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Control: Resonant is worth playing for its extraordinary atmosphere, unsettling mysteries and boldly reimagined Manhattan, though its melee combat and maze-like navigation do not maintain that same momentum. Remedy Entertainment’s 2026 sequel replaces Jesse Faden with her brother Dylan, sends the action beyond the Oldest House and builds its identity around impossible architecture, gravity anomalies and layered audiovisual storytelling. Players who value authored environments and exploratory set pieces will find a remarkable adventure; those seeking consistently brisk, elegant combat should expect stretches of repetition.
Is Control: Resonant worth playing?
Yes, especially if the appeal of the first game was its uncanny atmosphere rather than straightforward shooting. Resonant’s strongest work is its presentation of a reality-warping Manhattan: familiar apartments, signage and civic spaces sit beside impossible vertical layouts, hostile manifestations and anomalies that make direction itself unreliable. The trade-off is that enemy encounters can feel prolonged, and outdoor areas sometimes obscure the route forward.
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PC Gamer scored the game 76/100 and described it as a welcome return to Remedy’s “magnificent hellscapes” hampered by too many hours of middling combat. Creative Bloq likewise praises the setting, lighting and reality-bending puzzles while pointing to spongey enemies, interrupted finishers and navigation friction. Taken together, the reviews support a clear recommendation for mood-first players, with a caveat for anyone who needs every combat room to feel fresh.
Who is Dylan Faden, and how does the story connect to Control?
Dylan Faden is the sole playable character. Years after the Federal Bureau of Control confined him, he wakes in a world he no longer recognizes as the Hiss disaster destabilizes the Bureau and a cosmic force reshapes Manhattan. His immediate objectives are to contain the spreading crisis and find his missing sister, Jesse, while confronting the question of who he has become.
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- STEP INTO A WARPED REALITY: Explore multiple areas of a ravaged Manhattan in an expansive, unfamiliar, and exciting world. Traverse perception-bending locations and grapple with gravity anomalies that distort the vertical and horizontal plane, adding additional dimensions to puzzles and new tactical decisions to combat. Meet faces old and new on a path fraught with risk but rich in opportunity as the cityscape is reshaped and reality is redefined by a godlike force.
- MASTER THE PARANATURAL: Channel the raw experiences of Dylan’s past to help understand his present and dig deeper into the inner workings of the FBC and reveal the horrors threatening humankind. Tap into power he must learn to master and take choices to shape how his abilities manifest and grow. Explore a deep progression system to define how Dylan adapts to emerging dangers. Forge connections crucial to Dylan’s fight to retain his humanity as he journeys from former test subject to paranatural superweapon
- THE FIGHT SHIFTS. YOUR WEAPON SHIFTS WITH IT: Meet constantly evolving threats head-on, utilising the environment, deploying elemental abilities and using the raw force Dylan’s shapeshifting melee weapon, the Aberrant. Wield the Aberrant in its many deadly forms. Deliver bone-crunching blows with a two-handed hammer and flow seamlessly into the swift precision of dual-wielded blades as this paranatural weapon morphs on demand to meet each new challenge.
- SHARED LEGACY. NEW THREAT: FBC Director Jesse Faden's lockdown is no longer holding. A paranatural catastrophe has spilled beyond the Oldest House and onto the streets of Manhattan, and the Bureau's grip on containment is failing. Jesse Faden walked into the Oldest House to confront the threat within. Now Dylan must walk out of it to contain the threat beyond.
Jesse remains central to the narrative even though she is not playable. The sequel reverses the original sibling viewpoint: Jesse’s past actions and choices shape Dylan’s journey, while Dylan carries the present-day story. An opening recap makes the plot accessible if you have not finished the first Control, but returning players gain extra resonance from the siblings’ history and the Bureau’s continuing collapse.
Is Resonant open world?
No. Resonant presents Manhattan as a set of substantial open zones connected by Federal Bureau checkpoints, not as one seamless city. Each area expands as Dylan gains abilities, keys, access cards, power and relationships, creating a focused sandbox structure rather than the unrestricted traversal associated with a conventional open-world game.
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The cost is signposting. Gated routes and layered vertical paths can require backtracking, and the outdoor maze is one of the areas reviewers found most difficult to read. Exploration is rewarding when the environment itself is the puzzle; it is less satisfying when the next checkpoint is hidden by visual noise.
How does Resonant’s melee combat work?
Resonant replaces Jesse’s shapeshifting Service Weapon with the Aberrant, a supernatural melee weapon that changes form. Official examples include a two-handed hammer and dual blades. Lead gameplay designer Sergey Mohov has stated that there are no ranged weapon forms; Dylan can still attack from a distance with selected supernatural abilities.
Players equip Aberrant forms and combat abilities, then shape a build around the threats in each zone. Remedy says loadout choices are intended to affect second-to-second decisions and reward player-created plans. The result is a more physical combat identity than the first game’s gunplay: spacing, commitment and timing matter, while powers provide mobility, control and ranged options.
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- The action RPG sequel to Control, developed and published by Remedy Entertainment.
Progression is also tied to Dylan’s relationships and to the way his abilities develop. Creative Bloq reports air movement, boss-derived powers and a broad enemy roster, but also notes that many foes absorb too much damage, incoming attacks can interrupt finishers and zone scaling can make upgrades feel less powerful than expected. The system is expressive when a build clicks; repetition becomes more noticeable in longer stretches of routine encounters.
What makes the world-building so effective?
Resonant treats setting as the main character. Manhattan is not merely a backdrop for paranormal missions: the city’s architecture, gravity and media are all being rewritten by a godlike force. The Hiss, Mold and other threats spill outside the Oldest House, so the sequel can show how an ordinary urban environment responds when the rules of perception fail.
Remedy also continues to communicate through more than conventional exposition. Environmental clues, altered spaces and performances carry information that might otherwise appear in dialogue or text. The combination gives the game a distinctive rhythm: investigate a mundane location, notice one impossible detail, then follow the contradiction until the entire space has changed meaning.
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How do the reviews compare the game’s strengths and weaknesses?
| Area | What works | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Atmosphere and visual invention | Highly authored spaces, reflective lighting and reality-bending architecture. | Visual density can make routes and objectives harder to read. |
| Combat feel | Build-driven melee forms, supernatural powers and meaningful loadout choices. | Reviewers report spongey enemies, repeated encounters and uneven pacing. |
| World structure | Focused zones that unlock through abilities, access and relationships. | It is not a seamless open-world Manhattan. |
| Narrative access | A recap supports newcomers, while Jesse and Dylan’s history rewards returning players. | Knowledge of the first game adds context rather than being a strict requirement. |
| Overall reception | PC Gamer’s 76/100 reflects strong setting and presentation. | The central criticism is combat endurance, not a lack of creative ambition. |
How long is Control: Resonant, and what does it cost?
TechRadar, citing lead gameplay designer Sergey Mohov, reports an estimate of about 30 hours for the core experience and about 50 hours for completionist play. Actual time will vary with exploration, optional objectives and how much backtracking each zone demands.
| Edition or access | Details |
|---|---|
| Platforms | PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC through Steam and Epic Games Store, Mac through the App Store and Steam, and GeForce NOW, according to the official game page. |
| PS5 Standard Edition | $59.99, listed by Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2026. |
| PS5 Digital Deluxe Edition | $69.99, listed by Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2026; includes an AWE Mission Outfit, Untapped Artifact wallet, starter resource bundle, digital artbook and original soundtrack. |
| Physical availability | Remedy’s 2026 investor-release index records physical editions for PS5 and Xbox Series X. Retail stock and regional pricing can differ. |
Remedy’s investor materials also list “CONTROL Resonant – Over a Million Copies Sold,” dated 15 October 2026. That is a publisher-reported milestone, not an independently audited sales total.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What accessibility options are available?
The official PS5 listing includes adjustable difficulty, the ability to pause, control remapping, stick-sensitivity settings, inversion options, subtitles, large subtitles and mono audio. Those choices make it possible to tailor challenge, aiming and audio presentation without relying on a single preset mode.
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Who should buy Control: Resonant?
- Choose it for atmosphere: The warped Manhattan, environmental storytelling and audiovisual experimentation are the game’s defining strengths.
- Choose it for exploration: Focused zones reward players who enjoy unlocking routes and interpreting strange spaces.
- Be cautious if combat variety is your priority: Melee builds are flexible, but reviews describe repeated fights and durable enemies.
- Be cautious if you want frictionless navigation: Checkpoints, gated paths and visual clutter can slow progress.
- Start as a newcomer if necessary: The recap provides the essential setup, while familiarity with Control deepens the sibling drama.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Gap in Control: Resonant?
The Gap is a mind-palace-style upgrade space used to develop Dylan’s powers. It gives progression a distinct in-world location rather than presenting every improvement as a conventional menu transaction.
Does Control: Resonant use live-action or retro-style storytelling?
Yes. Creative Bloq highlights live-action performances, an original soundtrack and a 16-bit-style flashback among the sequel’s presentation experiments. These segments support Remedy’s habit of making exposition feel like an audiovisual event.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchWhy did Remedy say Resonant took seven years to make?
Creative director Mikael Kasurinen said the seven-year development period reflected the complexity of the team’s overall ambition rather than one isolated feature. That ambition is visible in the game’s layered environments, systems and multimedia storytelling.
Quick Recap
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