Control Resonant presents a stark contrast to the original Control, shifting from a relentless action-RPG experience to a more introspective adventure. While the game features brutal, desperate combat sequences where players slash through hordes of inhuman enemies with the shapeshifting Aberrant, these violent outbursts are frequently interrupted by moments of melancholic peace. Unlike the constant pressure of the Hiss in the first game, Resonant allows the player to breathe and observe a warped Manhattan without the immediate threat of enemy respawns outside of specific plot beats.
This design choice reflects the nature of the new protagonist, Dylan Faden. Director Mikael Kasurinen stated that the team deliberately avoided creating a brooding hero driven by revenge. Instead, they crafted a character who does not default to violence and possesses the ability to find beauty amidst horror. Dylan feels empathy for the monsters he fights because he sees himself in them. Although trained from childhood for superhuman violence, his journey is defined by guilt, a need for atonement, and a search for identity outside the control of the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) and the Hiss.
The narrative emphasizes Dylan's interiority through quiet sequences that allow him to process his liberation. Early in the game, after escaping the Oldest House, the camera focuses on a single leaf floating in the wind while Petri Alanko's soundtrack plays wistfully, highlighting the elation of freedom mixed with the sadness of his sister's absence and the danger facing the city. Kasurinen noted that while Dylan has no doubt about his ability to defeat paranatural threats as a parautilitarian, he struggles with whether he deserves to exist as a person.
A pivotal example of this dynamic occurs in the Sinkhole, a deep concentration of the citywide Patterning. After navigating intense combat waves and defeating a massive flying monstrosity, the player is left trapped at the bottom while their diving bell is pulled away. This sequence forces the player to navigate strange geometry and variable gravity alone, accompanied only by music and crackling radio chatter that reveals hours have passed on the surface. It is in this isolation that Dylan confronts his fear and chooses to reject his history of helplessness, deciding for himself that he deserves to exist.
The game also provides opportunities for Dylan to heal through small, personal interactions. He befriends a teleporting dog by finding it a squeaking purple dragon plushie, listens to new music via the radio misappropriator Zoe, and sketches still-life tableaus from piles of garbage. One specific drawing of Dylan in his 40s sitting on a bench surrounded by birds serves as a profound moment where he imagines a peaceful future despite a lifetime of evidence pointing to the contrary.
While the original game featured Jesse Faden's running inner monologue, her narrative was driven by urgency and action rather than deep introspection. In Resonant, Jesse is somewhat sidelined to explore Dylan's psyche, even risking being erased by the Patterning in certain quests. The story concludes with a twist where Jesse prevents Dylan's ultimate sacrifice, resulting in him surviving while she ends up in the position he occupied at the start of the game. Kasurinen indicated that while it is too early to discuss future projects like a potential 'Control: Gestalt,' the two games were designed thematically to complement each other by showing different sides of the same world through new protagonists.
Sources: Rock Paper Shotgun.