Control Resonant's Hidden Puzzles Offer Health Upgrades and Lore Throughout Manhattan

Control Resonant may appear to be a straightforward action game, but Remedy's latest adventure contains a wealth of optional puzzles hidden throughout its explorable world. Many buildings in Manhattan, including galleries, coffee shops, and gyms, conceal these secrets alongside standard resource crates.

The puzzles vary in complexity and approach. Some require you to decipher codes, while others involve interacting with in-world objects in a specific sequence. The solutions aren't immediately apparent, which makes discovering them rewarding. Players who solve these puzzles unlock Secret Hideouts, access additional in-game documents, and earn Health Upgrades that contribute to character progression.

The Downtown Zone contains one example: the Coffee Shop Appliances puzzle. Located inside one of the zone's enterable stores, this puzzle requires interacting with each appliance in size order, from smallest to largest. The appliances aren't all positioned behind the counter, so careful exploration is necessary. Activating them in the correct sequence opens a wall on the left side of the room, revealing the Secret Hideout and a Health Upgrade.

The Park Zone features a different type of puzzle within another coffee shop. This one requires finding a four-letter code for a cash register using letters rather than numbers. Two notes provide the necessary clues: a table reservation order and a coffee menu. The menu associates each drink type with a specific letter, while the tables display different drink orders. Following the reservation order and noting the corresponding letters from the menu yields the code BDAC. Entering this code opens a wall on the left side, again revealing a Secret Hideout and Health Upgrade.

In the Evacuation Zone, players encounter an Art Gallery puzzle requiring identification of the correct painting from four sets. Each wall displays three paintings alongside a button. Pressing a button changes the lighting to highlight different paintings. A nearby desk note provides a clue listing four words that correspond to each wall's correct painting. Working through the paintings from left to right and matching them to the clue words reveals the solution. Lighting all four correct paintings opens a wall at the back left of the room, unlocking the Secret Hideout and Health Upgrade.

The West Incursion Zone also contains a Soda Machine puzzle with its own solution and location-specific mechanics. These puzzles exemplify Remedy's approach to world-building, rewarding exploration and careful observation with tangible progression benefits and narrative depth through discovered documents.