Control Resonant expands Remedy's vision with gravity-defying open-world platforming

Remedy has built a reputation for games that feel unlike anything else in the industry, blending weird fiction storytelling with gameplay that heightens every emotional beat. Control Resonant, the studio's latest sequel, doubles down on that vision while venturing into territory the original game never explored.

The game shifts focus from the Oldest House, the labyrinth headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control, to a warped version of Manhattan where interdimensional forces have begun taking over. You play as Dylan, the brother of the original game's protagonist Jesse Faden, who has gone missing since the events of Control. Your goals are straightforward on the surface: eradicate the invading forces and find Jesse. The execution, however, becomes increasingly strange.

Where the original Control was primarily a shooter, Resonant is melee-focused. Dylan wields a shapeshifting weapon that transforms between forms like whips and hammers. The real hook, though, is movement. As you progress, you unlock abilities that let you temporarily fly, dash through air, double jump, walk on walls and ceilings, and eventually warp to distant ledges. Mastering these abilities transforms traversal into something thrilling. Moving around New York feels like piloting some kind of strange superhero, and when combined with platforming and puzzle sequences that demand spatial thinking, the movement systems become a core part of the experience.

The game's art direction amplifies this sense of wonder. Buildings twist and bend in impossible ways, gravity behaves unpredictably, and entire sections of the map evoke M.C. Escher filtered through the golden hour of New York City. Visual and audio design create a harsh, industrial atmosphere that makes both combat and exploration feel impactful. There's even an opening title sequence that looks pulled from a prestige television drama.

Remedy's worldbuilding and storytelling remain central to the experience. The Control universe draws inspiration from properties like Severance, the SCP Foundation, and Twin Peaks, adapted specifically for video games. The main campaign unfolds through cutscenes and radio chatter between Dylan and his FBC handler Zoe. It starts simple before escalating into something involving alternate dimensions, impossible physics, multiple timelines, and supernatural elements. What distinguishes the storytelling is the supplementary material: field recordings, documents, instructional videos, and side quests that flesh out the universe. Even mundane tasks like replacing light bulbs reveal strange details. The game gets genuinely weird, with sequences like hailing a ghost taxi or talking to a sentient light bulb to calm it down.

The initial hours can feel deceptively familiar, like a standard open-world action game. That changes once the game opens up and reveals its true scope. Control Resonant employs a Metroid-style progression structure, limiting your movement until you unlock the right abilities. Once those abilities arrive, the game transforms into something that feels wholly unique.

Some elements work better than others. Dylan as a protagonist starts out dull, with limited personality early on despite spending dozens of hours with him. Combat can become overwhelming toward the end game when large enemy counts make battles tedious. The complex, folding environments mean you'll likely get lost at least a few times, since a traditional mini-map becomes unreliable in a world that folds in on itself.

These issues are secondary to what Remedy accomplishes. At a time when blockbuster games increasingly feel similar, Remedy remains part of a small group of developers, like FromSoftware and Kojima Productions, that have maintained distinct creative vision while releasing ambitious, bold experiences. The new game is especially notable following the commercial failure of FBC: Firebreak, a co-op Control spinoff that launched last year. Resonant demonstrates exactly what the studio is capable of when it takes risks with its established universe.

Control Resonant launches September 24th on PS5, Xbox, and PC. The game is playable in any order relative to the original Control.