Remedy’s sequel trades gunplay for open-world melee action. Critics admire its warped Manhattan but are less sure about the fighting that fills it.
About this review roundup: GAME MODE has not playtested this game. This is original analysis of the credited reviews and official information below, researched October 18, 2026. The displayed 7.8/10 is the equally weighted average of these two critics’ scores, converted to ten and rounded to one decimal. It is not a GAME MODE playtest score or a comprehensive review aggregate.
Released: September 24, 2026. Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S.
Out of the Oldest House
Control Resonant moves Remedy’s paranatural universe out of the Oldest House and into a Manhattan reshaped by a cosmic force. You play as Dylan Faden, Jesse’s brother, searching for the missing FBC director while fighting the Hiss, the Mold and stranger threats with a shapeshifting melee weapon called the Aberrant.
Remedy announced a September 24 worldwide launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store, describing it as the studio’s most expansive game to date. The Steam listing calls it an action-adventure RPG.
Loved the city, wrestled with the fights
Michael Higham’s IGN review gives it 8/10 on PlayStation 5, and Lincoln Carpenter at PC Gamer gives the PC version 76/100. The scores sit close together, and so do their reasons.
What they praised
- Higham: responsive, combo-driven combat in which the Aberrant shifts form depending on the attack, plus RPG systems that let him build a powerful Dylan.
- Higham: the gravity-bending open world, which gets his strongest praise, and a story that’s more conventional than earlier Remedy games but contains some of the studio’s most memorable moments.
- Carpenter: outstanding environmental art and voice cast, and rewarding exploration of the city’s hand-crafted corners.
What wore them down
- Higham: RPG systems that are shallower than they first appear, roughly half the bosses feeling like wars of attrition, and later aerial battles that strained the targeting and camera.
- Carpenter: melee combat, his main problem. Basic attacks lacked impact unless he stacked temporary damage buffs, and auto-targeting sometimes sent abilities to the wrong enemy.
- Carpenter: level scaling that pushed him back into fights he wanted to avoid during a campaign of more than 30 hours. His advice is to use the difficulty settings to increase Dylan’s damage.
What changed with hotfix 1.3.3?
Both reviews were published before launch, and both describe fights that dragged because enemies absorbed too much damage. On launch day, Remedy’s hotfix 1.3.3 lowered the base health and Falter (stun) thresholds of most enemies and two bosses, and raised the maximum strength of Dylan’s Aberrant and abilities. In a follow-up article, Carpenter wrote that the patch effectively made his main recommendation the default experience.
Our reading is that if reports of spongy enemies put you off, you should weigh those patch notes alongside the scores, because the displayed average reflects the builds these critics played. The hotfix doesn’t change the bigger design decision, though. Resonant is a melee-focused action RPG set in an open world, and both critics see its traversal, setting and characters as the main reasons to play.
If you loved Jesse’s ranged powers and the original’s metroidvania-style structure, expect a very different game.
The buying call
Remedy fans who are curious about the genre shift have a strong case for buying, especially if atmosphere and exploration matter more to them than combat depth. If you want demanding, varied boss fights, read Higham’s review closely first. Either way, check the current patch notes, since these launch reviews describe versions that have since been adjusted.
Cited scores and sources
Calculation: (8.0 + 7.6) ÷ 2 = 7.8/10, rounded. These are selected reviews, not every published score.
For a wider view, OpenCritic listed a Top Critic Average of 83 for the game when we checked on October 18, 2026.
Official game information and artwork source. Artwork: Remedy Entertainment.
The Verdict: Strong reception
Average of the cited critic scores, normalized to 10. See the methodology and individual scores above.
