Control Resonant review: Remedy gambles on a genre change in one of its most impressive games ever

“How is Remedy going to top itself this time?”

That’s the question I was asking myself as I sat down with Control Resonant. While always quietly a powerhouse of the industry, the last decade of Remedy projects – namely Control, Alan Wake 2, and now Control Resonant – has forced the industry and players to pay attention.

Now Remedy is back with Control Resonant, a sequel that not only changes the protagonist, but genres entirely. It’s the boldest move the studio has ever made for a sequel, and it’s absolutely paid off.

Control Resonant follows Dylan, the brother of the first game’s protagonist Jesse. After The Hiss, a paranatural entity intent on possessing anything it touches, escapes The Oldest House into Manhattan, Dylan must follow it, reunite with his sister, and attempt to put a stop to The Hiss.

There is so little I want to tell you about the story of Control Resonant, other than I think it’s one of Remedy’s very best. The way it weaves the lore of the first game and the expanded Remedyverse into this new chapter is impressive, but it still finds time to focus on the central pair of characters amid the chaos.

Sean Durrie and Courtney Hope deliver stellar performances that justify the change in protagonist while reminding you why so many people were desperate to play as Jesse Faden again. The game is absolutely bursting with documents to read, video files to find, and much more, which truly enrich the experience.

It’s a story about Dylan justifying his place in the world after causing so much pain, all the while focusing squarely on this one real desire: a normal life with his sister. Dylan searches for Jesse with the help of FBC agent Zoe, who provides a great audio companion on Dylan’s missions.

Players can choose dialogue responses to Zoe in many instances, and their effect on the relationship between the two is also intriguing. This provides a softer side of the character, for when he’s now ripping The Hiss to pieces.

Dylan uses The Abarrent, a melee weapon that can take on multiple forms. This forms the basis of Control Resonant’s combat. The telekinetic-type abilities from the first game return in a new form, but from a primary combat perspective, Jesse’s service weapon from the first game is retired, and the new weapon means an entirely new approach to combat.

This isn’t a parry-and-slash game. In fact, there isn’t a parry at all. There’s a dodge and a few movement abilities that allow Dylan to get out of trouble, but this is a game where you’re taking the fights to the enemies, rather than waiting for them to come to you.

It’s a pretty hard game when things kick off; enemies can easily overwhelm Dylan as he comes to grips with these new powers. Combat feels weighty, frenetic, and most importantly, responsive.

While the combat can occasionally feel overwhelming due to the high number of enemies that can spawn at once, and the different attack patterns they’ll all engage you with at the same time, I was always excited for a new combat encounter. Even long after I had any real need to fight the roaming enemies in the city, I’d jump down and wipe them out simply because it’s satisfying to string together Dylan’s moves, both physical and telekinetic.

The game’s combat comes into its own when fighting the Resonants, bosses of each zone, which include a backstory and usually a jaw-dropping location of boss design.

If you’ve watched any of the game’s pre-release footage, you’ve likely seen the massive woman’s face missing her lower jaw that Remedy has been showing off. That is the tip of the iceberg. The leaps this game has made in boss design and character design from the first game are staggering.

This art design extends long past the bosses and into every element of Control Resonant. The game is visually impressive from a pure technical level, but you won’t find yourself paying too much attention to that as the Manhattan skyline folds in on itself around you. Remedy is operating at a level of triple-A boldness that few others in the industry are.

This is paired with a soundtrack full of songs that will instantly get added to your own playlists. This is what I come to Remedy games for. Big ideas, self-effacing humour and curated, bold presentation.

What impressed me so much about Control Resonant was the escalation of the concepts that were built in the first game. Control’s Oldest House is a wonderful setting in the original; it’s self-contained, but still managed to be full of secrets. Control Resonant’s open zones (not quite an open world, but heading in that direction) are just as full of mystery, but spread across a far more diverse area.

Injecting the supernatural into the mundane is the bread and butter of the Control games, and the Control Resonant map is a great example of this. Take a random screenshot of some of the streets of Control Resonant’s Manhattan, and you could be forgiven for thinking you’re looking at something from Marvel’s Spider-Man or The Division.

Just in that moment, you’ll be frozen in midair as a haunted camera stops you in your tracks. How do I get to this camera? That will take you through an apartment building that unveils an entirely new paranormal side story, teeming with mystery. It’s impressive how quickly the game can go from the mundane to the seriously creepy.

Each of these zones has its own level, which is affected by completing missions, defeating certain enemies, and more. Your zone level determines buffs for Dylan, like improved material drops for crafting or improved healing.

These world events can get a little bit repetitive as you’re nearing the end of the game, but it’s not as if the map is absolutely inundated with them, nor are they essential to complete. The volume of meaty, interesting, and worthwhile content in Control Resonant is impressive for a genre that regularly relies so heavily on filler.

The main missions in Control Resonant’s Manhattan give you a guided tour of these zones, but it’s the side missions that really uncover the weird and wonderful of Control Resonant’s world.

There are also a lot of side missions to complete. It’s a significantly longer game than the first, while just skirting the edges of outstaying its welcome. A straightforward playthrough will likely run north of 12-15 hours, but you could easily sail closer to double that to see and do everything.

Earlier this year, when I spoke to the game’s director, Mikael Kasurinen, I asked if he thought the studio was in an arms race with itself to top the last unbelievable, viral moment. Let’s not forget that before Sam Lake was dancing on stage at The Game Awards, Control’s own musical level The Ashtray Maze set the bar for mid-game left turns.

At the time, he said that he doesn’t focus on making a specific moment; rather, the team focuses on building a game that moments like that can organically emerge from. Control Resonant is that game. There are huge sections of this game that we’d never dream of revealing in a review, such is the surprise and invention of where Remedy takes it.