Control Resonant ignores the most interesting character
As a spiritual successor to the acclaimed 2019 title Control, Control Resonant attempts to carve out its own identity. The tension shifts dramatically when the initial lockdown in the Oldest House is lifted, throwing the narrative into a new phase.
In this expanded reality, the stakes are higher than ever. Dylan Faden finds himself on a desperate mission to save the world—a sprawling, warped Manhattan grappling with the dual threat of the Hiss and a newly introduced paranormal entity. The environment itself is now a character, reflecting the chaos Faden must navigate.
While these changes introduce compelling new action and scope, a critical element of the original experience seems to have been overlooked in the sequel. Developers at Remedy Entertainment, in their quest for expansion, appear to have lost sight of a pivotal narrative component that made Control such a uniquely unsettling and memorable experience.
The Oldest House, arguably the most fascinating and central character in the first game, transforms into mere background scenery. It becomes a piece of memorabilia rather than a living, breathing force. Instead, Dylan Faden spends his journey hopping around a fundamentally altered Manhattan, meaning the foundational mystery that defined the first game is relegated to a footnote.
This shift raises an interesting question about narrative pacing and design choices in the action-horror genre. Does adding new threats and environments necessarily diminish the impact of the core mythology established in the original?
Ultimately, while Control Resonant delivers on spectacle and high-stakes action, the story risks sacrificing the deeply specific, unnerving atmosphere that made the original game a masterpiece. The true power of the narrative lies in how these interconnected elements are woven together, and in this case, the narrative thread connecting the Oldest House to the wider world feels less prioritized.
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