I really dug Control when I played it around launch, to the point that it got me to dive deeper into the rest of Remedy’s catalog, purely because I vibed with the themes and presentation. Thus, Control Resonant was one of the games I was most interested in checking out during Summer Game Fest 2026’s Play Days, and I was absolutely right to be excited. From the hour or so of gameplay I experienced, I got the vibe that this sequel is going to be just as bizarre and mind-blowing as its predecessor.
The Control Resonant demo essentially picked up right at the start of the game, with Dylan waking up to find Jesse missing and the FBC headquarters in even more disarray than before, with bodies strewn about and a massive hole in the wall leading to the outside. Things get extra wild once you go out there and see how New York has been ravaged by both an Altered World Event (AWE) and the escaped Hiss – the paranatural force from the first game.
Credit: Remedy
I’ve said it before, but Remedy understands the surreal and dreamy sensation of fear better than most others who cite David Lynch as a creative influence. The glitchy presentation of several aspects of New York throughout the demo was both trippy and unsettling, and much of the dialogue between Dylan and Jesse was pleasantly confusing. I never really felt like things were “right” while exploring the Hiss-infested New York, as lines of birds flew in a creepy stop-and-start manner and buildings seemed to almost screen-tear in an intentional and eerie way. Truly, nobody meshes the uncanny with technological paranoia quite like Remedy does.
Of course, the gameplay was one of the most distinctive and riveting aspects of Control, and that remains true of Control Resonant. Through a comprehensive, interactive tutorial, I learned how to jump, fly, dash, and perform some pretty wild attacks. I was given the option of choosing between a plethora of unique weapons for Dylan’s different strikes, so I went with a decently long-range scythe and what appeared to be a whip-like sectioned staff. There were also swords, hammers, and plenty more, but these seemed like the most unusual pics to try.
Credit: Remedy
Both tools doled out quick and lengthy strikes, absolutely decimating any Hiss creatures in my way. I also took a couple of the other weapons for a spin, like the hammer and the Bloodborne-esque cleaver sword, and found they offered totally different combat experiences. That wasn’t even everything you can use for your basic attacks, so I’m stoked to try out the full armory in the full game.
Control Resonant‘s first boss sets a strong precedent for how trippy they’ll be.
Once I reached the first boss fight, things got real pretty fast. A horizontally-halved woman’s face with tendrils in her hair was trying to kill Dylan, and got pretty close. Most of the fight had an almost “bullet hell” flavor, with me avoiding telekinetically-thrown cars and cement blocks whilst sneaking in as many strikes of my own as possible – that is, until the head floated up into the sky, carrying pieces of the ground with it for me to scale. For a first boss, I was surprised at how dynamic and challenging it was, to say nothing of the peak weird vibes that come with a living bisected head.
Credit: Remedy
After I finished the story aspect of the demo, I was able to run around in a demo-specific area of the city that encouraged messing around with different combat abilities and mobility options. Experimenting with skills like flaming energy punches and airborne diving punches completely sold me on the move variety that’s going to be present in the full release of Control Resonant, as it already felt significantly deeper and more varied than the first game. I was also told the team took the fan critiques of the first game to heart, such as the lack of enemy variety, and I can say that there were indeed quite a few different enemy types in the demo.
Control: Resonant has me itching to play more, to the point that, while sitting at LAX before heading back to Toronto, I redownloaded the first game to my PS5 remotely – the demo made me so eager for more that I’m going to replay it ASAP so it’s fresh in my mind. I’ll absolutely be grabbing it when it launches on September 24, as Remedy seems primed to serve up another freaky and fantastic banger unlike anything else being made.
