When Remedy Entertainment released the original Control, it redefined how strange and compelling an action game could be. Seven years later, the studio has returned with Control Resonant, which officially launched on September 24, 2026. Stepping away from the claustrophobic, ever-shifting corridors of the Oldest House, the sequel thrusts players directly into the chaotic streets of Manhattan. While it carries forward the brilliant supernatural action of its predecessor, this ambitious follow-up occasionally stumbles under the weight of its own scope.
A New Perspective
Instead of playing as Director Jesse Faden, players take control of her brother, Dylan Faden. Following the death of the Hedron in the previous game, Dylan fell into a deep coma. Now finally awake and working as a contractor for the Federal Bureau of Control, Dylan is determined to make up for lost time and support his sister while dealing with the lingering Patterning that is slowly dissipating across Manhattan.This setup provides a fantastic foundation for world-building. Remedy excels at environmental storytelling, and exploring the shattered metropolis reveals a treasure trove of classified documents and unsettling lore. The lengthy side quests are incredibly well written and dive deep into the bizarre anomalies plaguing the city. However, the writing feels a little bit weaker during some of the main story narrative beats. The dialogue is certainly not bad, but there is a slight disconnect that occasionally makes the primary plot moments feel slightly less impactful than the incredibly captivating optional content.
Play Time
For players wondering how much time they will be spending in this reality-bending metropolis, the length of the game offers substantial value. Those who stick strictly to the main story will probably be able to beat it in about 20 to 25 hours. However, fully immersing yourself in everything Manhattan has to offer is a much longer commitment. Completing the main campaign, lengthy side quests, optional challenges, and finding all the game's collectible lore entries will easily take you upwards of 40 hours or more. The world is full of hidden details, and taking the time to explore every corner feels incredibly rewarding.Impressive Visuals and Environmental Physics
Visually, Control Resonant is a generational showcase powered by the latest iteration of the Northlight Engine. For PC players, the implementation of full path tracing transforms the presentation into a spectacular visual feast. Light bounces realistically through dense fog, and dynamic shadows accurately trace every piece of floating debris.Environmental physics are equally impressive, as basically every item in the game world reacts to physical forces. Debris, garbage, and ordinary household items scatter dynamically during intense action sequences or simply when caught in the wake of Dylan's swift mobility abilities. Path tracing pushes this visual atmosphere to unmatched heights, yet it remains particularly demanding. When running the game on my PC equipped with an AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080, I had to rely on aggressive upscaling to maintain fluid frame rates with the highest settings enabled. The visual atmosphere is unmatched, but it demands an exceptionally robust hardware setup. If you don't feel like path tracing is worth the performance cost, lower graphical settings still result in an amazing-looking visual presentation without sacrificing frames.
Mastering Gravity and The Aberrant
Navigating this warped version of Manhattan is an absolute joy. Traversal is one of the strongest pillars of the game, completely revolutionized by Dylan's shift ability. This power allows you to redirect your momentum through zones of altered gravity, making every aerial dash and high-speed glide feel incredibly kinetic.The initial hours of combat are thrilling and even a bit challenging. Dylan wields a paranatural weapon known as the Aberrant, which seamlessly morphs from one form into another to carry out some heavy-hitting combos. For instance, Aberrant can transform from swift, dual-wielded blades into a heavy two-handed hammer capable of stunning enemies. Switching between these weapon forms on the fly while utilizing additional unlockable abilities creates a deeply visceral combat loop.
Late Game Repetition
Unfortunately, the combat mechanics lose their luster as you push toward the finale. Defeating the major boss enemies, known as Resonants, unlocks vital new supernatural combat abilities. However, the late game encounter design fails to keep pace with your growing arsenal. The final acts rely far too heavily on trapping you in arenas with familiar, damage-absorbing enemies. What begins as a brilliant improvisational dance eventually slows down, as fights against enemies can feel quite repetitive when you are simply unleashing your most upgraded attacks to clear out endless waves. Added enemy variety would have helped lessen the repetitive feeling quite a bit.Thankfully, the audio presentation never falters. The sound design provides a crushing mix of tearing concrete and paranormal frequencies that keep the tension high. The musical score perfectly underscores the bizarre nature of the invasion, elevating every encounter with heavy, driving tracks that hit just as hard as the visual set pieces.
Final Thoughts
Control Resonant is an ambitious and visually staggering action role-playing game. The exceptional traversal, immaculate audio design, and breathtaking path traced visuals are extraordinary achievements. While repetitive fights against enemies and the occasionally weaker main story dialogue hold it back from absolute perfection, Dylan's journey through a corrupted Manhattan remains a thrilling experience. Remedy continues to maintain a firm grip on the weird, delivering a sequel that fans of the paranormal simply cannot miss.Score
Additional Information
- Control Resonant
- Developed by: Remedy Entertainment
- Published by: Remedy Entertainment
- Price: Starting at $59.99 (USD)
- Platform reviewed on: PC (also available for PlayStation 5 & XBOX Series X|S)
- Release Date: September 24, 2026
- ESRB: Rated M for Mature 17+ (Blood and gore, strong language, violence)
- This game was provided to Total Gaming Network for review purposes.
