Control Resonant is the follow up to Remedy’s hit 2019 game Control about paranormal entities and paranormal powers to play with. While in the first game you played as new FBC Director Jesse Faden, this time around you play as Jesse’s mysterious brother Dylan who has awakened from a years long coma to what appears to be a paranormal disaster. Not only does the protagonist shift in Control Resonant, but the genre does as well with this game being a third person melee action game whereas the original was a third person shooter. At Summer Game Fest, we got to go hands on with the game, and, after playing it, the genre shift works extremely well.
The demo we played consisted of the first act of the game along with a later area known as an Evacuation Zone. The game starts with Jesse watching Dylan before saying she needs to leave and stabbing Dylan with some kind of rod. This causes Dylan to wake from his coma and he pulls the rod out of his chest which becomes his weapon (which gives you three choices on what type of weapon it becomes). Dylan must then escape the Oldest House which has been overrun by the Hiss who have now broken out and flooded into the streets of Manhattan.
Dylan then finds a radio and must fight his way through a messed up city to rendezvous with FBC agent Zoe. After meeting up with Zoe, the pair head off to clear the Hiss and help citizens which leads to the first boss encounter of the game. After we completed the boss, we were put into the aforementioned Evacuation Zone which was basically an area where you could mess around with the game’s combat systems in a higher leveled area.
Combat is where the demo shined the most. For Remedy’s first melee focused game, it all works extremely well, and making the switch from a third person shooter to action melee combat fits the universe exceptionally. The combat feels so fluid and the paranormal abilities Dylan has access to are so much fun to play with. As aforementioned, when Dylan gains his weapon he can choose from three different types to have it morph into as well as three secondary ones for heavy attacks. Later on, you gain access to all types of weapons and can choose which one fits your playstyle best. There is also a small hub world we got to see where you are able to upgrade your weapons and abilites and even access a training area to test your loadout. You are able to freely respec in the hub area, but once you leave you are locked into your choice unless you find a respec item.
Control Resonant is set to release later this year on September 24, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X.