completely overwhelmed by a new, catastrophic Altered World Event known as the “Patterning.” This massive anomaly has severed Manhattan from the outside world entirely, trapping its citizens as reality rapidly bends and warps around them.

So, here’s the beginning of the game and what Jesse have to do is to kill the Hiss, find his sister Jesse and save the Manhattan. The plot overall was a OK to follow, even though, bizarre, but it made sense in the end. Many of the happenings are difficult to explain with words as most of them are very visual.

Gameplay, controls, audio and visuals

Control Resonant is a third person action role-playing game. It differs from the Control being more explorative and adds much more role-playing mechanics. In Control the gameplay was focused on shooting when in Resonant it is melee centered. The Aberrant, Dylan’s melee weapon, can change into three different types of weapons. Players can choose their playing style by selecting their choice of weapon: heavy weapon, fast and balanced. I chose the balanced as it was most neutral of the three.

Dylan also has supernatural abilities, just as his sister, Jesse, had in the first game. He can fly for a short period of time. The game also introduces an ability to shift gravity, almost like in the game Gravity Rush. This happens about half way of the game and it then opens up a whole new aspect to the gameplay. It might sound fun to shift gravity, but believe you me when I say this: it becomes very disorienting and fast. Especially when doing enviromental puzzles. I was confused where to go and what to do. The other thing I found confusing was the areas/map itself. Every time I wanted to go somewhere I ran into a wall and I had to run from wall to wall to get just one place. I highly suggest that players activate every single fast travel door they come across with. It will help a lot, trust me.

The combat was, in my honest opinion, very dull. There were enemies in certain areas that I had to deal with by killing them all. I simply just kept smashing one button to hit them and other to dodge their attacks, and occasionally do an extra move… and did that through the whole game. But the game is very challenging. There are no difficulty settings in Control Resonant. But there is an Assist Mode settings that will help a lot. There is even an invincibility setting that I shamelessly used a lot when the game got the best of me, which was most of the times. The bosses are the most difficult part of the whole game. Even though I used the invincibility on bosses, I did find them fun to beat. The developer had said that the game was designed to be “challenging but rewarding”. But I can truly appreciate that they have put the Assist Mode there and players should tweak it in their liking if the basic setting are too much to take. As Control Resonant is a role-playing game there is an upgrade system involved and secret items to be found that can raise Dylan’s health and such. I came across these upgrades mostly by accident, since I explained how confusing the areas can be, I against my will ran through so many litte nooks and crannies that it would’ve been a miracle if I didn’t find something extra.

Controlling Dylan felt good, snappy and the flying and gravity shifting was always on point. All the controls are very simple and straightforward.

Graphically Control Resonant, hmm… dare I say this, looked sometimes dated. The game had lots of visual glitches, not just intentionally so but also unintenionally. Also a lot of lagging happend on certain areas, it was at times very bad. Visually I liked the game with all the paranatural weirdness and glitches the world had. Environmentally I liked the areas, even though everything looked so much the same that is was at times difficult to differentiate where you have been and where to go. Some games rely on yellow paint and I don’t necessarily like that, but I think Control Resonant went to other end of being too hard to navigate.

Verdict

Did I enjoy my 17 hour gameplay? Well, the story was good, because it was so out there and also the good visual storytelling that came with it. I could really see where the developer was going with this game, but did it work fully? No, I don’t think so. The only two biggest negative critics I must say were the dull combat and easily becoming confusing areas. Still, I am gonna recommend Control Resonant, even though I think it wasn’t completely for me.

Control Resonant is available on PS5 (reviewed on PS5 Pro), Xbox Series X|S, Windows and Mac.

SCORE:

4/5

“Visually I liked the game with all the paranatural weirdness and glitches”

RELEASE DATE: September 24, 2026
GENRE: Action
DEVELOPER: Remedy Entertainment
PUBLISHER: Remedy Entertainment
PLATFORMS: PS5 (reviewed on PS5 Pro)
Xbox Series X|S
Windows
Mac

 

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