# Control Resonant: Fun but Uninspired Sequel

> Control Resonant offers cool combat but lacks the original game's charm.
- Title: Control Resonant: Fun but Uninspired Sequel · Mashable
- Summary: Control Resonant offers cool combat but lacks the original game's charm. Control Resonant is a sequel to the 2019 game Control that has fun combat but fails…
- Keywords: control resonant, remedy, the oldest house, dylan, jessie faden, federal bureau of control, manhattan, video games, ps5, xbox series x/s, october 15, technology
- Source: Mashable — https://mashable.com/entertainment/control-resonant-hands-on-impressions
- Author: Alex Perry
- Published: 2026-09-22T12:28:56+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: control resonant, remedy, the oldest house, dylan, jessie faden, federal bureau of control, manhattan, video games, ps5, xbox series x/s, october 15, technology
## Control Resonant's New Setting
Control Resonant shifts from The Oldest House to a supernaturally warped Manhattan.

> supernaturally warped Manhattan significantly reduces the charm in both an aesthetic and mechanical sense
## Dylan's Perspective
Dylan, Jesse Faden's brother, is a newcomer to Manhattan after being imprisoned in The Oldest House.

> Dylan is sort of a wet blanket who doesn't have a lot of interesting things to say most of the time
## Manhattan's Architecture
Manhattan features vertical city streets requiring gravity-shifting powers to navigate.

> city streets that have been turned entirely vertical, requiring the use of gravity-shifting powers to navigate them
## Combat Mechanics
Dylan's shape-shifting melee weapon creates Devil May Cry-like action with RPG-style upgrades.

> Dylan's exceptionally agile movement abilities to create combat encounters that are speedy and intense
## Combat Issues
Some combat encounters involve too many enemies or large damage sponges that are easy to kill.

> Some combat encounters simply involve too many enemies to be fun
## Original Game's Strength
Control was a 2019 game with psychic powers in a haunted office building that felt unique and immersive.

> Control was a third-person shooter with psychic powers set inside The Oldest House
## Resonant's Weaknesses
Resonant has repetitive neighborhoods with copied coffee shops and bodegas that feel generic.

> you're just running around what feels like a generic video game city with the same three coffee shops
## Release Date
Control Resonant releases on Oct. 15 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

> Control Resonant is available for pre-order now for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S; it will be released on Oct. 15
## Overall Assessment
Control Resonant is an OK game but fails to match the original's charm and mechanical appeal.

> Control Resonant is, generally, an OK time, but it has the unfortunate distinction of being the sequel to one of the coolest games of the past decade
## Key takeaway

Control Resonant is a sequel to the 2019 game Control that has fun combat but fails to match the original's aesthetic and mechanical appeal.