Control Resonant: Reality bound only by imagination

Video games, to me, represent an escape from reality. For many, video games represent a daydream imagined by the developers, projected onto a screen for everyone to experience. This year, the daydreamers at Remedy Entertainment have enamoured me beyond words with Control Resonant.

A sequel to Remedy's GOTY-nominated Control (2019), Resonant picks up the thread its predecessor left dangling. Remedy's games tend to track the real-world calendar, so this one lands in 2026, seven years on from the events of the first game. You play as Dylan Faden — brother of the original's protagonist, Jesse Faden.

In interviews ahead of launch, the team spoke about the game with the same passion as its fans. One moment that stuck with me was creative director Mikael Kasurinen's line: "In many ways Control Resonant is about humanity, and trying to discover that within you."  These words stuck with me, as a good game is always both an escape from reality and a symbol or reflection of reality, in which you could lose yourself.

A rude awakening in a folded Manhattan

The story picks up as Dylan wakes from the coma we last left him in. The acting co-director, Emily Pope, tells him his sister has vanished and that he's been awakened to help contain a sudden outbreak of the Hiss in New York City.

 You make your way through the complex, folding, and unending geometry of New York to find the source of the resonance causing the HISS to spread. The resonance vibrates directly from what we later find are people that have turned into Resonants. 

These act as the main bosses of the game, with you needing to beat only 3 of the 6 Resonants to unlock the main ending of the game. Overall to me the story seemed to take a back seat, and I did not like that, as it felt like they could have done much more to connect or expand the world. Which may be possible to do so through future updates and DLCs or expansions.

Control Resonant has left a lasting impression on me and similarly on the gaming industry, setting a high bar for all future games to come.

These resonants act similarly to the objects of power, just like in the first game, where defeating them unlocks new abilities for Dylan. I highly suggest you go through all of the bosses; even though the boss gauntlet might seem exhausting, it is worth it in the end. 

One weapon, three moods

Dylan is equipped with the Aberrant, an object of power, which can change its form to suit the player's playstyle. It can become a battle axe (Cleave), double-handed knives (Strike), or a scythe (Glaive). All of these weapons harmonize perfectly with the new combat system of the game, which is almost entirely melee-based. 

The combat system strays away from the original game and introduces fans of the game to an entirely new environment, as the new enemy types are also suited to the type of combat. The game keeps a few aspects from the previous game, such as the use of powers like telekinesis and the ability to double jump or fly. The combat overall felt very intuitive, and with their new updates upon release, the issues of spongey enemies were dealt with, and the combat felt smooth and fun to just mess around with doing combos and special attacks.

Welcome to the Kaleidoscope

An aspect of the game that affects both the visuals and the base mechanics is the world itself, as it follows a repeating form like the geometry seen in a kaleidoscope. The devs in their interviews mention taking heavy inspiration from geometric patterns and anomalies such as these to integrate into their design. 

This introduces a new mechanic for fighting and traversing by climbing and walking on walls, shifting the center of gravity and making regular fights with regular enemies feel just as engaging as those with bosses. Creating a level of visual 3-dimensionality that I personally haven't experienced in any other game. 

The in-game map itself is one of the features that set me off initially, as the map is super crowded with symbols for missions. Which caused me to be a bit frustrated and confused, as some of the markers do not point directly to the location due to it being an interior space or the space itself being misplaced in 3D. 

The scenes themselves also follow these repeating patterns. Birds and people float, defying all logic, similar to the buildings that morph like in the movie Inception. Following mesmerising patterns that almost hypnotize you as you go through the game. These effects of geometry cause the world to have depth that makes it feel bigger than it really is and prevents the map from ever getting stale.

The graphics themselves look amazing while being super optimised, as they still look amazing at low settings. Each scene's introduction looks like an abstract art piece, something that really makes each scene feel like a dream. The developers at Remedy Entertainment have never shied from taking risky steps for world building. They always try to innovate and make sure the player is able to experience a dream that leaves them entranced.

To me these features take the front seat as to why Control Resonant is such a good game. But it really wouldn't have been the same if it weren't for Remedy Entertainment. I say this as when the first few review copies were shipped out, the main concern from reviewers was that the combat felt too difficult at times due to how much health the enemies had.

And by the time the game was released, they had addressed the issue with a day-one hot fix. Which is another reason why I love games from Remedy, as they rarely feel like a way of grabbing cash and make sure to prioritize user preference.

Control Resonant is a game many would enjoy not only because of its play style and imagery, but also because of the execution. It seems Remedy has found the perfect balance of complex storytelling and portraying the sheer gravity of the reality-bending occurrences taking place through world-building.

A balance that can be felt as you make your way through the bending cityscape of New York that has been shattered and folded into complex geometry by these supernatural phenomena. Control Resonant has left a lasting impression on me and similarly on the gaming industry, setting a high bar for all future games to come.