👏 Control Resonant has received positive reviews from critics
👍 The game is currently sitting on a Metacritic score of 84
🤔 92% of reviews were positive, 6% mixed, and 2% negative
📅 Control Resonance is available September 24 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
Remedy Entertainment’s follow-up to Control, Control Resonant, has scored favorably with reviewers ahead of its release on September 24, 2026.
The game has a score of 84 on Metacritic at the time of writing after 55 critic reviews. That’s actually a higher score than Control achieved in 2019, which ended up at 82. However, Control: Ultimate Edition fared slightly better at 85.
Here’s what reviewers made of Control Resonant, which is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
VGC gave Control Resonant a perfect score and said switching to a new genre paid off for developer Remedy:
“Control Resonant gambles on a new genre and it pays off. A stellar cast and some of the strongest art direction you'll find in a game this year make for a sequel that builds on the promise of the original, and delivers even more special moments. Make time for Control Resonant this year. You won't regret it.”
IGN thought Control Resonant was worthy of an 8/10 score, even if it gets a bit repetitive:
“Control Resonant may not be quite as deep as its RPG mechanics would lead you to believe and gets tedious the later hours, but the responsive stylish-action is foundationally sound, even when its sharp edge eventually dulls. And like most of Remedy’s games, its greatest strengths are the things built around that combat anyway. If anything, the fights are simply a slick vehicle for building up Dylan as a character and funneling you through one of the more inventive open worlds I’ve seen. Surprisingly, this is one of Remedy's most conventional stories, but that doesn't mean it doesn't dare to be bold at times. Control Resonant is a game bolstered by a compilation of powerful moments – from the finer details in its superb world design to the twists that elevate its characters beyond the paranormal happenings that dictate their lives. Collectively, it's hard to escape Control Resonant's gravitational pull.”
Insider Gaming gave Remedy’s new game an 8/10 and praised the art direction:
“Control Resonant expands Remedy's surreal world with a fascinating new setting, compelling story, and stunning art direction, but repetitive combat and enemy encounters hold it back from reaching loftier heights than its predecessor.”
PlayStation Lifestyle awarded Control Resonant a 7/10, and said:
”Control Resonant isn’t a bad game, but it’s not the Control successor that people were left wanting after the original game. While Remedy’s habit of zigging when fans think they will zag is one of the studio’s greatest strengths, this is one of the rare times when it hasn’t fully paid off. Repetitive combat encounters that lack depth, a dated open-world environment, and a dull story fail to captivate in the same manner as the original.”
ComicBook was one of the harsher reviewers, giving the game 4/10:
“Whereas that 2019 title was a splendid synthesis of Remedy’s signature strengths, Control Resonant‘s many failures make it seem as though it came from a different studio altogether. Its melee combat is bafflingly hollow, relentlessly repetitive, and poorly balanced across the board. Dylan’s quest to save the day lacks inventive concepts that stretch the mind and ends up being a fairly one-note story with an unearned ending. By failing to engage the fingers or brain, Resonant is not just a disappointing sequel; it betrays the very notion of what it means to be a Remedy game.”
If you enjoyed Control, there’s a good chance you’ll like Control Resonant, though the switch of genres to a more fighting-focused title may be jarring and it sounds like the story isn’t quite as strong this time around.
Up next: Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave review roundup: ‘a sumptuous feast of a game’
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. He also runs a retro gaming YouTube channel called Game on, boy! Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.