{"id":5459,"date":"2026-10-13T11:45:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bazinameh.com\/en\/?p=5459"},"modified":"2026-10-13T11:45:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:15:50","slug":"beyond-the-rules-of-reality-control-resonant-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bazinameh.com\/en\/review\/beyond-the-rules-of-reality-control-resonant-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Rules of Reality | Control Resonant Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Control Resonant is a perfect example of how a sequel may take place in an already established universe and approach it from a whole different point of view without losing the identity of its predecessor. Instead of just carrying on from the first game, it aligns its characters and stories more closely with Remedy\u2019s shared universe, merging Jesse and Dylan\u2019s relationship, the events happening in New York, and the franchise\u2019s supernatural themes into a rich narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This method is very potent, because the game trusts players to piece things together themselves. Much of the story-telling is conveyed through the relationships between environmental features, characters and events you encounter throughout the game, rather than exposition continually telling you what is important. Even the music and the sound design are part of this strategy, which use them as more than ambient background elements. They become part of the emotional character and narrative identity of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is instantly obvious, though, and what makes the contrasts in both narrative structure and progression clear, is the game\u2019s mission system. The primary questline and tasks revolving around the search for Jesse carry the core story along. These not only develop Jesse and Dylan\u2019s connection, but also slowly unlock additional traversal and platforming abilities. Then there are the Resonants, the big bosses in the game, who grant you additional battle powers when you defeat them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other than that, the world is full of environmental activities, side quests and little storylines that let you understand its universe a little better, while giving you the chance to level up and get things and resources. There is a clear purpose to almost everything you do, but more crucially these varied activities are continually feeding and reinforcing each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Control Resonant\u2019s quest design is one of its greatest qualities, and this is where it shines. Instead of just moving you from point A to point B to clear another marker off the map, the game establishes significant links between its several tasks. One mission could be a fresh plot thread that leads you to a certain region. A location can be an environmental activity or a boss fight, and the rewards you acquire can directly affect your powers and progression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So exploration, plot and character evolution never feel like different systems. They are elements of the same experience, and they are connected to each other. Each gives you a reason to engage with the other. That means even when you stray from the main questline you seldom feel like you are spinning your wheels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, the world itself is nothing less than extraordinary. There\u2019s more to Control Resonant\u2019s atmosphere than weird structures and stunning lighting that makes it so captivating. The environment continually reminds us that this world is no longer governed by conventional principles. Architecture moves and changes, locations relate in ways that seem impossible, and supernatural events have become an integral part of the environment itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is a world that feels alive, unexpected. You\u2019re not just walking through a city of sprawl; You\u2019re wandering through a location where the mundane can turn magical at any time. It is this unpredictability that makes exploration so worthwhile. You never know what you might find behind a structure, along an extra road, or even in an area that might otherwise seem unremarkable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Control Resonant is also very Metroidvania in structure from a level design perspective. It has a world full of interconnecting environments and many paths are only available until you get the right talents. You may return later to a place you have already explored, only to learn, thanks to a newly unlocked power somewhere else, that an impassable wall or unreachable passage has transformed into a whole new pathway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another significant aspect of its style is verticality. Environments are not only floors and corridors; the spaces above and below you, as well as walls and ceilings, can all become part of your journey. This method lends a sense of dimensionality to the world, and has immediate implications for platforming, exploration, and even warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The true turning point comes in the second part of the game however with the arrival of Defy Gravity. This is way more than just another power to get you to distant places or show off fascinating visuals of changing gravity and perspective. It\u2019s a major alteration in the principle of the game\u2019s level design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Until then, you still view the environment in a very normal way: floors are floors, walls are walls, paths can take you from one place to another. But after you can modify gravity, those conventional rules don\u2019t apply anymore. A wall can become the floor, a ceiling can become a road, and a setting that once seemed virtually two-dimensional becomes a true three-dimensional space structured on mobility, exploration, and puzzle-solving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This change makes the second part of Control Resonant feel a lot different from what came before. More importantly, it\u2019s one of the better instances of how a traversal feature can accomplish more than just add extra mobility possibilities to the player. It might change how levels are created, traversed and felt entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combat follows the same design philosophy, bringing its various mechanics together into a clearly defined gameplay loop. You have access to light and heavy attacks, along with combo finishers, each supported by its own progression tree. But the real appeal emerges when these systems begin feeding into one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landing hits, particularly powerful assaults, can not only do direct damage but also help build up Falter Damage, a feature similar to the Posture system in Sekiro and other action games. As your Power meter fills, you can unleash more fighting abilities that do further damage and further boost Falter building, eventually leaving adversaries vulnerable to an Execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Importantly, executions are not just showy finishing techniques. This will also provide you a temporary boost to your damage output, meaning you can get back on the offensive even more effectively. This goes back into the loop of attack, building Falter, using combat abilities and setting up another execution. The result is a combat loop that feels incredibly unified, with each mechanic engineered to buttress the next, producing a pleasing cadence of aggression, resource management, and execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And honestly, I never thought Remedy will make such an accurate and fun hack-and-slash fighting system, especially considering the studio never worked on a melee-focused combat before. But Control Resonant exhibits a remarkable knowledge of how interwoven mechanisms can turn a series of quite simple movements into a gripping battle experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technically and visually, Control Resonant is without definitely one of the most amazing games of the year. The art direction is at an amazing sweet spot of genuine building, supernatural environments, dramatic lighting, and spaces that continually change. But more crucially, this visual spectacle is never for show. The graphics and environmental design are actively functional to the experience, with visual effects, animations, lighting, sound and music working in tandem to create the uneasy atmosphere and persistent sense of instability to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special mention belongs the soundtrack. Like other Remedy games, most notably the original Control, Control Resonant has a great library of well written and evocative music. What is most noteworthy about these compositions is not only the brilliance of the compositions as stand-alone pieces, but how they effortlessly assist the narration and add emotional weight to various places and times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music is so intrinsic to the experience that it becomes an expressive instrument unto itself, often carrying much of the narrative and emotional burden without the need for dialogue or overt exposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Final Verdict<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thing I really like about Control Resonant is that it feels so distinct from most recent AAA games. It\u2019s always bringing new methods to travel, explore, fight and design the environment, from start to finish. No system is perfect and sometimes battle can be a little difficult with the distant viewpoint, too much visual clutter and particle effects that are similar colors. Repetition is seldom an issue, though. The game will constantly surprise you with strange objectives, impossible architecture, surprising skills, and moments that make you look at space in a whole new way. Control Resonant is more than a great game to me, it\u2019s a piece of art, always reinventing itself in how it tells a story, how it moves and how it explores, never losing its ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This review is based on the PC version<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Score: 90\/100<\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Control Resonant is a perfect example of how a sequel may take place in an already established universe and approach it from a whole different point of view without losing the identity of its predecessor. Instead of just carrying on from the first game, it aligns its characters and stories more closely with Remedy\u2019s shared […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":5460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bazinameh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bazinameh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bazinameh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bazinameh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/516"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bazinameh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5459"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bazinameh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5471,"href":"https:\/\/bazinameh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5459\/revisions\/5471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bazinameh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bazinameh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bazinameh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bazinameh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}