Before You Buy Control Resonant: 10 Things to Know

Remedy, the makers of Max Payne and Alan Wake, are releasing their latest title, Control Resonant, on September 24. The September 22 early access window is exclusive to PS5 Deluxe Edition owners. PC and Xbox players must wait until worldwide launch on September 24. The game itself is a sequel to 2019's Control but takes a different approach to gameplay, progression, and combat. You are no longer restricted to the Federal Bureau of Control but instead take place in the much larger city of Manhattan. Before you spend $59.99 on pre-orders, here are 10 things you need to know before you buy Control Resonant.

Overview

Note: Remedy's Northlight engine supports full Path Tracing and Nvidia RTX Mega Geometry on PC. If you're on base consoles, expect a 30 FPS Fidelity mode alongside a dynamic 60 FPS Performance mode.

1. A New Protagonist: Dylan Faden

Control Resonant puts you in the shoes of Dylan Faden, the brother of FBC Director Jesse Faden from 2019's Control. While the previous game focused on Jesse trying to find her brother, it's time for Dylan now to find her sister after her mysterious disappearance. After being kidnapped and subjected to years of experiments by the FBC, Dylan is now free and on a mission to find his sister and redemption for his past actions.

2. New Shape-Shifting Weapon: The Aberrant

Jesse Faden's service weapon is gone, and instead you fight with the Aberrant, a shape-shifting metal that forms the basis of your melee combat. It can be shapeshifted into five different forms:

Each form has its own skill tree. The Aberrant has three slots:

3. A New Traversal System

Control Resonant adds a new traversal system that lets you double jump and levitate or glide for a short burst of time. With two double dashes, you can float around in any direction. Whether you are gliding through rooftops or swirling around enemies, the movement feels natural. As you progress through the game, there's also a grappling system that lets you teleport to different points.

4. Melee-Centric Combat Inspired By DmC

Before you buy Control Resonant, know its combat is more melee-centric. Unlike 2019's Control, where Jesse's telekinetic powers and ranged combat made it fun, Dylan is more centered on melee combat similar to Dante in Devil May Cry. Each enemy has a Gap meter you need to deplete to defeat the enemy. This will let you deliver finishers and fatal blows. As you play more aggressively, you get Resonance points that let you use your abilities, summons, subvert, send projectiles, and more. You can have two ability loadouts and swap between them.

5. Impactful Dialogue Choices

The original Control had multiple dialogue choices, but they didn't impact the story. However, Control Resonant offers deeper and more meaningful dialogue options, depending on which NPCs can react differently to Dylan. They can shape your relationship with the character and even alter the outcome of events depending on whether you speak or choose to stay silent. Although it won't affect the story dramatically (no multiple endings), just the people around as the game only has one ending.

6. Flip The World At Your Whims

Apart from the new traversal system, you can flip the worlds at your whim with the Gravity Shift ability. Similar to the world-bending effect in Inception, Resonant lets you change the orientation to navigate the distorted world. For instance, if the building is upside down, you can use the Shift ability to flip it and proceed on your quest. It feels natural and is one of the best travel mechanics after Insomniac's Spider-Man. Some enemy battles and puzzles will require you to constantly shift your perspective, adding a new depth to the game.

7. Progression Levels: The City, Not Just The Character

In Control Resonant, instead of the character, you level up the zones. The more you progress through Control Resonant's different zones, the more difficult the game becomes. Everything you do inside a zone, such as killing enemies, finding treasure, or completing quests, levels up the zone you are operating in.

Doing so will grant you access to perks allowing you to upgrade the merchant, mark treasure spots, or get more health drops from enemies. Each zone gives you a talent point that can be used in the game's vast skill tree. Every time the zone levels up, you face tougher threats.

8. Beautiful World But Confusing

Control Resonant takes place in a twisted version of Manhattan split into multiple large zones. There are no quest lines, and you need to explore the world to discover the secrets. Compared to the original Control, it can feel much larger and more diverse, but can also get overwhelming at times. The map doesn't help either, and the environment can look similar at times, adding to the confusion. Since there's no fixed order to the quests apart from the first and final ones, navigating through the streets of Manhattan can be tricky.

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9. Play Control (2019) First

Before you buy Control Resonant, I recommend you play the original Control first. It is the sequel to 2019's Control. However, if you don't have enough time to play the predecessor or have forgotten the storyline, we are writing a Control storyline recap article after this. There are plenty of side characters, lore, and events that are interconnected with the previous Control game. Knowing more about Jesse's and Dylan's backstories will let you fully immerse yourself in Remedy's twisted world. While it's set in the Alan Wake universe, you don't actually need to play Alan Wake 1 and 2 to play Control Resonant.

10. Longer Game Than The Original

Compared to the original Control's Ultimate Edition, which includes all DLC and has a runtime of 25 hours including side missions, this is a much longer game.

Verdict: Before You Buy Control Resonant

Yes, Control Resonant is worth buying, especially if you have played the original Control or spent some time in the Alan Wake Universe. The combat system is more melee-focused, while the progression isn't linear and offers more freedom by letting you choose which zones to explore. It's a worthwhile experience as Remedy tips its toes into the action RPG genre.