Control Resonant represents a significant departure for Remedy, a studio known for its narrative-driven third-person shooters. This sequel ditches the original's player character and distinct bureaucratic-brutalist setting for an open-world RPG focused on melee combat, starring Jesse Faden's brother, Dylan. Despite these drastic changes, the gamble pays off spectacularly, offering a reality-bending journey across a kaleidoscopic Manhattan that is as rich in atmosphere and creative quests as its predecessor.
Dynamic Melee Combat
The core of Control Resonant lies in its action. Players control Dylan Faden, who wields the Aberrant, a shapeshifting melee weapon capable of transforming into various forms like hammers, scythes, and drills. Combat begins with simple three-hit combos for each Aberrant form, but quickly evolves as players unlock active combat abilities through boss victories. Encounters are relentless, characterized by a constant barrage of enemy attacks met with Dylan's supernatural prowess. The game excels at allowing Aberrant attacks and power deployments to flow seamlessly into one another, with an effective auto-targeting system that minimizes frustration during rapid target switching.
With upgrades, players can craft potent stance-breaking builds, especially by combining abilities that inflict status effects. This transforms the already satisfying slugging matches into experiences that echo the fast-paced, execution-driven combat of titles like Doom Eternal and Devil May Cry. Dylan dashes around arenas, chaining together gratifyingly animated executions that provide strength, healing, and poise damage buffs. Unlike the original Control's combat, Resonant emphasizes aggression and proactive gameplay; Dylan possesses a dodge, but the skill tree enhances it to serve as an attack-boosting tool rather than solely a defensive measure. The game actively encourages players to push forward, a design philosophy that remains engaging even deep into the thirty-hour experience.
The game's boss battles, while visually striking and memorable, present a mixed bag. Some offer engaging one-on-one duels, while others rely on large health bars and high damage output rather than complex challenge. However, the reward of potentially build-altering combat powers ensures that pursuing these encounters remains worthwhile.
Innovative Upgrade and Progression Systems
Control Resonant handles upgrades and leveling in a unique way. Investing points and materials into a specific Aberrant form enhances its base damage and falter build-up across all forms. While resources are scarce, necessitating prioritization, this system incentivizes players to spend leftover materials on less-favored weapons, keeping them viable throughout the game and preserving combat flexibility. Dylan's own talent tree incorporates a geographical element: completing activities and defeating enemies in a sub-area increases that area's level, improving drop rates and vendor stock. Each area level grants Dylan a skill point. Defeating a region's boss resets the area, respawning tougher enemies in exchange for new side activities that yield substantial experience. This mechanism ties power progression to time and effort spent in different areas, encouraging exploration in a manner reminiscent of Elden Ring's satisfying gameplay loop.
A Familiar Yet Fresh Setting
The open world of Control Resonant successfully expands upon the New Weirdness established in the original. Manhattan's details are infused with flavor, from redacted files dropped by fleeing agents to nonsensical billboards and objects behaving oddly under gravity anomalies. The sidequests often focus on imaginatively bizarre Altered Items, such as calming a stressed lightbulb or singing to terrified dancers in ritualistic karaoke. These missions provide both humor and a welcome cooldown from the intense combat.
Despite its strangeness, the game maintains a serious tone, often emphasizing how insignificant Dylan and humanity are against cosmic forces. Expeditions into vast, impossible spaces, a haunting soundtrack, and lingering mysteries about the invading forces contribute to a pervasive sense of loneliness and the fear of the unknown. This cosmic dread is juxtaposed with Dylan's superhuman strength, reminding players of his vulnerability.
While the game features some musical callbacks and nods to the Remedyverse, it largely focuses on Dylan's story and his relationships, particularly with handler Zoe. Zoe communicates via radio, allowing players to select dialogue responses that reflect Dylan's anger, reserve, or guilt. This system offers a greater sense of agency and character alignment than in the original Control, with Zoe's regular check-ins fostering a believable friendship.
Technical Performance
On a technical level, Control Resonant showcases Remedy's mastery of ray and path tracing, with impressive visual fidelity. However, its reported Steam Deck support has not been fully realized, struggling to maintain a stable framerate in demanding city scenes even with significant upscaling. The game could benefit from further polish, as occasional bugs like background music cutting out, enemies getting stuck, or players being pushed through walls have been reported. Some post-game bugs also affect outfit choices when loading or fast-traveling. Despite these imperfections, the game's bold design and ambitious scope are commendable.