There are few games as eagerly anticipated as Control Resonant, Remedy Entertainment’s upcoming action-adventure RPG. After all, we’ve endured a long wait since 2019’s Control introduced us to the Lynchian world of the red-hued Hiss and the Federal Bureau of Control.
The good news is that the wait is nearly over — because Resonant arrives in less than two months. And the really good news is that it looks great; so great, in fact, that we gave it one of our Best of Summer Games Fest awards.
So, what will the sequel bring to the table to stand out from its predecessor in a notable way? After playing a lengthy two-hour preview of Control Resonant recently, I had a chance to speak with the lead gameplay designer, Sergey Mohov, and put that question to him, among others.
Melee masterpiece
Unsurprisingly, combat is the centerpiece in Resonant, just as it was in the original. In that game, you played as Jesse Faden, equipped with a trusty shapeshifting handgun and tasked with finding her brother, Dylan — who is now the main character in Resonant.
You could unlock several different ammo types that would essentially act as different gun types: shotgun, automatic machine gun, grenade launcher, and so on. Those were joined by various powers, some of which allowed players to levitate or hurl objects at enemies.
In Resonant, Remedy seeks to double down on that combat-heavy gamplay, but specifically with melee, using a shapeshifting weapon, the Aberrant, and other supernatural abilities. The result reminds me of the best hack-and-slash games, such as Capcom’s Devil May Cry 5.
Despite my hack-and-slash comparisons, though, Resonant‘s combat was developed mostly with its predecessor in mind, and that’s what both the preview build and Mohov’s answers make clear right away.
“We actually have a pretty long and eclectic list of references, and they’re not all video games,” Mohov says. “If I had to name one game that this game [Resonant] is trying to be like, it would be the original Control. That’s our number one reference for everything.
“With our creative director, we started figuring out what makes Control, Control? That was a big question, because we wanted to make a sequel that is spiritually and experientially similar to the first game, so it still feels like a Control game. But we also wanted to have more of this melee-focused, in-your-face, aggressive gameplay at the same time.”
While Resonant‘s structure and identity draw primarily from Control, Mohov stresses that the Remedy team also wasn’t shy about incorporating elements from other games as well.
“We use references for the individual parts of the experience. I’m a big fan of DMC 2 and DMC 3, and PlatinumGames’ titles. It’s really hard to name one single reference, but I think if you play the game more, you’ll notice that there are things that have been done in other games, but I don’t think you can directly say Resonant is ‘exactly like this other thing.’
“We learn lessons from all of these other projects to see what works and what doesn’t, but I think you probably haven’t played anything that is exactly like this.”
Admittedly, the first Control was a game that I couldn’t stick with throughout its runtime, mostly due to its somewhat convoluted storyline and combat being limited to Jesse Faden’s shapeshifting gun.
Mohov confirms that the “core experience” in Resonant should be around “30 hours”, while the completionist experience is expected to be within the “50 hours” ballpark.
That means it’ll be longer than the first game, but with the impressive RPG elements on display, and with numerous weapon and skill types to choose from, it’s an even more appealing experience than before — and one that doesn’t require a full playthrough of the first entry.
“I don’t think you have to play the first Control game to play Resonant,” says Mohov, “but if you do, it will enrich your experience, especially narratively. We put in a Control recap, right at the top of the main menu, though, so you don’t need to [play it].”
Walking away from my two-hour playtest and conversation with Mohov, I’m more convinced than ever that Remedy’s step into a full melee-focused Control experience is going to pay off, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it when it launches on September 24, on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.
