Remedy Entertainment’s Control Resonant shifts the 2019 cult hit into an open-ended, melee-focused action RPG launching on September 24. Following Dylan Faden across a distorted Manhattan, the sequel trades the claustrophobic corridors of the Oldest House for fast-paced character action and deeper player choice.
Leaving the Oldest House for a Distorted Manhattan
When Remedy Entertainment released the original Control in 2019, its magic lay in the arcane mythology of the Oldest House—a brutalist, shifting government agency that mirrored the eerie bureaucracy of collaborative online fiction projects like the SCP Foundation. But for its follow-up, the studio has traded those cramped pneumatic tubes for a wide-open metropolis.
Following the events of the first game, the Federal Bureau of Control headquarters endured a seven-year lockdown to contain a Hiss outbreak. When that lockdown lifts, the malevolent entity spills onto the streets of Manhattan. The city is cut off from the outside world, folded in on itself in interdimensional isolation, and suffering from a mysterious crisis known as ‘The Patterning’. Reality breaks down as sounds, people, and foundational concepts of physics loop and fold, turning the cityscape into something resembling the Mirror Dimension from Doctor Strange.
Kept in a coma and subjected to abusive FBC experiments, Dylan wakes up to find his sister gone and the world transformed. With a shock collar bolted to his head and a mysterious weapon called Aberrant stabbed into his chest by Jesse before her departure, Dylan's journey is deeply personal. He serves as an investigator of his own trauma and a reluctant tool of the Bureau, aided over the radio by his handler Zoe while crossing paths with familiar faces like Emily Pope and Simon Arish.
Reinventing Combat with the Shapeshifting Aberrant
Remedy is known for resisting repetition, and Control Resonant makes that clear by overhauling the gameplay foundation. The metroidvania-esque shooter mechanics of the original give way to an action RPG framework inspired by character-action titles like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta.
At the center of this new combat loop is the Aberrant, a versatile melee weapon that dynamically transforms based on player inputs rather than relying on individual gear pieces.
The Aberrant transforms into whatever form the player assigns to it or combos into, such as a sword, scythe, hammer, or drill. It automatically swaps forms depending on whether the player is performing a light combo chain, heavy attack, or a combo finisher, and can be customized via upgrade trees to suit preferred playstyles.
Balancing Challenge and Performance Across Platforms
The shift to open-ended combat and wave-based mobs means the kid gloves come off early.
Underneath the hood, the open-world-like design poses technical questions for hardware, but early indicators point toward solid optimization.
That technical foundation has translated into early market interest.
Narrative Ambition Meets Open-World Scale
Critical consensus on the narrative presents a nuanced picture. While the original game kept its cards close to the chest with a tightly wrapped mystery, the sequel leans heavily into Dylan’s emotional journey and family dynamics.
At the same time, optional side stories receive high praise for injecting surrealism, humor, and unexpected gameplay twists into the exploration. Heavily redacted documents and audio logs scattered across the world return to provide unsettling windows into how the FBC handles crises, keeping the studio’s signature atmosphere intact.
What Lies Ahead for the Franchise
With the digital launch set for September 24, and full review scores rolling out ahead of the embargo expiration, Remedy Entertainment returns to the Hiss saga with its most ambitious mechanical departure yet. Whether the emotional focus of Dylan Faden’s story resonates as deeply as his sister’s tenure as Director remains for players to decide as they dive into the paranormal ruins of Manhattan.