Remedy Entertainment is one of the most creative developers on the planet, going from the iconic Max Payne twenty-five years ago, to one of the greatest horror games in Alan Wake. After the time-warping Quantum Break, the Finnish studio found their footing again with Control, a mind-bending, somewhat convoluted story about paranormal activities and secret government programs. It was a unique experience that we came to expect from the studio.
Seven years after Control came out, we now have a sequel: Control Resonant, and it’s not what you’d think of a traditional sequel. While most developers are more than happy to give fans more of the same, Remedy has completely flipped the script and create a game with similar aesthetics, but drastically different gameplay. It’s bigger, better and more ambitious than Control, but is it enough to satisfy fans?
The story of Control Resonant takes place seven years after the events of Control, where Jesse remains the Director of the FBC, but things have gone completely awry. The Hiss has escaped the Oldest House and has completely decimated Manhattan, creating supernatural events messing with time and physics.
All of this comes to the newest protagonist: Dylan Faden, brother of Jesse Faden. He was essentially the antagonist in the first game – well, kind of. He essentially was possessed by The Hiss as a conduit of sorts, and this created many of the problems that arose in the original game. In the sequel, he breaks away from their grasp and escapes the Oldest House, only to witness that the FBC does not have a handle on things and his sister is missing in action.
There are only a couple of characters in the story of Control Resonant, but Remedy makes fantastic use of them, at least most of them. It takes a while, but Dylan becomes a likable character after a short while, and his chemistry with his new handler, Zoe, becomes something to look forward to. While we won’t spoil anything regarding Jesse’s role, there are moments that really tug on your heart strings, as there’s a strong theme of family throughout.
For those who had a hard time following Control’s story, they will likely have similar struggles with Control Resonant. It feels less cryptic, but just as convoluted as we’ve become used to. At the very least, it’s told more linearly with far fewer live action videos helping give context to events or more dialogue options. For the most part, the story itself is solid, lasting around thirty hours if tackling most side quests and activities.
Usually, we like to save it for talking about the presentation near the bottom of a review, but this is because in most games, it’s an afterthought. While there are stylish and visually vibrant games with good soundtracks, it’s usually the gameplay that really sells an experience. For Control Resonant, it’s the opposite.
That’s not to say the gameplay isn’t great, but the visual fidelity and use of lighting is beyond anything we’ve seen. There’s a strong use of red lighting and proper ways of directing the player’s attention that really sell the atmosphere. This is on top of the world that Remedy built is out of this world.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://hardcoregamer.com/review-control-resonant/
