Control Resonant's take on New York feels like the Backrooms

We played the opening of the Control sequel and saw just how weird Remedy's twisted city is.

Remedy Entertainment is taking a very bold approach for the sequel to 2019's Control. Focusing on a new protagonist stepping out into a weird, corrupted version of New York City, Control Resonant shifts to a more open-ended action-RPG that dives deep into punchy melee combat. While Jesse Faden is no longer the protagonist, her brother's story is off to a captivating start.

Ahead of the latest showcase at Summer Game Fest 2026, we visited the Annapurna Pictures offices (its games division is co-funding the sequel with Remedy Entertainment) to play the opening hours of Control Resonant. As the next installment of the Remedy Connected Universe, Control Resonant is shaping up to be the most expansive game that the developers have made, and it's got an impressive opening act that really sets the tone and weirdness of this high-stakes sequel.

Picking up seven years after the events of Control, we find that the Hiss have broken containment from The Oldest House and invaded the outside city of Manhattan. With Jesse Faden missing and the remaining FBC scattered, her brother and powerful supernatural entity, Dylan Faden, leaves The Oldest House for the first time, stepping into a hostile and twisted world torn apart by The Hiss. Teaming up with the remaining agents and the mysterious force known as The Board, Dylan resolves to find his sister by pushing his supernatural powers to the limit to face the onslaught of Hiss and stop them from escaping into the outside world.

Control Resonant is a marked departure from the original Control's more enclosed spaces and Jesse's story. There is that lingering sense of disappointment that Jesse is no longer the protagonist, given that she was a compelling and personable character to go on that weird journey with. Yet, Dylan's perspective as someone being thrust into a more-hostile world and learning to regain his humanity is an interesting narrative backbone for the sequel. From my hands-on time, which really got me into the flow of Dylan's story of finding a way into the outside world, I felt more drawn into the setup for the sequel.

Compared to the original, Control Resonant takes a more punchy, high-flying approach to combat and exploration. Since we're outside the realm of The Oldest House and into the mostly open streets of Manhattan, Dylan has way more room to leap and dash across the city in some fun ways. When I spoke with art director Elmeri Raitanen, he stated that remaking Manhattan into a Hiss-corrupted landscape was