Control Resonant review: bigger world, better combat, and plenty of weirdness

Remedy is one of those studios that has stayed with me for years. I was 8 years old when I first played Max Payne, and the way it told its story has stayed with me even now that I’m in my 20s. The studio has always had a rather unique way of building worlds and telling stories, and that is a big part of what makes its games so memorable.

I never actually got around to playing Control when it launched, and it somehow slipped under my radar. Since Control Resonant (performance review) directly continues the story of the first game, I spent an entire week finishing Control and the DLCs to prepare for it. I largely liked Control, especially its world and storytelling, but the combat started to feel repetitive to me quite early on. Control Resonant is doing something I’m much more into, with a greater focus on melee combat.

It is also worth mentioning that Control Resonant is an “open-world” game, and I’m not rushing through it. I’m a completionist, and it pains me to miss out on the myriad of things to do, so I haven’t pushed through the main story too much. I’ll be looking at whether the game’s mechanics, combat, world and overall style make it worth playing, especially if you’re coming to it as a fan of Remedy’s games. Here’s what I think of Control Resonant so far.

Table of Contents

The plot: the roles are reversed

Unlike the first game, where we spent most of our time searching for Dylan, Control Resonant reverses the situation and has us searching for his sister, Jesse, who is now the Director of the FBC (Federal Bureau of Control). There is a massive outbreak across Manhattan, with the Hiss escaping into the city alongside another outbreak by an unknown entity that is terraforming parts of it in all sorts of supernatural ways.

Dylan is also dealing with the baggage of his past and what he did while being contaminated by the Hiss. Almost everyone you come across admonishes him for it, which adds a redemptive layer to his journey. Unlike the first game, you also get dialogue choices that let you decide what you want to say or do. Most interactions still head in the same general narrative direction, though, and since I’m not too far into the story, it’s too early to say whether these choices will have the same impact as something like The Witcher 3 or Detroit: Become Human.

After the initial hour or so, in which Dylan wakes from a seven-year coma, encounters the changing city of Manhattan, and has a vision of Jesse, the game opens up considerably, with the main quest being to find Jesse. Manhattan becomes your sandbox, divided into different zones that you can explore and upgrade to unlock better rewards and perks. The Board entity, which guided us in the last game, is also far from enthusiastic about Dylan, often teasing or belittling him. I suspect that will change as we progress through our search for Jesse and, perhaps, Dylan’s own path towards redemption.

Along the way, you’ll encounter multiple Resonants, which are essentially a mix of a Paranatural and an Object of Power, although much meaner this time around. They act as mini-bosses throughout the world and can be quite challenging when you first encounter them.

The story still maintains a serious tone, with Dylan’s trauma and his past playing a big role as we progress. At the same time, Remedy has managed to bring in that strange sense of humour that you often find in its games. Some of the side quests can take you in completely unexpected directions, like this particular one in which I had to repeatedly choose the correct taxi in a loop to solve a puzzle and rescue someone.

I really like this balance. The game takes its story and Dylan’s journey seriously, but it isn’t afraid to be weird or have a little fun with its side content, and I adore that about it.

Gameplay: an extensive combat system

While original Control was mostly a linear game where you had one main weapon that could transform into multiple forms, along with abilities such as levitation and telekinesis, Control Resonant is much grander. You now have a more mature combat system to work with, and there is a lot more room to customise how you want to play.

The base of the combat system is what the game calls an Aberrant, a melee weapon that can also take multiple forms. You have one primary form, such as a cleave, scythe or dual blades, which acts as your main source of damage. There is also a secondary form that you can customise to complement your primary weapon and fit your playstyle, which you use with the right mouse button. Finally, you have combo finishers that end your attack chain with various effects.

There is also a massive talent tree that lets you customise your build and harmonise it with your weapons. You get three trinket slots with additional effects, along with six abilities to choose from. These include familiar abilities such as telekinetic throws and shields, as well as a summon that has mild attacks but can also be thrown at enemies. I haven’t unlocked the remaining abilities yet, so there is clearly more to the system that I’ll need to explore.

Gap – the hub area

So far, this is one of the biggest changes from the first game for me. The combat feels more involved than the original, and the sheer number of abilities, weapon forms and upgrades gives you far more room to build Dylan around the way you want to play.

But hack-and-slash systems can, in essence, get repetitive. It isn’t challenging in the same way you’d experience in the newer God of War entries or Souls-like games. Instead, this game’s combat cadence boils down to spam, spam, spam, wait, and spam again. The weight of the attacks and the Resonant bosses I’ve encountered so far also feel a bit lacklustre to me.

World design: big open world with cool traversal

You start Control Resonant in the Oldest House, the FBC’s headquarters, before eventually making your way into Manhattan itself. The city is divided into multiple zones, but this isn’t the Manhattan you know. The cityscape is constantly being flipped around, with straight roads, curved ones, upside-down buildings and all sorts of supernatural changes. It reminds me a lot of the scenes in Inception where the characters switch between different dream layers and the world itself starts bending around them.

You have three core abilities to move around the city at the start: Rush, which is essentially a faster sprint that leaves afterimages behind, Levitate, which works for a much shorter duration compared to the original game, and Dash, which works both on the ground and in the air. Put them together and you get a very prototype-esque traversal system that makes moving around Manhattan rather enjoyable. I’m yet to unlock some of them as well, so this list will likely grow over time.

The world also has Orientation points that you can synchronise and activate to reveal the map, along with Ice cream trucks that act as shops where you can buy crafting materials and other goodies to upgrade your loadout. As you clear world events from each zone, find unique items and complete quests, you level up that particular zone. There is a good reason to do this too, since higher-level zones offer better enemy loot, more unlockables in shops and other rewards.

The world is largely empty when it comes to buildings you can enter, though. You can’t just walk into most buildings, with only key locations and a few places such as gyms, grocery stores, and laundromats being accessible. These locations often hide chests containing rare items, while some also have random Health and Power points. Collecting a set of three of these lets you upgrade your character attributes. The map is useful, but I still got lost a fair few times, especially in encounters where the game may lock you in a special zone when you encounter an altered item.

There are also Resonant entities, one in each of the blocks. These act as mini-bosses and offer more combat abilities or special trinkets when defeated, making them a nice little challenge while exploring the city.

Overall, I think the open world is implemented rather well. There is a lot to do around Manhattan, and while some of the activities can feel repetitive, they are also exactly what you’d expect from a quintessential open-world game. Between exploring zones, clearing world events, finding hidden items, taking on Resonant entities and completing quests, the world gives you plenty of reasons to step away from the main objective and just explore.

Quality of life improvements

Compared to the original title, there are also a lot of small yet significant changes that make the overall experience easier to manage. The menus and file catalogues feel much more modern, while the inventory gives you a lot more information at a glance. There is also a dedicated tutorial section where you can go back to mechanics or elements you may have forgotten about or simply want to understand better.

The narrative still expects you to read files and go through other NPC items such as recordings and videos, but the plot progression feels smoother than the original. You get a clear premise from the start, and the story is generally more digestible for audiences who may not be used to Remedy’s style.

There are plenty of smaller changes too. Audio files continue playing even when you walk away from them, while tutorials and alerts stay on screen for longer so you actually have time to read them, although the latter can get annoying at times. Character customisation has also been improved, with options to change Dylan’s hair, beard and even skin type for some reason.

You can also reset your abilities and weapon upgrades as many times as you want while you’re in the Gap (hub area), which is useful when experimenting with different builds. If you change your mind later, reset materials are available at shops, although they come at a premium. Crafting also lets you track recipes, but for some reason, the tracked recipe doesn’t actually show up on the HUD or while in the shop’s menu. This confused me a few times, so hopefully it is something Remedy addresses with a patch.

With a world this extensive, the sheer number of menus, tutorials and systems can feel overwhelming at first. However, take it slow and use these menus as a reference when you need them, and you’ll manage just fine. Most of these changes don’t fundamentally alter the game, but they make Control Resonant much easier to understand and get into.

Verdict

Control Resonant is a polished game, and my experience on PC has been excellent so far. It is well-optimised on PC, while the sheer scale of the game is also impressive. There is a lot to explore across Manhattan, with plenty of side quests and other things to discover. You can clearly see the amount of love Remedy has put into this game. On top of that, the art and level design are just so, so good.

It also carries forward what made Control’s plot so appealing, while putting up even more questions that the narrative will hopefully answer as you progress. If large open worlds, great narratives, and fun side quests are your style, Control Resonant has all of that.

The combat can be challenging at times, but you can lower the difficulty through the menu if it gets a little too much. There are also plenty of easy ways to build your character once you understand how the abilities, weapons and upgrades work. If you enjoyed the original Control, The Witcher 3, Prototype and similar games, and are fine with hack-and-slash combat, you’ll have your hands full with this one.

I’m still pretty early in the game, so there is clearly a lot more for me to discover. But even so, from what I’ve played so far, Control Resonant is a big step forward from the original while retaining the strange world, cryptic storytelling and supernatural style that makes a Remedy game so memorable.

Editor’s Rating: 8.0/10

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Home Gaming
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