Control Resonant review: A worthy successor with slick combat

Control Resonant expands Remedy’s paranormal universe with Dylan Faden, delivering fast combat, striking visuals and deeper lore. While its world-building and responsive gameplay impress, uneven enemy balancing and an overload of readable lore during combat occasionally disrupt the experience.

Hyderabad: Control was my favorite game of 2019, and ever since I finished Jesse’s story, I have been eagerly waiting to see what Remedy had in store with its successor.

Resonant does not disappoint. Set on a larger scale and with a more expansive narrative, Resonant introduces a new protagonist: Dylan Faden, Jesse’s brother, a man who literally wakes from a coma to fight the paranormal Hiss as it breaches containment and escapes into the wider world.

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The game’s opening is fast-paced, introducing combat early on and letting you choose the form of Dylan’s weapon, the Aberrant. The Aberrant can take the shape of a sword, scythe, or hammer and in special modes transforms further depending on how you chain your combos.

The speed and fluidity of combat are among Resonant’s greatest strengths; the entire experience feels slick and highly responsive, making fighting a breeze when combined with the game’s various unique mechanics for dodges and jumps.

However, despite the fluid combat, the enemies need rebalancing, especially in the early game when Dylan is underpowered and takes excessive damage. Remedy issued a day-one update to mitigate this to some extent.

In terms of raw speed, however, the combat experience is top-notch, and the haptic feedback on the PS5’s DualSense controller significantly heightens the urgency and exhilaration of every encounter.

In terms of visuals and sound, the game is classic Remedy fare: colors are gorgeous, and the signature Control red gleams in all its grandeur.

Manhattan in its paranormal state is a joy to behold, as all sense of gravity, geometry, and physics is thrown out the window alongside floating bodies, rubble, and even entire skyscrapers.

In one early mission, a touching sequence brings Jesse and Dylan together in one of the most gorgeously designed levels I have ever seen: with golden leaves, brilliant rays of light, an old CRT TV paired with a vintage gaming console, and a Christmas tree in all its splendor, offering a stunning departure from Manhattan’s paranormal apocalypse.

In terms of plot and lore, this is a brilliant extension of Control’s narrative, with the Hiss proving vastly deadlier now that they have breached containment into the outside world.

However, during high-octane combat sequences, the heavy concentration of readable lore items in the same areas can disrupt the pacing and become overly distracting.

A brilliant experience throughout, Resonant is a worthy successor to 2019’s Control. Barring a few combat balancing issues and minor nitpicks, it stands as one of the finest games of 2026.

Sneak Peek:

Title: Control Resonant

Developer: Remedy Entertainment

Game Type: Single Player, Action

Roleplaying Game Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows, and macOS

Price: Rs.3,599 on Steam, and Rs.3,499 on PlayStation and Xbox

Verdict (all scores out of 10):

Innovative Gameplay: 8

Game Handling & Quality: 8.5

Value for Time: 8.5

Value for Money: 8

Overall: 8.25

* What Stands Out

– The worldbuilding built off the first game is top-notch

– The shift in combat from first game is brilliantly executed. Dylan’s journey with the Aberrant is fast and responsive.

* Fails to impress

– The game’s combat needs to be better balanced.

– The game is rich in lore, and while it is always rewarding to unearth more details about the world, in some places it becomes a bit overwhelming.