Paranatural phenomena, Objects of Power, and interdimensional threats all defying the laws of physics – developer Remedy has built its reputation on these kinds of concepts, and none more intriguing than the fantastic Control in 2019. The subtleties in its SCP-adjacent mysteries are what left a lasting impact, so in many regards, Control Resonant is an antithesis. Not only has the series moved from metroidvania-esque shooter to open-world stylish-action, it also goes for a more straightforward story focused on the lives of its characters. It's not always elegant in its action, and can even range from frustrating to somewhat dull in certain stretches. Still, I came away impressed by how conceptually consistent it is with Control while also being radically different. Remedy could've played it safe, but Control Resonant dares to be bold where it counts, with swings that land alongside some of this studio's best.
Control Resonant is centered around Dylan Faden, the brother of the first game's lead Jesse Faden, who backflipped into becoming the director of the Federal Bureau of Control, and it uses his perspective to fill in a lot blanks from the jump. He goes from being Jesse's tortured brother who was the subject of abusive FBC experiments gone awry to a fully formed character with thoughts, feelings, and dark memories he confronts as he tries to salvage whatever life he has left. He's treated as subhuman and initially seen as dangerous with superpowers he can't always control, but still volunteers to be a tool of the FBC with what's effectively a shock collar bolted onto the back of his head.
With this as the foundation, Control Resonant treats much of its paranatural conspiracy as a matter of fact. The Oldest House couldn't contain the Hiss outbreak as it spills into a New York City that's been folded in on itself in interdimensional isolation, which turns out to be a swift and effective setup as Dylan tries to find Jesse, who's been lost over the last seven years. And while this story does expand on what we know about things like the Hiss and AWEs, it resonates more as an exploration about what you would do in the aftermath of a life and world fallen apart.
Your search mostly comes in the form of physically dismantling paranormal entities and the monsters they spawn, which have filled the streets, with up-close and personal combat. Dylan himself contrasts with Jesse in that he plays fast and nimble with a suite of melee combos and abilities that he was specifically built for. Similar to Jesse's shapeshifting gun, Dylan's melee weapon called the Aberrant transforms into whatever form you either assign to it or combo into. The Aberrant can be a sword, scythe, hammer, or even a drill, but instead of equipping these as individual pieces of gear, it automatically swaps forms depending on whether you're doing a light combo chain, heavy attack, or a combo finisher. All of this can be customized to suit your preferred playstyle as you expand in power and capability through upgrade trees, giving a level of variability I appreciate.
The action is slick and responsive like a Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, with some of the platforming and momentum I miss from Gravity Rush or NieR: Automata. If I'm mid-combo but need to dodge immediately, I can cancel out of the animation with a dash/airdash and pick the combo back up so long as I don't get hit. Grasping this cadence of character-action is paramount because you will die a lot in the early hours. The kid gloves come off very quickly, and part of the difficulty is a consequence of not having many tools to pull from initially, but enemies hit hard and are oftentimes relentless with just how much they throw at you. It can be frustrating when you're on the verge of conquering a combat encounter, so there's an element of chaos management to consider.
Control Resonant's RPG edge is the equalizer here, offering progression and some build crafting through both Dylan's own skill tree and weapon upgrades paths. Some of my favorite powers were as satisfying as they were effective, like summoning a minion that I can throw like a massive bomb to inflict significant Falter damage (this game's stagger meter) and clear mobs of pesky Hiss. Once I unlocked the Ignite power that let me set weapons ablaze to quickly inflict Burn status and melt enemies into piles of Faltered targets to execute, the action changed significantly. Instead of feeling vulnerable and picking my windows of opportunity to strike, Dylan became the real threat as my Spin Edge combo and Hammer charge scorched anything that was once deadly. (It also helped that Ignite sheds off mold poison, which gave me so much trouble early on.)
There are status effects that are important to account for, but it did feel a bit like I had found the "correct" build. Even though that took away some of the need to be incisive in combat, I can't deny that it was pretty sweet to play things more like a hack-and-slash just by virtue of understanding how to wield its systems. So, the RPG aspect isn't quite as deep as it looks at first glance since your approach won't drastically evolve at a certain point and the combo system doesn't change much, but the fundamentals are there.
Combat is designed to encourage and reward aggression, with every killed enemy dropping health and each melee attack feeding back into the power meter you use for special abilities. That philosophy is also seen in the design of most encounters, which are primarily built around killing heavy enemies since they continuously spawn minions in the combat arenas that form as you explore. Trying to whittle down mobs is sometimes wasted effort, you just have to go for the big ones and treat the rest like obstacles or a way to replenish health if you can wedge a combo in there unscathed.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/control-resonant-review
