Remedy Entertainment’s long-awaited sequel to 2019’s Control is almost here. On Thursday at The Game Awards, the developer revealed Control Resonant, a sequel to the first game that will make major changes to the formula, starting with a new main character and an “action-RPG-oriented direction.” This time, players will control Dylan Faden, the younger brother of Jesse Faden, the original protagonist of Control.
While Jesse explored a mysterious and metaphysical interior space in the form of the Oldest House, the Federal Bureau of Control’s headquarters, Dylan will explore the inverse: its exterior, a radically altered Manhattan that is being twisted by malevolent cosmic forces into a “geophysical nightmare,” Remedy says.
Control Resonant is set seven years after the events of the original game. Dylan, formerly held in confinement by the FBC, is now tasked with aiding the bureau in its battle against the supernatural forces that have swallowed New York City, cutting it off from the outside world. Like Jesse, Dylan has powers of his own, as well as a shapeshifting melee weapon known as the Aberrant that can transform into a variety of shapes to be used for a variety of purposes. Over the course of the game, Dylan will seek out his sister, who is the current director of the FBC, “as he struggles to comprehend and contain the dangers that have spilled beyond the confines of the Oldest House to tear the world apart.”
Control Resonant’s new hero and setting
Mikael Kasurinen, creative director of Control Resonant, touched on the change in protagonists in a press briefing ahead of the game’s reveal, explaining that Dylan’s entire lived experience has been inside the Oldest House.
“The door leading to the streets of Manhattan might as well be a portal into an alien dimension,” Kasurinen said. “To him, this is a discovery of a new reality, just like what the Oldest House was to Jesse. Each game represents one of the siblings and their respective journeys through this world. Because of this, you can play both of these games in any order. They stand on their own feet, like two independent siblings. It’s a significant life-changing moment for Dylan when he gets to step out onto the streets of Manhattan.”
Kasurinen also touched on the choice to set Control Resonant in Manhattan, which is well-worn territory in open-world action-adventure games.
“We know that Manhattan is a popular setting for video games, but it’s not going to be a trip through tourist attractions,” Kasurinen said. “What we did to bureaucratic offices inside the Oldest House, we plan to do so to the urban environments of Manhattan. It’s going to be a mind-bending adventure in a large open-ended world, broken and altered by supernatural forces. Each location has been methodically designed and embedded into a larger narrative.”
While Manhattan may be radically transformed and ravaged by cosmic forces, Dylan won’t be the only human there left alive. Players will encounter FBC personnel and civilians, as well as non-FBC factions trying to control the city, Kasurinen said.
Control Resonant’s other new star, The Aberrant
While Jesse was armed with the ranged, transforming Service Weapon in Control, her brother will wield a hunk of metal known as the Aberrant, which can change on the fly into different forms that will be unlocked by players over the course of Control Resonant‘s story.
“Aesthetically, the weapon is raw [and] crude,” Kasurinen said, focusing on function over form. He described it as a “paranatural weapon for a desperate street fight” that will let Dylan pull off superhuman feats, “especially when combined with powerful abilities.”
With the combination of Dylan’s superpowers and the Aberrant — which is presumably also an Object of Power — “We give more room for player agency, more variety in how to approach combat and buildcrafting,” Kasurinen said. Combat has three “core ingredients,” he explained: “Fast-paced traversal in warped environments; wild, unpredictable enemies; and mind-bending powers and weapons. Dylan will have more variation and depth in his combat toolbox, Remedy promises, and he’ll face equally capable enemies.
“They have agency that matches what the player can do,” Kasurinen said. “They can traverse the same environments, jump from one platform to another or fly, and they have tons of devastating paranatural attacks. And we play with scale. Some of the enemies are huge, while others are small and nimble. They’re unpredictable, relentless, and will come after you.”
While Remedy seemed hesitant to reveal too much about Control Resonant ahead of its official reveal, Kasurinen ended his presentation on the game with a strong message: “This is not a safe sequel,” he said. “We retain the essence of what Control is about and go way beyond it. After seven years of waiting, you and our fans deserve the best.”
Control Resonant is planned for a 2026 release on Mac, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. Remedy is self-publishing Control Resonant, with Annapurna Pictures co-financing and co-producing the game. Annapurna and Remedy are also developing movie and TV adaptations of its supernatural game series, Alan Wake and Control.
