Control Resonant is a sequel — and also a starting point

chronologically, Resonance control It is a sequel to 2019 He controls. But in most other respects, the games are not directly connected. For developer Remedy, they’re like two sides of the same coin.

when ringing Creative director Mikael Kasurinen said it was first revealed last year You can play the games in any order. world He controls It upends reality in many ways, but the general linear progression of time isn’t one of them – how could someone start with the sequel?

It didn’t click until I played ringing myself. In a two-hour-plus preview earlier this week, I played the game’s opening chapter, as well as a later story mission and an open section filled with Hiss to fight. events He controlsThe arc of protagonist Jesse Faden has already happened, however ringing It’s not actually about what happens next. It’s about her brother Dylan and exploring that same world from a completely different point of view.

“Right from the starting point when we were thinking He controls “As a franchise that was going to be several different games, the thinking was that it would be the story of a world, and then with each game we would get a lens into that world through different protagonists,” Kasurinen told me.

“Jesse is coming from our world into the supernatural world; Dylan has always been there,” Kasurinen added, comparing He controlsThe film revolves around a mysterious and otherworldly oldest house ringingManhattan mode. “Now he’s entering our world. And our world is foreign to him. He has nothing to do with it. So he’s like a fish out of water in our world, just as Jesse was inside the older house.”

That fish-out-of-water feeling is what makes it ringing A viable starting point for the series. Dylan knows a lot about the paranormal. He was held captive in the Elder House most of his life due to his abilities, and was trained to be a weapon. As he navigates the overworld, he is in a position to explain some of the finer points of the supernatural to the people he encounters, and thus the player.

This does not mean ringing Steeped in interpretive dialogue. You get enough information to get by, and that’s about as much downtime as you’ll get for a while. Fighting in ringing The game is all about constant action: kill some of the weaker enemies to build up your ability meter; Use these abilities on stronger enemies; You will inevitably lose some health in the process; Kill some more Enemies are weaker so they lose health for you to pick up; Repeat until all strong enemies are dead. If you don’t want to die, it’s better to move all the time.

The episode reminded me of 2016 deathwhere you have to kill to keep killing until there’s nothing left to kill, but with PlatinumGames’ melee-focused flair. Originally fighting He controls It wasn’t slow, but it didn’t feel like it. Jessie uses a gun, and has a confidence in herself that Dylan doesn’t yet have. I felt the same way as Dylan pessimist.

“The way I thought about it was this: Jessie had her power and she needed to find hers. Dylan had his and needed to find his,” said Sean Dury, who plays Dylan.

And I needed to summon my strength to survive like Dylan. I flipped through his many skill trees — different weapon styles, abilities, and perks — trying to find the build that would give me the best chance against the Hiss. I found a lot of designs I liked, my favorite including a drill with which I could stab and charge enemies, and Dylan’s abilities felt powerful, but I didn’t succeed until I learned how to move and connect it all together properly.

If you enter ringing I knew nothing about the Hiss, or the Old House, or Jesse’s experience in this world, and I didn’t even have time to feel lost. Fighting and survival are more urgent; Interpretations and traditions can come later. You don’t need to talk at length about hissing riddles when you’re up close and personal stabbing them with a big drill. And for those who come to ringing As a starting point? Good, They will have a lot to look forward to then.

Resonance control It will be released on September 24 on PS5, Xbox, and PC.