{"id":1573,"date":"2026-06-06T04:16:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T04:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=1573"},"modified":"2026-06-06T04:16:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T04:16:21","slug":"control-resonant-hands-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=1573","title":{"rendered":"Control Resonant is a sequel \u2014 and also a starting point"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Chronologically, Control Resonant<\/em> is a sequel to 2019\u2019s Control<\/em>. But in most other ways, the games aren\u2019t directly<\/em> connected. To developer Remedy, they\u2019re more like two sides of the same coin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When Resonant<\/em> was first revealed last year, creative director Mikael Kasurinen said you can play the games in any order<\/a>. The world of Control<\/em> is reality-bending in lots of ways, but the general linear progression of time isn\u2019t really one of them \u2014 how would someone start with the sequel?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It didn\u2019t click until I played Resonant<\/em> myself. In a two-plus-hour preview earlier this week, I played the opening act of the game, as well as a later story mission and an open-ended section filled with Hiss to fight. The events of Control<\/em>, and of protagonist Jesse Faden\u2019s arc, have already happened, but Resonant<\/em> isn\u2019t actually about what happens next. It\u2019s about her brother, Dylan, and exploring this same world from a very different point of view.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cRight from the starting point when we were thinking about Control<\/em> as a franchise that\u2019s going to be several different games, the thinking was that it\u2019s a story of a world, and then with every game we get a lens into that world through different protagonists,\u201d Kasurinen told me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cJesse\u2019s coming from our world into the paranatural world; Dylan has always been there,\u201d Kasurinen added, comparing Control<\/em>\u2019s setting of the mysterious, otherworldly Oldest House to Resonant<\/em>\u2019s setting of Manhattan. \u201cNow he\u2019s stepping into our world. And our world is weird to him. He has no connection with that. So he\u2019s like a fish out of water in our world, just like Jesse was inside the Oldest House.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Dylan<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Image: Remedy Entertainment<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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That fish-out-of-water feeling is what makes Resonant<\/em> a viable starting point for the series. Dylan knows a lot about the paranatural; he\u2019s been held captive in the Oldest House for most of his life due to his abilities, and he was trained to be a weapon. As he navigates the outside world, he\u2019s in a position to explain some of the finer points of the paranatural to the people he encounters and, by extension, the player.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That\u2019s not to say Resonant<\/em> is bogged down with expository dialogue. You get enough information to get by, and that\u2019s about as much downtime as you\u2019re going to get for a while. Combat in Resonant<\/em> is about constant movement: Kill some weaker enemies to build up your ability gauge; use those abilities on stronger enemies; inevitably lose some health in the process; kill some more<\/em> weaker enemies so they\u2019ll drop health for you to pick up; repeat until all the strong enemies are dead. If you don\u2019t want to die, you should probably be moving the entire time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The loop reminded me of 2016\u2019s Doom<\/em>, in that you have to kill to keep killing until there\u2019s nothing left to kill, but with a melee-focused, PlatinumGames flair. Combat in the original Control<\/em> wasn\u2019t slow, but it didn\u2019t feel like this. Jesse uses a gun, and she has a confidence in herself that Dylan doesn\u2019t yet have. As Dylan, I felt scrappy<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe way I thought about it was like: Jesse has her strength and she had to find her ability. Dylan has his ability and he needs to find his strength,\u201d said Sean Durrie, who plays Dylan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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And I did need to find my strength to survive as Dylan. I cycled through his many skill trees \u2014 different weapon styles, abilities, and perks \u2014 trying to find the build that would give me the best chance against the Hiss. I found lots of builds I liked, my favorite including a drill I could stab into enemies and charge up, and Dylan\u2019s abilities felt powerful, but I didn\u2019t succeed until I learned how to move and properly chain it all together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If I\u2019d come into Resonant<\/em> not knowing anything about the Hiss, or the Oldest House, or Jesse\u2019s experience in this world, I wouldn\u2019t even have had time to feel lost. Fighting and surviving are more pressing matters; explanations and lore can come later. You don\u2019t need to talk at length about the mysteries of the Hiss when you\u2019re up close and personal stabbing them with a big drill. And for those who do come to Resonant<\/em> as a starting point? Well, they\u2019ll have plenty to look forward to afterward<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Control Resonant<\/em> launches on September 24th on the PS5, Xbox, and PC.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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