Control Resonant shows that sometimes bigger really is better

How do you approach a sequel? Do you refine the predecessor’s mechanics and stick with the main character? Well, Control Resonant chucks those out the window. Review info Platform reviewed: Xbox Series X Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC Release date: September 24, 2026 Instead of an open-zone

<![CDATA[ <article> <p>How do you approach a sequel? Do you refine the predecessor’s mechanics and stick with the main character? Well, <a href="https://www.techradar.com/gaming/remedy-confirms-that-control-resonant-is-the-sequel-to-its-critically-acclaimed-paranormal-action-game-and-its-coming-in-2026"><em>Control Resonant</em></a> chucks those out the window.</p><div class="fancy-box"><div class="fancy_box-title">Review info</div><div class="fancy_box_body"><p class="fancy-box__body-text"><strong>Platform reviewed: </strong>Xbox Series X<br><strong>Available on:</strong> PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC<br><strong>Release date: </strong>September 24, 2026</p></div></div><p>Instead of an open-zone map like the first game, <em>Resonant</em> goes full open-world. You play as Dylan Faden, old protagonist Jesse’s brother, who was (mostly) freed from the Hiss’s evil influence towards the end of the last adventure. </p><p>Now, Jesse has disappeared somewhere in an otherworldly Manhattan, and it’s his job to find her.</p><h2 id="like-brother-like-sister">Like brother, like sister</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1920px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="6TfVxVapqC4Mdu5MhcrSkZ" name="Jesse and Dylan speak in a Fault" alt="A Control Resonant screenshot." src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6TfVxVapqC4Mdu5MhcrSkZ-1920-80.png" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1920" height="1080" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Remedy)</span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Control Resonant</em>’s story is markedly improved over its predecessor. The sibling bond between Dylan and Jesse provides an emotional anchor to latch onto. Learning about their childhoods through the main missions was engaging enough and made it much easier to follow this time around. It kept my attention in ways that <em>Control</em> didn’t.</p><p>The small cast of support characters also smartly keeps the character development focused mainly on Dylan. Zoe De Vera is assigned as Dylan’s handler, and I like how their relationship starts off rocky with her viewing him as just a tool to fight the Hiss. But as the story progresses, Zoe starts considering Dylan as more than that, asking him personal questions about his favorite music. </p><p>Emily Pope returns from the first game and acts as an important linchpin for Dylan to discuss Jesse. As Emily helped Jesse throughout the entirety of <em>Control</em>, Dylan can confide in Emily, giving him hope he’ll eventually find his sister. These powerful relationships make <em>Resonant</em> a less lonely trip.</p><p>As someone who’s fascinated with sci-fi and the occult, <em>Resonant</em> plays around with common tropes to great effect. In one particularly memorable main quest, Dylan is tasked with figuring out what happened to a missing crew, and its implementation of time dilation and alternate timelines really had a grip on my attention. It’s moments like these that make <em>Resonant</em>’s story emotionally satisfying, but narratively absorbing too.</p><h2 id="go-big-or-go-home">Go big or go home</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1279px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.22%;"><img id="4Dw2VnFPDok6LdAsDuVL4Z" name="Running through" alt="A Control Resonant screenshot." src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4Dw2VnFPDok6LdAsDuVL4Z-1920-80.png" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1279" height="719" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Remedy)</span></figcaption></figure><p>Going from <em>Control</em> to <em>Control</em> <em>Resonant </em>feels similar to how <em>Final Fantasy 7 Remake</em> transitioned to <em>Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth</em>. It’s a high-risk endeavor, as creating an open world can add a lot of unnecessary bloat compared to a more streamlined experience.</p><p>Thankfully, <em>Resonant</em>’s exemplary art direction and traversal mechanics make its distorted version of Manhattan a treat to run around in. Rather than the brutalist architecture of the first game that took place entirely indoors within the Oldest House, <em>Resonant</em> doubles down on the more kaleidoscopic and parallactic aspects in the open world. </p><p>As part of the main quests, you’ll also be given objectives to find “Faults,” which are areas where remnants of Jesse could be residing. While they’re not very combat-heavy, they offer a lot of story exposition exploring Dylan and Jesse’s background. At the very end, you’ll be awarded a new way for Dylan to move around. </p><p>These include being able to shift his gravitational orientation around so the wall next to him becomes the floor, or the intriguing take on the traditional grappling hook, which looks more like an invisible magnet pulling Dylan by the waist.</p><div class="fancy-box"><div class="fancy_box-title">Best bit</div><div class="fancy_box_body"><figure class="van-image-figure " ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' ><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="YE9VMhC8QRED6FNJQDz3Sa" name="Combat" caption="" alt="A Control Resonant screenshot." src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YE9VMhC8QRED6FNJQDz3Sa-1920-80.png" mos="" link="" align="" fullscreen="" width="" height="" attribution="" endorsement="" class="pinterest-pin-exclude"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=""><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Remedy)</span></figcaption></figure><p class="fancy-box__body-text"><strong>Like the first game's massive brutalist skyscraper, the weird, twisted version of Manhattan in </strong><em><strong>Control Resonant</strong></em><strong> is an absolute joy to explore full of striking views.</strong></p></div></div><p><em></em></p><p><em>Control Resonant</em> is also reminiscent of <em>Elden Ring</em>, in that you’re able to tackle tough side bosses called Resonants all across the Big Apple. By defeating them, Dylan is able to unlock more of his offensive move kit. You’re incentivized to go for it, as it’ll give you more options to fight against the Hiss and other enemies. </p><p>You only need to take out a few to advance the story, but afterwards you can actually complete it without taking the rest of them on if you want. This open-endedness comes in handy if you get stuck on a certain story boss. You can explore more, get stronger, and return later.</p><p>There are also plenty of other interesting activities to tackle, and these often bring a more down-to-earth tone to <em>Resonant</em>’s paranormal twists. In a multi-part side quest, Dylan is trying to help a girl find her way home from an alternate dimension. And he has to play “spot the difference” with different taxi cabs to take the right one back. There’s another side quest where Dylan helps a colleague find their invisible cat, which ends up in the cat actually helping out against a mini-boss fight in a humorous conclusion. </p><p>These side quests reflect Dylan’s altruism and the guilt he harbors for his actions from the first game, allowing him to redeem himself in small, yet meaningful ways. They also reward massive amounts of EXP and useful ingredients to unlock new skills and abilities.</p><h2 id="close-quarters-combat">Close quarters combat</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:751px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.19%;"><img id="nY4oJMQQQd47qQiXLWpTkY" name="Facing off against a Resonant" alt="A Control Resonant screenshot." src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nY4oJMQQQd47qQiXLWpTkY-1920-80.png" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="751" height="422" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Remedy)</span></figcaption></figure><p>As opposed to the first game’s third-person shooter gameplay, <em>Control Resonant</em> is a melee-focused action game. It’s an interesting switch-up that certainly helps this sequel differentiate itself. </p><p>The basic gameplay loop you’re going for is to stagger enemies and then perform an execution. Doing that causes Dylan to temporarily enter Dominance, which astronomically ups his attack power and allows him to kill enemies quicker. It’s a gratifying process that’s just as exciting as it looks cool.</p><p>The big issue here is that it’s incredibly difficult to falter enemies when you first start out. Dylan’s weapon, the Aberrant, can morph into different forms for both his light and heavy attacks. At the beginning, you can pick one form, and the rest you can create later on with the proper drops and materials.</p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1920px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="enk6nmW27Q8FiHwxrymbKZ" name="Helping out Alfred the cat" alt="A Control Resonant screenshot." src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/enk6nmW27Q8FiHwxrymbKZ-1920-80.png" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1920" height="1080" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Remedy)</span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’re like me and picked a heavy weapon choice that didn’t fit your particular playstyle, then you’re going to have a tough time. You can use limited reset points to rechoose your points and abilities, but the fact that it’s not free feels like it’s discouraging experimentation, especially at the start before eventually unlocking everything. </p><p>After initially selecting the spear as my heavy weapon and being disappointed, I reset my build and opted for the slow but powerful hammer instead. I found that it fit my approach much better, and suddenly I was enjoying it more. Beforehand, combat felt like a slog as enemies seemed to just be damage sponges, as it took forever to falter them.</p><p>A little later on, after defeating the giant fire Resonant, I unlocked the ability to cloak my weapons in flame, increasing both the damage and falter output. Now even my light weapon attacks with the multi-target scythe-like glaive inflicted a decent amount of stagger. I was able to enter Dominance faster, and the combat became more frenetic, explosive, and most importantly, fun. </p><p>It just takes a while to get to.</p><h2 id="should-i-play-control-resonant">Should I play Control Resonant?</h2><h2 id="play-it-if">Play it if...</h2><div class="product"><p><strong>You like action-adventure games</strong><br>If you’re a fan of games like <em>Devil May Cry</em>, this might be up your alley. Just don’t expect to be graded on your work, though.</p></div><div class="product"><p><strong>You enjoyed the first Control</strong><br><em>Control Resonant </em>is a direct sequel, so if you enjoyed the first game, then you should play this one too. It’s surprisingly loose with the events of the predecessor, so you don’t actually need to play it before jumping in here, but it helps.</p></div><div class="product"><p><strong>You like open-world games</strong><br><em>Control Resonant</em> has one of the more interesting open-world games in recent memory, and the traversal mechanics are a joy to toy around with.</p></div><h2 id="don-39-t-play-it-if">Don't play it if...</h2><div class="product"><p><strong>You like shooters</strong><br>While the first <em>Control</em> was a third-person shooter, <em>Control Resonant</em> is not. This could be a sticking point for those coming from the first game.</p></div><div class="product"><p><strong>You want a more streamlined experience</strong><br>The first <em>Control</em> was much more confined, with open-zone environments rather than the open world that <em>Control Resonant</em> has.</p></div><h2 id="accessibility-features">Accessibility features</h2><p><em>Control Resonant </em>has an impressive suite of accessibility features. These options include text, subtitles, colorblindness adjustments, and toggles.</p><p>It also has an Assist mode, which lets you change gameplay parameters to your liking. For example, you can change how fast Dylan’s Power meter replenishes, which lets him fire off special abilities. You can also make him invincible. </p><p>There’s even an option to OHKO enemies with just one attack, and it works on bosses too. None of the options disable Achievements either.</p><h2 id="how-i-reviewed-control-resonant">How I reviewed Control Resonant</h2><p>I played 25 hours of <em>Control Resonant</em> on <a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/xbox-series-x">Xbox Series X</a> with the standard <a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/xbox-wireless-controller-2020">Xbox Wireless Controller</a> on my 1080p LG Sharp TV, finishing up the main campaign while completing some side quests. </p><p>After witnessing the ending, you can go back into the open world once again to mop up any remaining collectibles and quests.</p><p><em>First reviewed September 2026</em></p> </article> ]]>