Despite some player sentiment favoring the return to the Oldest House, the decision to move the action of Control Resonant outside its iconic confines was a necessary narrative choice. The shift in setting is crucial for understanding the diverging paths and personal growth of the Faden siblings, Jesse and Dylan. Each game's environment serves to highlight the unique relationship its protagonist has with the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) and its mysterious headquarters.
Both Control and Control Resonant center on Jesse and Dylan Faden, siblings who had a harrowing encounter with the FBC as children. While Jesse escaped, Dylan was captured and subjected to nearly two decades of imprisonment and experimentation within the Oldest House, a sentient, seemingly infinite building in Manhattan that houses supernatural phenomena. In the original Control, Jesse assumes the role of Director, her powers growing as she battles paranormal threats and earns the respect of her staff. Her journey allowed players to explore the bizarre and captivating Oldest House alongside her, making the building itself a central character.
Dylan, however, spent his formative years as a prisoner. He eventually allowed a parasitic entity known as the Hiss to possess him as a means of escape, inadvertently leading to the events of the first game and the deaths of many FBC employees. While Jesse ultimately freed him from the Hiss and the FBC's control, Dylan fell into a coma for seven years. Upon waking in 2026, he finds the Hiss have escaped and follows a trail that leads him outside the Oldest House for the first time in 24 years.
This transition to the outside world is vital for Dylan's character arc. Unlike Jesse, who embraced the Oldest House and its surreal reality, Dylan's life was stolen by the FBC. The game posits that Dylan could not become a whole person while confined within the prison that defined his childhood trauma. Experiencing the world outside, a world that passed him by, allows players to connect with Dylan's journey toward healing and self-discovery. This is further underscored by the reappearance of Dr. Casper Darling, whose recordings in Control Resonant reveal a darker, manipulative side previously hidden. While Jesse never met Darling in person, Dylan knew him intimately, experiencing firsthand his cruelty and abusive methods during his formative years. This contrast between Darling's portrayal in the tapes found by Jesse and those found by Dylan highlights the different perspectives and experiences the siblings have had with the FBC.
Ultimately, Control Resonant's departure from the Oldest House allows Dylan to confront his past and escape the psychological confines of his imprisonment. The new setting provides a canvas for his story, enabling him to move beyond his horrific confinement and finally become his own person, a journey that would have been impossible within the familiar, yet confining, walls of the FBC's main complex.