Control Resonant Brings Melee Combat, Dylan Faden, and a Warped Manhattan

Control Resonant new details paint a much clearer picture of Remedy’s next big swing. Officially unveiled at The Game Awards, the sequel to Control drops the familiar rulebook and leans into something riskier.

In this upcoming title, Remedy is going to shift protagonists, rework combat from the ground up, and move the chaos from the Oldest House into a warped Manhattan. With some Control Resonant new details surfacing on the web, excitement around the title is at an all-time high right now. It was first announced during the Game Awards 2025.

A New Lead and a City in Crisis

The first of Control Resonant upcoming features is the introduction of a new protagonist, Dylan Faden, not his sister Jesse Faden. Set seven years after the events of Control, the story opens with the Federal Bureau of Control losing its grip on reality. Hiss is no longer contained, so it has moved itself into Manhattan and transformed streets, buildings, and the general public into something crazy and unrecognisable.

While Jesse has become the new Director of the FBC, she hasn’t returned from where she went. Dylan wakes from his coma and travels to the city to combat a crisis that has exceeded the agent's control. Remedy has said you don’t need to finish the first game to follow this story, but longtime fans will clearly spot deep links across the wider Remedy universe.

Combat Goes Melee-First

The biggest Control Resonant new features shift is obvious within seconds of the reveal. Guns are gone. Control Resonant is built around close-quarters combat. Players will use a mystical melee weapon called the Aberrant, which can take different forms during combat, for example: dual blades or large hammer weapons.

As the game relies primarily on momentum, positioning and chain-ability use, control of the combat situation will no longer rely on spraying bullets from a distance. According to co-creative director Mikael Kasurinen, the goal is to blend melee combat with fast traversal and reality-warping powers in a way Remedy hasn’t attempted before.

Open-Ended, Not Open World

This is another one of the exciting Control Resonant upcoming features. Manhattan is the new playground, but don’t expect a traditional open world filled with map icons. Control Resonant is described as open-ended. Large interconnected zones, secret paths, side objectives, and heavy backtracking are all part of the design.

Players can explore as much or as little as they want, with no pressure to complete side quests at any particular time. Exploration feeds directly into progression. Choices matter, and not all of them are easily reversible. Remedy has stressed that Resonant is about meaningful progression rather than surface-level upgrades.

Release Window and Platforms

Despite early reports claiming a Q2 launch, Remedy has publicly shut those down. The only officially announced launch time frame is 2026. Anything else from that is mere speculation, according to the company.

Control Resonant is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. There is no confirmation of a Nintendo Switch 2 version; past Remedy titles have arrived on Nintendo platforms later. That's all from us regarding Control Resonant new details.