Control Resonant Expands to Open World with Mixed Early Reception
The sequel to Control shifts to a city-wide scale, but early reviews note the core narrative is delayed by hours of generic open-world combat.
Key points
- Control Resonant expands the original game's scope to an open-world Manhattan setting.
- Early reviews indicate the core narrative is delayed by roughly ten hours of generic combat.
- The story follows Dylan Faden's attempt to redeem himself after being freed from possession.
Remedy Entertainment has released Control Resonant, the long-awaited sequel to its 2019 hit, which expands the company's signature supernatural thriller into a full open-world experience. While the studio is known for tight, atmospheric storytelling, this new entry dilutes that focus by requiring players to spend significant time on generic combat routines before reaching the core narrative.
CNET reports that the game’s early hours suffer from a lack of direction, leaving players to wander through Manhattan neighborhoods with little indication of what constitutes a signature Remedy experience. This structural choice risks burying the unique horror elements that fans originally loved about the series under a layer of standard action gameplay.
Narrative focus delayed by open world
The story begins seven years after the original game, with Jesse Faden sacrificing her brother Dylan to stop an extradimensional invasion. However, reaching this pivotal moment takes approximately ten hours of gameplay, much of which involves mucking through a city that does not feel distinctly like Manhattan. This delay contrasts sharply with the immediate, impactful storytelling that defined the first Control.
Players are turned loose in connected neighborhoods with a list of goals that often involve delving into dungeons tucked away in the urban environment. The lack of strong guidance means many users may mistake the routine hack-and-slash mechanics for the core identity of the game, potentially missing the deeper horror elements entirely.
Dylan’s redemption arc drives plot
Dylan Faden, now free from the Hiss possession, attempts to redeem his past sins by working under the supervision of Zoe, a field squad leader. The narrative explores his struggle against the abuse from colleagues who remember his destructive behavior, creating a tense psychological backdrop for the action. This character-driven tension is widely considered the strongest element of the new installment.
Key story missions, such as saving a prominent Federal Bureau of Control chief in a Hiss-controlled skyscraper, force Dylan to relive traumatic memories of his possession. These moments highlight the game's ability to blend supernatural threat with personal trauma, offering the kind of resonant themes that distinguish Remedy's work from other action titles.
Directional issues mimic past failures
The early-game experience draws comparisons to the opening area of BioWare’s Dragon Age: Inquisition, where players felt lost and disconnected from the main story. Community advice for that game was to skip the initial region to reach the core content, a recommendation that now applies to Control Resonant as well.
Remedy’s decision to avoid holding players' hands is understandable given the industry's pushback against over-prescriptive design. However, the result is a disjointed start where the unique magic of the studio feels diluted by mainstream gameplay elements that do not align with the expectations of fans seeking the specific tone of the original Control.
