Control Resonant is a Wild Supernatural Trip Through New York

After seven years of waiting, the sequel to Control is finally here. Control Resonant trades the contained hallways of the Oldest House for an entire city. This time around, players take control of Dylan Faden as he wakes from a coma to find New York City overrun by the Hiss. Dylan must join forces with the Federal Bureau of Control to stop the chaos, making for a much larger and more intense story than the original game.

Combat has received a major overhaul, shifting toward a faster and more aggressive style. Dylan uses a new weapon called The Aberrant, which can shift between forms like a wide swinging scythe or a long range whip. While it takes some time to learn the rhythm, the game rewards you for chaining different weapon modes together to trigger powerful execution animations. It feels different from Jesse Faden's playstyle, but it is just as satisfying once you master the flow.

The game map is significantly larger than its predecessor. You are free to explore various side quests and uncover mysterious story moments throughout the city. While the game does feature common open world elements like map markers and plenty of audio logs to collect, the writing is sharp enough that you will actually want to read them. These small details add a lot of personality to the strange, warped version of New York that Remedy has built.

Technically, the game runs well on modern consoles. Even with the wild supernatural imagery on screen, the performance remains stable. If you enjoyed the weird, eerie vibes of the first game, this sequel is a fantastic step forward that delivers on the promise of a bigger, bolder adventure.