Control Resonant game preview: Brutalist nightmares
Remedy takes Control into Manhattan for a bigger, more combat-focused sequel
Sharing its universe with the popular Alan Wake series, 2019’s Control was a surreal third-person action adventure set within the ever-shifting brutalist headquarters of the Federal Bureau Of Control, a location known as the Oldest House. Its stark monochrome architecture contrasted beautifully with the colourful, fluid enemies that invaded its corridors. The game was written by Remedy Entertainment creative director Sam Lake, one of gaming’s most distinctive auteurs and whose likeness became the face of Max Payne.
Last year, the developer released FBC: Firebreak, a multiplayer game set six years after the events of Control, but it struggled to find an audience and is now being maintained rather than actively supported. Remedy has put all of its resources into Control Resonant (again written by Lake), a direct sequel to the original game with a stronger focus on melee combat. Taking on the role of Dylan Faden (brother of Control protagonist, Jesse), players will take the fight into the streets of Manhattan against an extra-dimensional threat. Similar to the first game’s shapeshifting ‘Service Weapon’, players will wield a new morphing firearm known as the ‘Aberrant’.
Preview reports suggest that enemy numbers are much greater, with encounters taking place across numerous expansive zones rather than the first game’s more contained environments. Whether these larger, more open battles prove as compelling remains to be seen, though Remedy has already shown through the Alan Wake games that it can create atmospheric encounters beyond the confines of the Oldest House.
Control Resonant is out on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on Thursday 24 September.