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Control Resonant is a dramatic change of direction for the series, and Willa Rowe’s review argues that its new setting and melee combat do not consistently deliver the variety or emotional pull that made Control compelling. The open-world New York, Dylan Faden’s weapon and movement abilities, and a set of striking boss encounters show real ambition; for Rowe, however, much of the ordinary activity and combat falls short of that ambition. That is her review’s verdict, not a consensus: other critics highlighted the game’s world, level design, and creative risk.
What is Control Resonant about?
Control Resonant is a direct sequel to Control (2019), centered on Dylan Faden. Its story setup follows the escape of the Hiss and Jesse Faden’s disappearance. Rather than continuing primarily through the original game’s third-person shooting and the strange interior of the Oldest House, the sequel sends Dylan through a distorted, open-world New York and builds its action around melee combat.
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That shift is the central question behind Rowe’s review: can a bigger world and a different combat style preserve what made the first game distinctive? Her answer is mostly no. She sees compelling images and flashes of environmental wonder, but argues that the city’s activities, standard encounters, and Dylan’s personal story do not consistently justify the sequel’s change in scale and focus.
Rowe’s review of Control Resonant, published by Polygon, is the detailed source for that judgment. A separate review roundup presents a more divided response: selected critics praise the setting, level design, and genre-bending ambition, while another also criticizes repetitive combat and balance. Those excerpts are not a representative poll or a quantified consensus.
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How does it differ from the original Control?
The sequel changes both the place where the action happens and the kind of action it emphasizes. The original framed its supernatural mystery around the Oldest House and third-person shooting; Control Resonant moves Dylan into a distorted New York and makes close-quarters combat central.
That is more than a change of scenery. An open city invites players to expect varied destinations and reasons to explore, while melee-focused encounters ask the combat system to provide enough texture to make repeated fights feel different. Rowe’s criticism is that the game’s expanded footprint does not always come with a corresponding expansion in activity variety. The city can look striking without every thing to do in it feeling equally meaningful.
The contrast also helps explain why reactions can diverge. A critic who values the sequel’s creative risk, setting, and level design may regard the transformation itself as a strength. Rowe instead measures the new structure against the qualities she valued in the first game: a compelling environment, distinctive encounters, and a protagonist whose story holds attention. A favorable response to the sequel’s ambition does not disprove her concerns about its moment-to-moment repetition, and her verdict does not mean every reviewer found the new direction unsuccessful.
Does the open-world New York make exploration worthwhile?
Rowe acknowledges the city’s striking imagery, but argues that its map activities often feel shallow. Her examples include opening chests, protecting FBC agents, and befriending dogs. In her view, these tasks do not consistently turn the scale of New York into meaningful exploration.
That criticism is about the relationship between setting and activity, not simply map size. A large area can create room for surprise, but size alone does not make an objective memorable. If a player repeatedly encounters tasks that feel interchangeable, the city’s visual distinctiveness may not be enough to sustain curiosity. Rowe contrasts this with the original’s smaller Oldest House, which she found more compelling as a setting.
That comparison is useful if you are deciding what you want from the sequel. If the appeal of Control was primarily its unusual architecture and the sense that a place itself was part of the mystery, the open-world shift may be less satisfying in Rowe’s account than a return to the tighter Oldest House. If you are interested in seeing the series take a larger, stranger environment in a new direction, the city’s imagery and the positive critical attention to the world may still matter to you.
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The review does not establish that every activity is shallow or that every player will find exploration unrewarding. It reports Rowe’s experience and evaluation. The more precise takeaway is that she sees a gap between the promise of a distorted open city and the depth of some of the tasks used to fill it.
How does Dylan’s movement and combat work?
Dylan combines a shape-shifting melee weapon called the Aberrant with telekinetic abilities and a range of traversal options. Rowe identifies double-jumping, floating, gravity manipulation, and a grappling-hook ability. She finds the individual movement abilities satisfying, but says their combinations lack fluidity.
That distinction matters. A broad list of powers can suggest freedom, but the quality of traversal also depends on how smoothly those powers connect during play. Rowe’s concern is not that Dylan lacks options; it is that the options do not always come together into a consistently graceful whole. For players choosing between the games, this is a meaningful difference from simply asking whether the sequel has more abilities than the original.
The Aberrant can take multiple forms, and Dylan’s abilities have skill trees. Those features give the combat system room for progression and variety, but Rowe argues that ordinary encounters still become repetitive. She describes standard enemies as feeling like damage sponges, making fights feel longer without necessarily feeling more interesting. In this review, the issue is not a lack of weapons or upgrades; it is whether typical encounters make enough use of the available tools.
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The review does not provide frame-by-frame combat details, a complete enemy catalogue, or a quantified difficulty assessment. It supports a qualitative comparison: Rowe finds the standard combat repetitive and the Resonant bosses more visually and mechanically distinctive, with the bosses bringing a noticeable spike in difficulty.
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Is Dylan’s story compelling?
Rowe finds Dylan’s redemption and self-forgiveness arc unpersuasive. She says his characterization does not create the connection she felt with Jesse in the original, and argues that placing Dylan at the center also makes some of the FBC and Oldest House material less prominent.
This is a character and emphasis critique, not a claim that the sequel contains no story depth. Rowe’s central concern is that the narrative focus does not make her care about Dylan as much as she cared about Jesse. A sequel can explain more about a protagonist or give that character an internal struggle without making the struggle emotionally convincing to every player. For Rowe, the intended arc does not produce the investment the story needs.
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The shift in protagonist also changes what the series foregrounds. In the first game, the Oldest House and the Federal Bureau of Control were central to the experience Rowe valued. Her review argues that Dylan’s story leaves some of that material less prominent. If you chiefly want more of Jesse, the FBC, or the Oldest House, the sequel’s Dylan-centered focus is an important caveat. If you welcome a new protagonist and a different emotional direction, the same choice may be part of its appeal.
Rowe sums up the tension in her own words: “Resonant may be a more technically perfect game than its third-person shooter predecessor — combat is sharper, the story is given more depth, and the expanded world has been designed with a perfectionist’s eye — but missing is that all-important Remedy magic that makes its games so compelling.” This is her stated framing, not an independently established measure of technical quality or story depth.
What does the review praise?
The negative headline can obscure the elements Rowe does value. She praises the striking visual design of the Resonant bosses, and identifies a mid-game sequence that briefly recaptures the original’s environmental wonder. In that sequence, traversal and an unusual environment work together effectively.
Those strengths suggest that the sequel’s problems are not simply a lack of imagination. Rowe’s review describes moments when the new movement tools and the world’s strange design reinforce each other. The mid-game sequence stands out precisely because it makes traversal feel purposeful in an environment that does more than provide a route from one objective to another. Her broader complaint is that the game does not sustain that level of impact across its activities and ordinary combat.
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The Resonant boss designs similarly show where the game’s distinctive imagery can be most effective. Their visual and mechanical identity makes them stand apart from standard encounters in Rowe’s account. The accompanying difficulty spike is a trade-off rather than a straightforward plus: players may appreciate a more demanding, memorable fight, but the change in difficulty can also be abrupt.
These are useful counterweights to the review’s conclusion. Rowe is not arguing that the sequel has no standout moments; she is arguing that those moments are too limited to make the whole experience cohere for her. The strengths may matter most to players who value unusual world design and boss encounters, while her reservations will matter more to players seeking consistently varied activities and combat or a story that builds a strong bond with its lead.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is Control Resonant worth playing if you loved Control?
It depends on what you loved. If you want the same emphasis on Jesse, the Oldest House, and the original’s third-person shooting framework, Rowe’s review gives clear reasons to temper expectations: the sequel centers on Dylan, moves to open-world New York, and changes its combat focus to melee. If you are curious about a major reinvention, its stranger city imagery, movement abilities, and Resonant bosses may be more appealing.
Rowe’s objections are most relevant if repetitive routine encounters, shallow-feeling map activities, or an unconvincing character arc would undermine your enjoyment. Her praise points to a different set of priorities: striking boss design and at least one sequence where traversal and environment combine to produce the kind of wonder she associates with the original. The review does not say those strengths erase the weaknesses; it explains why the experience can contain memorable highlights and still miss the mark overall for this reviewer.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteOther critics’ selected responses make it especially important not to treat Rowe’s view as universal. The roundup includes praise for the world, level design, and creative risk, alongside criticism of combat repetition and balance; one critic recommends playing Control first. These excerpts show a split in emphasis, not a reliable score average or proof that most players will agree with either side.
Rowe’s review says Control Resonant released on September 24 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. She reviewed a prerelease PS5 download code supplied by Remedy. The available source does not establish current prices, physical-edition availability, or post-launch patch status, so those details should not be inferred from the review.
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How should you interpret this review?
Read it as a specific critic’s assessment of the sequel’s design trade-offs, rather than a definitive verdict on every player’s experience. Rowe is especially critical of how the open-world activities, standard combat, and Dylan’s characterization compare with the qualities she valued in Control. She is more positive about the Resonant bosses and a particular environmental sequence.
The roundup broadens the picture but cannot settle the question by itself. It gathers selected excerpts, not a representative sample, and it does not quantify critical opinion. Taken together, the two sources support a measured conclusion: Control Resonant makes a substantial creative change, and critics differ on how successfully its world and design make that change worthwhile. Rowe finds the new direction weaker than the original’s appeal; some other quoted critics respond more warmly to the ambition and world.
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Do I need to play Control before Control Resonant?
The available review identifies Control Resonant as a direct sequel and says its setup involves the Hiss and Jesse Faden, so familiarity with the earlier story may help with context. One critic quoted in the roundup recommends playing Control first, but the sources do not establish that it is a strict requirement.
Which platforms does Control Resonant have a release listed for?
Rowe’s review lists PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, with a September 24 release date. The source does not confirm platform-store availability today or provide current edition details.
Did the reviewer assess a post-launch version of Control Resonant?
No: Rowe says she reviewed a prerelease PS5 download code supplied by Remedy. The source does not say whether later patches changed combat, difficulty, or other parts of the game.
Are critics unanimous about Control Resonant?
No. The roundup includes selected praise for the world, level design, and creative risk as well as criticism of repetitive combat and balance; it is not a representative poll or quantified aggregate.
