Remedy delivered one of its more unique entries when it launched CONTROL back in 2019. It was interesting and strange, and it gave us a better sense of the world that connects many of Remedy’s games. Now, with CONTROL Resonant, Remedy is carrying that legacy forward. While at Summer Game Fest 2026, I was lucky enough to get an hour-long demo of the new game, which gave a good sense of what it has to offer, from early story beats to combat, traversal and even a boss fight. It convinced me this is a game to be excited about this fall.
Setting the stage for how CONTROL Resonant starts, Jesse Faden is gone. You play as her brother, Dylan, who is just waking up from a coma, and things are not going great at the Oldest House. Set seven years after the events of the first CONTROL, and with the Hiss no longer confined to the Oldest House, the paranatural force has now broken free and is causing chaos in Manhattan. What was once a vibrant city is now distorted, with the very fabric of reality broken and folded in on itself in strange and horrific ways.
Now stuck in a quarantine zone that was once one of the world’s greatest cities, Dylan must work with the FBC to try to get things back under control, find his sister and generally find out what is going on with the world. With a city overrun with various things all looking to take you down, it is going to be an uphill battle, but that is all part of the fun. And honestly, this was one of the most engaging and easy-to-dive-into demos I played during Summer Game Fest.
Remedy nailed the experience, getting you into the world of CONTROL and the overall vibe of everything. I played some of the first game, but even not knowing everything there is to know about the franchise, I felt right at home diving into CONTROL Resonant and very quickly got the hang of how the new game works. The opening moments of CONTROL Resonant do an expert job of setting the tone and letting you know you are in for a strange and ethereal experience. You quickly get a sense of how odd the world of the game will be, jumping into memories, dream-like settings and the ordinary world that we all know, which has been twisted in some very strange ways.
“I felt right at home diving into CONTROL Resonant and very quickly got the hang of how the new game works.”
From the bureaucratic halls of the Oldest House to the streets of New York City, everything is twisted and very off. This is not the New York we know from movies, brochures or, hell, visiting. It is something very different, with the streets folded in on themselves, people floating in the air, the sky looking strange and even the birds moving in odd, glitchy patterns. This is the worldbuilding Remedy does best, and it is firing on all cylinders with this title.
Once you step out into the altered Manhattan, the world quickly opens up and lets you explore what it has to offer. But before you do anything, Remedy scaffolds you into learning the new systems, including selecting your style of attack with the Aberrant. The Aberrant you use to attack can take the form of a scythe, whip-like sectioned staff, hammer or sword, and you get to choose how you want to play. They all feel incredibly distinct, with each offering a different style of play and overall attacking style. I clearly went with the scythe, but all felt good, and I could see a player enjoying each for different reasons.
Each form of The Aberrant features a primary mode, secondary mode, and combo ender, and they are completely mix-and-matchable, giving you a wide way to adjust your build out to fit your particular style of combat. It does take a bit to get used to how everything works, but once you get it down, I was amazed at how fluidly CONTROL Resonant plays, and how well thought out everything feels.
CONTROL Resonant is a very fast-moving game when it comes to combat, with aggression being rewarded as combat restores the resources you need for Dylan’s supernatural abilities. Abilities stun enemies, and executions then temporarily boost melee damage. It works in a rewarding gameplay loop that keeps combat fast, fluid and incredibly fun. Within a few minutes of playing, I was already looking for the best methods to take enemies out in a chain to maximize the overall effectiveness.
But Dylan’s abilities extend beyond attacks, with the very act of moving around the world of CONTROL Resonant being part of his powerset. With New York City now taking on something more familiar to an M.C. Escher painting, you need abilities that can traverse this bent reality, and this is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the demo I played. How fluid and intuitive Dylan feels to control makes getting around the environment easy and very interesting. You get to a point where if you can see a location, there is most likely a way for you to get there, and get there in style.
I am not normally a fan of jumping puzzles or traversal, but CONTROL Resonant has convinced me it can be made fun, and it is done so much more because of the strange world you are exploring in each new section. During this first segment of CONTROL Resonant, you will have sections that take Dylan back through memories, and this is when the sense of reality, self and where you even are in space and time starts to blur.
Even with how it all sounds, CONTROL Resonant is not an open world. Even though you may move through the world the way you would in a Spider-Man or InFAMOUS game, this is very much a linear experience, with some side areas that expand where you can go. While it may look vast, with a landscape that seems ripe for exploration, you will be pushed in a particular direction and, for the most part, need to stay on that path as you go through the game. It does not feel limiting, at least not from what I played, but it does keep you on the critical path, with a few mild exceptions as you push your way through the world.
You will have segments where you keep switching points of view between Dylan and his sister, areas where you slip into a past version of yourself, and mind-bending moments that do not stop there. The demo starts off weird and just dives off a cliff in the best possible way. Remedy clearly has a vision for this universe, and playing it safe is not part of the design doc. And you know what? I am all for that. This insanity goes all the way to the boss fight. While most of the enemies take a few hits, you can often chain combos to take them all down.
This creature is another story entirely. A bisected woman’s face that feels partially made out of stone, it is a challenging fight that forces you to use everything you have learned. Even then, it finds ways to mess with your equilibrium and makes you fight for every hit you land on it.
Was it challenging? Yes. But it was also incredibly fun to try my hand at. I died plenty of times during this segment, but it somehow never felt discouraging. It felt rewarding at every stage, with each new attack pattern, each thrown car, and each new instance of the ground below me levitating, I managed to push past it and try to see how Dylan could take the creature down.
There was an odd bullet-hell nature to this battle. You need to attack all while dodging the many waves of attacks, with it moving vertically as the battle progresses and keeping you on your toes. For an introductory boss, Remedy has made it a challenge, pushing you to learn the systems of the game and not simply rely on spamming buttons until you win.
This very much puts the many systems you learned to the test, and you will need to get an understanding to walk away with any shred of dignity. The boss also does a great job of setting the tone. This is not going to be a simple, mundane experience. You can expect the strange and insane to be something you have to fight against, and that is kind of wild. I am here for it.
With still a few months to go before CONTROL Resonant is finally released, it is already looking incredibly solid and plays very well. The world of CONTROL has always been one that pushes the limits of reality, and it is even wilder in this entry. Remedy is known for its rock-solid single-player experiences, and with CONTROL Resonant, that pedigree is on full display.
I cannot wait to dive back into CONTROL Resonant when it releases on PC, PlayStation 5 and XBOX Series X|S on September 24.
