Control Resonant Reviews
Control Resonant is an ambitious sequel that dares to challenge almost everything that worked in its predecessor.
Review in French | Read full review
While I didn’t love Control Resonant, there’s a lot to like. The game features top-notch presentation. The visuals and sound design are both outstanding, and while I did experience some frame rate issues on a base PS5, they weren’t game-breaking. On top of that, learning about, using, and fighting with Dylan is an absolute joy, but unfortunately, immersion-breaking moments take that joy away all too often. It feels like a prestige, artisan-type game built to win all sorts of awards and achievements, and then you play it and wonder why it’s getting the attention it is.
Control Resonant is a worthy and solid sequel to the original. Building upon the world introduced to us in Control and expanding it tenfold. The game design is tight, sharp and easy to get into. My only minor gripe is that you can find yourself underpowered and ill-prepared for certain encounters, especially Resonant boss battles if you’re not careful, with certain necessary upgrades and abilities requiring a lot of exploring and back tracking. But if you’re like me and go everywhere and do everything this isn’t going to be a problem as long as you take your time. This title has even managed to scratch my openworld power fantasy, not fulfilled since my [Prototype] playing days and made the Control games my second favourite series (still wanting a Quantum Break sequel one day if you’re reading this and are somehow able too Remedy), and although the Alan Wake games are still my personal favourites within the ‘Remedyverse’, Resonant feels like a well polished, thought out and solid entry into the ever expanding series of interconnected games this developer seems to be building. At this point, this is quickly becoming gaming’s version of the MCU with all the references, call backs and interconnections to previously released games. Considering this could be classed as a AAA release, the price point for the Xbox version is only £49.99 at time of release, and the ‘Digital Deluxe Edition’ with extra goodies such as a Digital Artbook and Original Soundtrack for a small price upgrade to £58.49. I find it very easy to recommend you pick up and try Control Resonant. Even if you haven’t played the first one, there’s enough here when you first play to jump onto the narrative and get into the larger overarching story. If you like large, sprawling areas with ‘Metroidvania’ style gaming mechanics and wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey plots then this game is definitely one for you.Try New Games As The Board would probably say… “[Try It/What Have You Got To Lose/Pineapple] or words to that effect.
Control Resonant is an ambitious and visually staggering action role-playing game. The exceptional traversal, immaculate audio design, and breathtaking path traced visuals are extraordinary achievements. While repetitive fights against enemies and the occasionally weaker main story dialogue hold it back from absolute perfection, Dylan's journey through a corrupted Manhattan remains a thrilling experience.
Taken as a part of the whole, Control Resonant delivers an emotional first draft of a far more interesting shared world. Dylan is no superhero, not yet anyway, nor interesting enough to be an antihero; but there is time enough for him to grow into one through the echoes and darkness of the Remedy Connected Universe — if he’s given more opportunity to shine. I hope we know where we’ll see him again sooner rather than later.
A welcome return to Remedy's magnificent hellscapes-with too many hours of middling combat.
Control Resonant is a more action-RPG oriented follow-up to Control, but in leaving the Oldest House it also leaves behind some of what gave the original its magic.
Even when combat's sharp edge eventually dulls, Control Resonant is a great addition to the Remedyverse. While its story follows a more standard framework, its gravitational pull is in the inventive world built around it and the humanization that grounds the paranatural intrigue.
Control Resonant is so spectacular that they’re worth putting up with. It’s another great entry in the Remedyverse, and I’m all in on what the studio wants to do next.
With all my disappointment in Control Resonant, I can still say it is a perfectly serviceable game. But that is exactly the problem.
Control Resonant is Remedy’s take on a semi-open-world character-action game, and that might sound like an experience you’ve had before, but at the transdimensional intersection of its impeccable combat design and the studio’s signature strangeness stands something unforgettably unique.
Control Resonant is a beautifully messy sequel and a testament to Remedy’s ability to make something weird as hell.
Remedy approaches Control drastically differently, and it works to its benefit.
Control Resonant surpasses its excellent predecessor thanks to its larger scope, both narratively and gameplay-wise. The melee-based combat is appropriately brutal and engaging, while the various skill trees offer a deep level of customization. Aside from some confusing maps, this is an almost perfect action-based title. $59.88 at Amazon Check Best Buy
It is a must-play for anyone who appreciates the studio's craft, and the perfect way to establish Control as one of Remedy's premier flagship franchises. Who would have thought I’d end up enjoying walking upside down on ceilings so much?
A brave but foolhardy pivot from ranged to melee combat turns the Control sequel into a repetitive slog, brightened only by some impressively surreal visuals.
Control Resonant hits a vibe I haven’t felt in a while in an action melee.
That said, after playing Control Resonant, we don't want to see a Rubik's Cube for at least a couple of years. Our brain cells are fried...
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Any game that lets you execute a bus, or stamp on windows to direct a cat to attack a woman called Sandra is a winner in my books. Remedy should be credited for taking their time and making a very different sequel, rather than more of the same, and also for throwing a lot of ideas into the game. However, for me, it's a little too unfocused and padded.
Control Resonant isn’t a bad game, but it’s not the Control successor that people were left wanting after the original game. While Remedy’s habit of zigging when fans think they will zag is one of the studio’s greatest strengths, this is one of the rare times when it hasn’t fully paid off. Repetitive combat encounters that lack depth, a dated open-world environment, and a dull story fail to captivate in the same manner as the original.