Control the resonance spills and supernatural chaos on the streets of New York

Remedy Entertainment’s 2019 game Control is a brilliant mix of third-person combat and supernatural government intrigue. But the question remains: Where will the story go from here? I enjoyed my playtime with the sequel, Control Resonant, which moves the story to the chaotic city of Manhattan and follows the final redemption of the first game’s villain.

Control’s story ended with the new director of the Federal Bureau of Control, Jesse Faden, attempting to eradicate an invasion of extra-dimensional beings, called the Hiss, possessing agents and her empowered brother Dylan, whom she defeated in a decisive confrontation. While it was not clear what the second part of Control could have in store when it is Confirmed in 2022the Premiere of Control Resonantwhich debuted at The Game Awards last December, confirmed that the new game will star Dylan. Fans will get a chance to find out more about the game for themselves on September 24 when the game is released.

The events of Control Resonant begin seven years later, and despite Faden’s best efforts (along with the agents, as seen in FBC Firebreak), Hiss has broken containment and flooded the streets of New York City. After Dylan wakes up from his cell, he breaks out of the agency in search of his sister – and perhaps as revenge on his former owners.

Before the game’s new trailer was revealed during the Summer Game Fest showcase, I went to Hollywood to visit the offices of Annapurna, the film and game art studio that co-produced Control Resonant. I was given a summary of the upcoming game’s themes and was ushered into a cozy but completely dark office to play some sections. As expected for Remedy, where it could have been meandering with another story about Jesse Faden inside the Oldest House, the Finnish studio launched with a game about her brother’s redemption as he rediscovers his humanity.

It also dispenses with the ranged combat of the late game for a full-blown knockout fest. My preview begins at the beginning of the game when Dylan wakes up in a glass-walled containment center, where he finds FBC headquarters, the oldest home, in disarray. It’s not long before he leaves home and begins clashing with the Hiss, who are now on the loose and ruining the town.

Cutting and stabbing towards salvation

While his sister had the Amorphous Service Pistol, Dylan was given the Aberrant Weapon, a melee weapon that transforms quickly, combining metal and stone to form different poses. These take the form of familiar weapons from other games – dual daggers for quick stabs, a scythe for wide cuts, a massive hammer for massive slow strikes and so on.

Melee combat becomes more in-depth with secondary modes, such as nunchucks that can attack from a distance, and ultimate modes that appear at the end of a combo. Players can switch between these items at will and slowly unlock more, as well as retreat to a central area called The Gap where they can upgrade their stats, abilities, and weapon skins.

After being left on the streets, Dylan hears a radio call for help and begins working with Zoe, an FBC supervisor who has been detained outside the oldest boarded house and has little trust in Dylan but needs to rely on him regardless. Together they try to bring some order to the Hessian invasion.

As much as I loved the gunplay of the original Control, it didn’t take long for me to start hitting and hitting things. Soon after, I unlocked the ability to jump, float, and dash around levels – essential for surviving the first boss fight.

If I had any doubts that this was a healing game, they were dispelled when I beat the first boss. While walking with Dylan through an art gallery, I came face to face with a huge sculpture shaped like a woman’s face from the mouth up. As I dashed through a large arena, dodging boulders and taxis, the boss tested my endurance – if this is the rest of the game, it should have challenging climbs that challenge players.

But the best magic cure came at the end of the demo. If you liked “Ashtray Maze” and “We Sing,” you’ve got a taste of what’s in store.

New frontiers in the treatment of queerness

The third and final part of the preview was a mission called The Sinkhole, where Zoe asks Dylan to descend into a deep hole to settle a chaotic anomaly. After climbing onto a circular platform raised by a crane, Dylan uses his makeshift diving bell and descends through the abyss of what was once an apartment complex.

While defeating some Hiss along the way, the platform finally reaches a depth where the anomaly has distorted the previous housing units – and they are rearranged up, down, left and right like an MC Escher drawing. Unfortunately, some of the apartments’ former residents have become violent, and the Invisible Hiss, forcing Dylan to go after them.

What followed was a gravity-bending puzzle, and a fun if sometimes difficult journey through a complex dollhouse where I had to keep resetting what was “up” while chasing invisible enemies. With their defeat, I still had to climb down to reach the bottom – where a huge flying leader was waiting for me.

The section ends with a tour through a more complex, multi-directional dollhouse, where Dylan gets a little lost but gets a lifeline from Zoe when she calls to him through music and television static. When it surfaced, I just wanted to keep playing.

Ultimately, Control Resonant feels like a fresh take on a familiar world, a meandering step in a larger, more expansive direction than expected. Remedy could have rested on its laurels with more exploration of Jesse Faden and a deeper dive into the lore of the Oldest House, but by unleashing that New York City quirkiness, the studio continues to take us where we least expect it.