Art and tech twisted Manhattan for Control Resonant’s bosses

Olivia Smith 09/30/2026

When a game manages to blend breathtaking visuals with profound emotional themes, it stops being just a game and becomes a cinematic experience. That is the high bar for Control Resonant, which has arrived on the PlayStation 5, staking its claim as a major title for 2026. Beyond the gravity-defying set pieces and memorable boss fights, the true magic lies in the meticulous design that gives the world—and its protagonist, Dylan—a genuinely human, visceral feel.

To unlock these secrets, we sat down with the creative minds behind the project: Lead Level Designer Anne-Marie Grönroos, Art Director Elmeri Raitanen, and Lead Gameplay Designer Sergey Mohov. Their insights reveal a design philosophy centered on demonstrating that immense power comes with undeniable consequences.

The heart of Dylan’s journey in Control lies in this carefully calibrated clumsiness. While games featuring superheroes often deliver pure escapism, Remedy intentionally grounds the player in the reality of Dylan’s experience. Elmeri Raitanen explains that the movement and combat are deliberately weighted: “There is a deliberate groundedness in how Dylan moves and fights,” he notes. This approach forces the player to feel the effort involved, emphasizing that everything Dylan does carries a cost. Sergey Mohov elaborates that abilities like using Reach or shifting gravity are challenging, ensuring that the player empathizes with Dylan’s struggle. It’s this feeling of stumbling and falling that creates a powerful connection, highlighting a core theme: the yearning for human connection amidst immense power.

This grounded approach extends to the world itself, which Remedy reimagines as Strange York. The design masterfully contrasts the confined, Brutalist aesthetic of the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) with the vastness of a brutalized Manhattan, offering a tantalizing mix of familiarity and freedom. Anne-Marie Grönroos points out that the mundane areas serve a vital purpose, acting as a palate cleanser that makes the truly paranormal elements stand out even more.

The environment is not just a backdrop; it is an active participant in the gameplay. Dynamic destruction is key, making combat visceral and rewarding. When Dylan slams the ground, the environment reacts realistically—leaves kick up, water sprays from fire hydrants, and trashcans spew litter. This reactive design ensures that the environment plays a crucial role in the second-to-second loop of gameplay.

Remedy also challenged itself to blend the familiar with the fantastic. While the city feels like a retro, movie-like version of New York—a ‘Strange York’—the environment is populated with objects that serve a clear purpose. Satellite dishes and deflated balloons are not just decoration; they are diegetic elements, prompting the player to consider their in-world function and backstory, making the world feel layered and rich with hidden details.

The game’s visual identity is further cemented by contrasting elements. The Gap, the stark, grey representation of Dylan’s psyche, visually anchors his experience of captivity and experimentation. Inspired by cinematic concepts like The Truman Show, the Gap represents the raw, honest concrete Dylan has felt under his feet during his confinement.

A particularly striking area of innovation is the Sinkhole mission, where the game utilizes gravity warping to plunge Dylan through warped apartment buildings. Drawing inspiration from deep sea exploration and cave diving, this mechanic creates highly disorienting environments. By setting the rule that walkable surfaces remain walkable, the developers created compelling traversal challenges that focus the player’s attention and enhance combat encounters.

The design team approached the boss fights not just as obstacles, but as complex skill checks. By soliciting ideas from the entire team, they created a complex alchemy where each Resonant boss was built on a specific theme, referencing medieval iconography and church architecture to evoke a sense of awe and divinity. Whether they were inspired by a hive mind or mycelium, these encounters were designed to feel majestic and divine.

Finally, the full potential of the PlayStation 5 is harnessed through these design choices. The game encourages player-driven exploration, pushing for bigger draw distances, more physics objects, and increased enemy presence. Furthermore, the DualSense controller is integrated deeply, providing tactile feedback for abilities via Adaptive Triggers, making combat feel more powerful and responsive. Control Resonant is a testament to how kinetic design and emotional storytelling can converge into something truly unforgettable.