Control Resonant launches, earns strong early reviews

gamingSep 18, 2026751,770

Control Resonant launched into a wave of reviews that placed an early OpenCritic score of 85 on Remedy’s newest entry, and conversation has clustered around Dylan Faden stepping into the lead while Jesse’s presence lingers. Critics and player voices praise Remedy’s uncanny world design and the game’s liminal New York City moments, even as many call out uneven early pacing and combat balance. Outlets and writers such as Cole Kronman at Kotaku and the GiantBomb reviewer who was assigned the piece have amplified a split reading: for some the game is a messy, beautiful expansion of the Remedyverse, for others the opening hours feel like a slog. That split, over character focus, pacing, and how the larger, more open structure changes Control’s strange power, frames the launch moment.

Giant Bomb

@giantbomb.com

Fall Review Season continues! @mamavitelli.bsky.social wrote our review for Control Resonant, and you can read it here, RIGHT NOW! ➡️ giantbomb.com/reviews/cont...

Giant Bomb review graphic for Control Resonant.

Score: 4.5/5

"Control Resonant feels like a confident step in a new direction from Remedy, one that is far from perfect but reminds me of the beauty of not knowing everything. Not needing to be the smartest person in the room or correct all of the time, but the beauty in knowing who you are and what you want to be, warts and all."
- Jesse Vitelli

1494h ago

Shinobi602

@shinobi602.bsky.social

Control: Resonant | Reviews 10 - VGC 9 - PSX Brasil 9 - Gamespot 9 - GiantBomb 9 - ScreenRant 9 - MondoXbox 8.5 - XGN 8.5 - DayOne 8.5 - Dualshockers 8 - IGN 8 - Forbes 8 - GamePro 8 - TechRaptor 8 - Push Square 8 - MonsterVine 7.5 - Press Start 7 - PSLS 7 - Gameliner 6 - GamesRadar MC: 86 OC: 84

1385h ago

Spiderous5

Heck yeah! Another Remedy classic

Quoting this

Zack "Anacin Skywalker" Kotzer3

gamepro’s around? and they give a score out of ten? sorry, i’m going to need to see how excited their lil fido dido is before making any decisions.

NOLASCO 🎮2

Meus manos da Remédio nunca erram,e quando erram, foram tentando acertar. Já tô ansioso para o dia 24. 🥺

Steve 🔥🗡💀2

Remedy with another banger 🔥

Jesse Vitelli

@mamavitelli.bsky.social

The GB fam asked me to review Control Resonant!! My biggest takeaway is that Control Resonant is a messy game, but a messy game is something beautiful. it’s a challenge to accept learning new tasks, ideas, and the growing pains that come alongside it all. It’s an open acceptance of being wrong

1374h ago

Jesse Vitelli17

There’s something so profound about not having to be the smartest person in the room. About taking an idea you assume is right and running with it for long stretches of time whether it was correct or not. There’s something freeing in its design philosophy, unafraid of outside examination

Happenstance1

Super excited to see you were the one reviewing this for GB!

lex luddy needs a nap

@lexluddy.xyz

Control Resonant's poor early pacing and combat balance makes way for a brilliantly deep action game that is bigger, more personal, messier and more human than original. My review: www.gamerguides.com/control-reso...

1005h ago

Joe Richards -> bed5

I SEE CASPER DARLING I BUY

Jesse Norris2

As someone who thought the original story suffered greatly once Dylan was involved, it has been a shocker at how much I ended up enjoying his character by the end. Such a good freaking game.

Carolyn Petit

@carolynmichelle.bsky.social

Stoked to have a review of Control Resonant by the always thought-provoking Cole Kronman on Kotaku today. kotaku.com/control-reso...

You’ve seen it in trailers: there is another, more opaque antagonistic force afoot in Control Resonant, one that effectively warps spaces and objects into fluctuating, kaleidoscopic recursion art. The game calls this force “The Pattern,” and it’s the basis for the vast majority of its most inventive aesthetic and ludic ideas. From Control onward, Remedy has fully embraced the notion of video games as interactive art exhibits, designing environments under the guiding principle that 3D art and 3D level geometry can be the exact same thing. Resonant represents what is perhaps the most compelling implementation of this ethos yet: The Pattern is a visual and technical marvel, and it’s also an impetus for players to rethink their relationship with spaces that regularly twist and fold back on themselves. There is nothing else that plays quite like this because there is nothing else that looks quite like this—the case for Remedy, once again, is that they understand on a bone-deep level what makes this medium interesting, and pursue their vision with a fervor begotten of generosity. They made Resonant because they want us to understand, too.

1075h ago

Simon J Broome1

The Future Crew lives on...

Jordan Minor

@jordanwminor.bsky.social

The best part of Control Resonant is how it understands the freaky liminal appeal of simply existing in New York City. My latest for @pcmag.com www.pcmag.com/news/control...

685h ago

Jordan Minor12

constant intrusive thought while playing this game: “Alan Wake Warriors”

n4b3r1u5.bsky.social1

I'm curious about two thing: Is the main threat zombies (possessed humanoid, mindlessly aggressive) once again? And is the story written in a more cohesive way than the first control?

Quoting this

Jon Bolding3

Really interesting piece and culture commentary here from Jordan

Uncle Flyer 💎💀2

The freaky parts of NYC (Brooklyn)

Willa Bloomfield-Rowe

@thewillarowe.bsky.social

Control Resonant is proof that bigger is not better. A sequel that misunderstands what made the original so gripping. A tired open-world, middling combat, and a by the book story don't help. But even more disappointing is how it casts aside Jesse. www.polygon.com/control-reso...

605h ago

Willa Bloomfield-Rowe9

If people look past the Remedy rose-colored glasses of it all, I think you'll find Resonant is a deeply boring and unoriginal game.

Rollin Bishop6

so you're saying the control sequel doesn't resonate with you

Nate Shearer2

I was really hoping that my initial impressions were just off by a mile, disappointed to hear that’s not the case

Quoting this

Gustavo Pizzo 6

Não falem comigo, estou triste

Janet Garcia

@gameonysus.bsky.social

I’m somewhere between 5-10hrs into Control Resonant & 16% done according to PlayStation’s metrics. I have no plans to finish it. It has been a boring, discouraging slog to play. It’s like the Control IP was sold off & someone else said let’s make it open world & failed in all the ways you’d expect.

793h ago

Janet Garcia42

I’ve heard “it gets better!” And the “story stuff gets crazy” but should I play a bad game for a few more hrs to get to an alleged great game? And does greatness later absolve you of early sins. Tbh idts? At this point BOTW could be around the corner & I still don’t know that I want to keep walking

Brandon Craw | Games Journalist3

Speak your truth! Still working on my review, but I'm feeling similarly about 20 hours in. This shift to open world plus combat has really weighed it down for me

B Michael2

oh no that's super sad

Charles Harte2

I’m only about 4 hours in, but we are on the same page on this one! I appreciate this thread

bolopr.bsky.social1

you are the best, thanks for your commentary

Chavo1

This is a painful September for me when both Fire Emblem and now Control are not hitting. Time for more old games

IGN

@ign.com

Even when combat's sharp edge eventually dulls, Control Resonant is a great addition to the Remedyverse. Our review: https://bit.ly/4hiVMAd

594h ago

Zack Zwiezen

@zackzwiezen.com

My timeline is: Control Resonant is amazing and incredible. Control 2 is a disappointment The new Control is transcendent, but messy Control Resonant is a slog starring a bleh main character Control 2 is an unexpected but gorgeous sequel AND, I'm more excited than ever to check it out.

494h ago

Zack Zwiezen19

I love it when a game gets a lot of varied reviews and reactions. Usually a sign that the devs made something actually interesting! Maybe I'll hate it. Maybe I'll love it. Maybe I'll be in the middle. Excited to find out.

Mick ☘️2

death stranding 2 reviews read like this and that became my game of the gen so im in

Gordon Little1

That's how I know I'll like it.

gita “the formalist” jackson

@xoxogossipgita.bsky.social

Interesting how divisive control resonant is which makes me feel like the Finnish freaks still got it

553h ago

gita “the formalist” jackson32

At the very least this is not a game that you will feel neutral about. Go big or go home.

Chris Person8

How soon we forget Alan Wake II’s combat.

Justin Clark1

Was reminded just this last week that there's a strong contingent that outright DESPISED Alan Wake II. That was the last time I remember The Discourse actually being invigorating. It's happening again. I can't wait.

MICHAEL HIGHAM

@brazyazn.bsky.social

i reviewed Control Resonant! it's GREAT - i love Dylan, and Jesse's presence is felt - combat is slick but eventually dulls - world is impeccably designed - overall story is more conventional but parts within it are some of Remedy's *best* 📺: youtu.be/7YiRi1llmQo?... 📰: www.ign.com/articles/con...

454h ago

Patrick Klepek

@patrickklepek.bsky.social

A new Remedy game is a special occasion, and I’ve been a fan since Max Payne. I wish I could say that Control Resonant worked for me—but it sadly did not. We spent a lot of time unpacking this on Remap Radio this week. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...

454h ago

Quoting this

Janet Garcia16

I’m on here and I feel like we could’ve unpacked this for hours. Really good chat!

alexis

@steppinlazer.bsky.social

i reviewed control resonant and it was very video, very game

295h ago

alexis5

dylan is hands down one of the most boring golden retriever-ass characters i've ever played and this isn't even a gender thing (i absolutely do not think there is anything worth discussing about gender in this game)

Hayes Madsen

@solfleet.bsky.social

Control Resonant’s uneven early hours transform into something truly incredible. A grittier story about forgiveness and penance - and a fascinating open world. A reminder that open worlds aren’t interesting just for the content in it, but how you move through it www.rpgsite.net/review/21427...

344h ago

Hayes Madsen2

I really like why they do with Dylan here (and his relationship with Jesse). But I think the star here truly is the world. I’ve been saying, this isn’t Remedy deciding it wants to make an open world game, but the studio saying, what would it look like if open world was applied to the Remedy formula

Hayes Madsen1

Seriously feel like I feel more in love with this game every five hours. It grows on you in remarkable ways, and layers on its depth, both mechanically and narratively. I wish those opening hours weren’t so rough, but after that it’s filled with some of my favorite moments of the year

3 sources

checkpointgaming.netControl Resonant Review – Pattern Recognition cubed3.comControl Resonant Review - PlayStation 5 thesixthaxis.comControl Resonant Review | TheSixthAxis

Control Resonant launches, earns strong early reviewsgaming Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave earns praise for a wildly unexpected openinggaming Frames from Super Mario Brothers Super Show Episode 8 circulate onlinegaming Final Fantasy VII Revelation will be around 200GB, director saysgaming

Control Resonant launches, earns strong early reviews

Related