During a private online event in late February 2026, Remedy Entertainment revealed key aspects of Control Resonant, the upcoming sequel to its 2019 game Control. The team clarified that protagonist Jesse Faden is not playable, emphasizing brother Dylan Faden's story, while addressing online criticisms of the game's dialogue. The action RPG features aggressive melee combat and a semi-open world set in New York City.
Remedy Entertainment held a private online preview event last month for press and content creators, showcasing Control Resonant, a melee-focused semi-open-world action RPG and sequel to the 2019 title Control. Creative director Mikael Kasurinen, lead gameplay designer Sergey Moho, and communications director Thomas Puha discussed the game's development, inspirations, and design choices.
The team confirmed that Jesse Faden, Control's protagonist and Dylan Faden's sister, plays a significant role but is not playable. 'Jesse Faden is not a playable character in Control Resonant,' Puha stated. 'This is Dylan’s experience, very much so.' The game includes multiple skill trees for character builds, but players cannot unlock every skill in a single playthrough, requiring strategic leveling. Dylan's weapon, the Aberrant, has customizable primary, secondary, and combo-ender forms with upgradable stats for min-maxing.
Control Resonant avoids Souls-like mechanics, lacking a parry button to promote an aggressive, player-driven combat style with dodging. 'This is not Souls-like combat,' the developers explained. 'We want the player to be in control, on the move, and keep attacking enemies.' The world design rejects a massive open-world structure, instead offering a better map than the original and focused content. Quests divide into Dylan's Journey (main campaign) and independent World Quests, alongside narrative-grounded activities, puzzles, and exploration for secrets and lore.
A dialogue system allows choices during conversations, which players can navigate while moving, inspired by Firewatch. However, the game has only one ending to maintain a cohesive story. Remedy targets 60 frames per second on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, with a release later in 2026.
Addressing online backlash from a February State of Play trailer, where dialogue drew comparisons to the 'Focus, M' meme criticizing AAA writing, Puha noted much of the showcased dialogue was placeholder. 'We know how to write good dialogue,' he said, adding that the criticism highlighted an isolated moment from a longer experience. Kasurinen emphasized the team's commitment to meaningful characters and stories. Players can also customize Dylan's clothing and hairstyle anytime.
