CONTROL Resonant Blends Action, RPG, and Superhero Movement in September Release

CONTROL Resonant marks a significant departure from its predecessor, trading gunplay for close-quarters melee combat as its primary focus. Where the original CONTROL drew from Remedy's Max Payne and Quantum Break heritage through ranged weaponry, the sequel brings players face-to-face with the paranatural threats infesting Manhattan.

The action foundation is reinforced by RPG systems that go beyond the first game's offerings. Dylan Faden has access to a sprawling Talent tree alongside individual upgrade paths for multiple weapon forms, choices between Secondary Weapons and Combat Abilities, and a full menu of bespoke combo finishers that can change how fights play out. The world itself levels up as players complete fights, discover secrets, and finish quests in each area. Defeating area bosses called Resonant Entities makes the world actively more dangerous, scaling the challenge alongside player progression.

Manhattan's design borrows from open-world games while maintaining focused level design. Rather than a traditional open world, Resonant separates the city into densely packed zones with distinct looks and challenges. These areas contain hidden collectibles, rewarding activities, and unconventional discoveries. Players can unlock sidequests through environmental details like hearing something singing from a subway tunnel, creating a map packed with constant distractions and points of interest.

Movement feels borrowed from superhero games. Dylan can jump, glide, dash, and run fast enough to catch physics objects in his orbit. Later abilities let him subvert gravity, travel up vertical surfaces, move upside-down, and scale entire buildings in quick sequences. The mobility becomes so fluid that traversal feels natural and superheroic.

The game maintains a tone that blends cosmic horror with workplace comedy. The Federal Bureau of Control's bureaucracy interacts absurdly with impossible objects, possessed people, and reality-bending events. One early example has two FBC guards trying to convince their boss that he is actually a ghost. The collection of redacted files throughout the world pieces together a frequently hilarious backstory.

CONTROL Resonant launches September 24 on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC, with cross-platform play support at no additional cost through Xbox Play Anywhere. Pre-orders unlock a Hiss Corruption Outfit and Pickpocket's Tool Artifact. The game costs $59.99.