Control Resonant Reviews Summary

GameSpot concludes that Control Resonant is superb, scoring it 9 out of 10, calling it Remedy's best gameplay experience ever and an unforgettable, unique achievement. The main pros cited are art and level design unlike anything seen before, deep and ever-changing combat with satisfying build variety and power progression, an expansive city full of wonders and memorable side missions, Dylan's touching story that gives Remedy its first tear-jerker, strong technical performance, and a new mainstream-friendly approach that retains the studio's signature weirdness. The main con is that making sense of the map is a repeated frustration, echoing a similar navigation issue in the original Control.

PC Gamer concludes that Control Resonant is a welcome return to Remedy's magnificent hellscapes, but with too many hours of middling combat. The main pros cited are breathtaking, hand-crafted world design with impossible architecture and dense intentional detail, excellent traversal powers including gravity reorientation, strong environmental storytelling through redacted lore and collectibles, believable and exhausted vocal performances, a surprisingly endearing Dylan Faden with a compelling rapport with handler Zoe De Vera, and granular difficulty options that help ease the grind. The main cons are melee combat that is aggressively fine with basic attacks lacking impact, repetitive enemy waves and damage-sponge heavies that make up the bulk of playtime, inconsistent auto-targeting and constant interruptions to combat flow, a confused progression system with excess resources and few meaningful choices, inflated late-game enemy health pools, and unengaging boss fights despite their visual spectacle.

GameSpew concludes that Control Resonant is one of the most memorable experiences of the year. The main pros cited are its wonderfully weird and unusual nature, striking visuals, a lengthy campaign with lots of side content, combat that blossoms into something engaging and rewarding, extensive assist features that don't penalise players, and great performance. The main cons are combat feeling basic in the early hours and navigation sometimes being a pain, particularly early on.

GamersRD concludes that Control Resonant is proof that radical changes to an established franchise can work when the elements that made the original special are preserved, scoring it 8.7 out of 10. The main pros cited are the shift to a semi-open structure with expanded exploration and Metroidvania-style progression, a dynamic and challenging melee combat system with solid build customization, the distorted Manhattan as a character in itself, a narrative that maintains Remedy's blend of science fiction, horror and surrealism, outstanding technical performance, and strong sound design with multi-language dubbing. The main cons are an overly pronounced motion blur effect and some combat against common enemies that could have been polished further.

Areajugones concludes that Control Resonant feels more like a spin-off than a direct sequel, but an extraordinarily good one, describing it as a notable game with its own personality. The main pros cited are spectacular atmosphere and scenery, very fun and satisfying combat, excellent side missions and puzzles, great mobility and paranatural powers, a more engaging protagonist in Dylan with dialogue options, and strong art and enemy design. The main cons are difficulty dropping too quickly after the early hours, some performance drops and frame rate issues, a Spanish dub where some lines unexpectedly switch to English, and the game feeling too different from and inferior to the first Control, which may disappoint those expecting a more continuity-focused sequel.

Eurogamer concludes that Control Resonant is a more action-RPG oriented follow-up that leaves behind too much of what gave the original its magic, offering more scale but less narrative bite. The main pros cited are visually and technically impressive presentation, stylish art and world design, some strong writing and voice performances in certain areas such as the Underpass, memorable and unexpected genre moments, and charming touches like Dylan's sketch-based art therapy feature. The main cons are diluted atmosphere and lost focus after leaving the Oldest House, narrative sprawl with pacing problems and side content resembling MMO-style chores, combat that hasn't really improved, frustrating navigation and gravity-based puzzle sections, and an overreliance on quirky weirdness as a stand-in for narrative substance.

GamesRadar+ concludes that Control Resonant is a muddled investigation rather than a supernatural event, deeply weird with wondrous supernatural vistas but bafflingly repetitive combat that leaves the reviewer cold. The main pros cited are fantastic supernatural worldbuilding carried over from the original with half-redacted notes to pore over, gorgeously kaleidoscopic visuals and awe-inspiring boss introductions, a handful of memorable and emotionally charged scripted sequences, clever environmental side-puzzles, and granular accessibility options. The main cons are repetitive and shallow combat that barely evolves across the entire game, low enemy variety with endless respawning waves and drawn-out encounters, a large open-ended world that struggles to justify itself with sameness across zones and dull navigation, a confusing map, weak one-on-one boss fights that are visually striking but limp to play, and Dylan Faden proving a less compelling protagonist than Jesse, with a meaner tone and a story that neither delivers satisfying small paranatural narratives nor effectively builds on what came before.

Vandal concludes that Control Resonant is fascinating when it feels like a Remedy game and exhausting when it tries to be an action RPG, scoring it 7.9 out of 10. The main pros cited are the level design and the way you move through it, its extravagant and deformed world, and the main missions along with many of the side missions, plus the studio's signature audiovisual spectacle, experimental narrative, and strong technical presentation. The main cons are a game structure that imprisons progression, combat that for many hours is a button-masher, activities that become repetitive quickly, repetitive and overly abundant encounters with damage-sponge enemies, a poorly paced ability unlock system that saves the best combat tools for nearly the end, and tedious boss fights, resulting in an uneven experiment that is transgressive and captivating but whose worked-on systems don't quite function.