Respawn Monday #17: Still Processing the Madness that is Control: Resonant
This weekend focused on Control: Resonant, my latest coverage, which I approached as a review-in-progress because I wasn’t finished with the game’s final act. I didn’t want to rush it, as I was enjoying exploring each area of this twisted version of Manhattan, especially the last area. Thankfully, I finished the game last Sunday at my own pace, and it was worth it. Some thoughts.
Clearly My Favorite Work from Remedy Entertainment
Remedy is known for the weird, and they leaned on that when Control was released. Alan Wake 2 was a solid entry, but I love how expansive and densely convoluted the whole story and its world has become. From the Pattering, Objects of Power, the threat of the Hiss, and the backstory that haunts the protagonist Jesse Faden, Resonant is such a compelling sci-fi epic that nailed the landing, leaving me wanting more.
It’s a unique game in the sense that this isn’t about good or evil. A protagonist versus an antagonist. This is just humans trying to understand what’s happening in front of them and being caught in something far bigger than themselves. Jayden’s backstory is the only relatable element that lingers and slowly emerges on the right moments, and the focus on him in particular gives more weight and context to why the first game even happened.
The Urge to Keep Exploring
I knew I was enjoying the open world and its combat when I felt the urge to just not do the main quest. I wanted to see why an FBC agent wanted me to save his pet cat, why the expert in Mold went AWOL, and I wanted to face every possible boss available.
The biggest win is the game’s traversal, as Remedy played around with the manipulation of gravity and the perception of what the right side is up so much that the camera was constantly rotating to match my current orientation, which makes this game a big no-go for those who get dizzy easily.
It really established the freedom of movement early on, as instead of double jump and double dash being upgrades later in the game, you have them after the game’s tutorial. It then opens up even more, as I mentioned, as you will constantly find yourself zipping from one ledge to another, executing Hiss, floating to avoid danger, then dishing out abilities in the most effective way possible. It’s been a blast, and it’s one of those games that I might just go for the Platinum on PlayStation.
I’ll stop here, as I won’t delve any deeper. I want to save any other thoughts on Control: Resonant for my full review, which will be out in a couple of days. But my review-in-progress does cover the broad strokes in case you were wondering why I highly recommend it.
I have other games in the pipeline that I want to share, but thanks to moving to a new place last week and other commitments in life, all my free time was thrown at this game. Will have more soon.
How was your weekend?
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About the Author - Carlos Hernandez
Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.
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