Control Resonant Review: Remedy Swaps Guns for an Axe and Mostly Wins

Control Resonant is the kind of sequel that makes fans nervous on paper. Jesse Faden steps aside, her brother Dylan takes the lead, the claustrophobic Oldest House opens up into a Hiss-infested Manhattan, and the Service Weapon - the heart of the 2019 original - is replaced by a melee weapon. Having spent the launch window with it, I can say Remedy mostly pulls it off. Mostly.

What it is

Seven years after Control, Dylan is woken up by Jesse and pushed into the fight against the Hiss and a reality-bending phenomenon called the Patterning, while also looking for his sister. It's a third-person action RPG running on Remedy's Northlight engine, with stats, several talent trees, craftable Artifacts and a lot more loot-brain than the first game ever had. Remedy insists these are large, distinct zones rather than an open world, but in practice it plays like a compact open world with regional bosses and refreshing task boards.

The Aberrant is the star

Dylan's weapon, the Aberrant, shifts between forms - axe, tonfas and glaive as primaries, with whip, drill and hammer forms layered on top. Combining those with status effects like Falter, Burning and Infected, plus telekinetic-style powers such as Barrage, Shield and Summon, gives fights a rhythm the original never had. When a room collapses into floating concrete while you chain a glaive sweep into a hammer slam, this is Remedy at its most confident. Gravity-bending traversal in the mid-to-late game is a genuine joy too.

Where it drags

The open structure brings the usual baggage. Side tasks repeat quickly, some areas exist mostly to keep you busy, and the early game can punish you hard if you wander into a zone you are under-levelled for. The story is dense and lore-heavy; if you skipped Control and AWE, expect to feel lost in the first hours. And while Dylan's redemption arc lands, I missed the tight, strange, hand-crafted corridors of the Oldest House. More space did not always mean more weird.

Price and platforms

It's out digitally now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC (Steam: 59.99 EUR standard, 69.99 EUR Digital Deluxe), with physical console copies on 15 October and a macOS version later this year. The Deluxe's 48-hour early access perk for PlayStation was already irrelevant by launch day, so buy it for the extras or not at all. The game ships with German among its languages, which matters for part of our readership.

Who it's for

If you loved Control's atmosphere and wanted meatier combat, this is for you. If you want a tight 15-hour mystery, you will have to dig through filler to find it.

Verdict: Control Resonant is the best-feeling combat Remedy has ever made, wrapped in an open structure that is bigger than it needs to be. Bold, smart and occasionally padded - a strong sequel, not a masterpiece.

Score: 8/10

Image: King of Hearts / CC BY-SA 4.0, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Midtown_Manhattan_from_Weehawken_September_2021_HDR.jpg