Remedy Entertainment is expanding the formula established by 2019’s Control in several significant ways. Control Resonant introduces a different setting, a new protagonist and revised combat, while also promising a considerably longer adventure.
Control Resonant’s campaign will be much longer
Lead gameplay designer Sergey Mohov told TechRadar that the sequel’s “core experience” should take approximately 30 hours to complete.
That is a substantial increase over Control, whose main story takes roughly 12 hours. Data from HowLongToBeat.com also puts a completionist playthrough of the original at under 30 hours on average. Mohov expects players pursuing everything in Resonant to spend around 50 hours in total.
New York provides a larger setting
The change in scale is partly explained by the move away from the Oldest House. Although the supernatural building in Control was larger and stranger than it initially seemed, its missions were generally contained within relatively compact areas.
Control Resonant moves the action to the streets of New York City. Remedy has described the game as using open-ended zones rather than a strictly open-world structure, giving players more freedom in how they approach objectives and creating room for optional activities beyond the main narrative.
A 30-hour central campaign suggests that the sequel will also contain considerably more story, not just a larger map. Remedy has already demonstrated its ability to build substantial narrative-driven games: 2023’s Alan Wake 2 takes about 20 hours to finish despite its relatively linear design.
Despite the expanded scope and its many mechanical changes, the sequel has been presented as a faithful continuation of Control. That impression was reinforced by an early hands-on preview of the action RPG.
Release details
Control Resonant is scheduled to launch on 24 September for PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X.
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