Control Resonant shifts Control to melee-focused action RPG

Remedy Entertainment’s Control Resonant retools Control into a melee-first action role-playing game. Players control Dylan; combat centers on close-quarters blades and supernatural abilities. Much of the action takes place on Manhattan streets while the Oldest House remains a primary location for story set pieces.

The sequel replaces Jesse Faden’s outsider perspective and the Service Weapon’s ranged focus with Dylan’s melee combat. Enemies include altered humans called People of Power; Dylan neutralizes them to gain abilities rather than binding Objects of Power. Outdoor sections are patrolled by the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) and are intended for combat and traversal experimentation rather than being a full open world.

Combat emphasizes aggression and mobility. Smaller foes can respawn until larger threats are defeated. Heavy attacks and abilities fill a “falter” gauge that staggers opponents when full and opens executions. Executions trigger a temporary “bloodlust” buff that increases damage and the health dropped from kills.

Lead Gameplay Designer Sergey Mohov described the first Control as “an outsider coming into the FBC” and added Resonant shows “how the FBC contains large-scale phenomena and responds to Altered World Events.” He described the game’s core as a “dynamic interplay between weapons and supernatural abilities,” with design leaning toward offensive and mobile play.

Dylan’s movement kit includes double jumps, dashes, a brief float and grapple points; his shield functions mainly as an offensive ram. The game lacks a manual lock-on, but targeting generally performs during aerial and layered combat. Gravity manipulation appears in designated AWE sections rather than as a constant tool to reduce player disorientation.

Set-piece design expands enemy variety and authored encounters. The preview encountered a floating bus with clawing passengers and a sinkhole AWE with rooms and furniture suspended in a gravity-bent void. One mission ends with an extended escape sequence that combines audio and visual elements.

Remedy adjusted narrative and systems so new players do not need prior knowledge of Control. An early contact, FBC agent Zoe de Vera, helps orient Dylan while the plot shifts emphasis from Objects of Power to People of Power.

In a roughly three-hour hands-on preview, designers acknowledged platforming and precision traversal felt clunky at times, particularly when combining movement options and gravity-bending segments, and said they expect player familiarity to reduce those issues.