Control Resonant's shift to an Action RPG is shaping it up to be an even better game than the first

While I wasn't a huge fan of 2019's Control, you simply have no choice but to respect what Remedy has continued to release, year after year. Control Resonant, the team's attempt at an Action RPG sequel, is no different.

During this year's Summer Game Fest, we had the chance to go hands-on with an early build of the game. Beyond some playful pontification about the crowded release schedule the game is currently inked to launch to, this demo comprised of the opening segment of the game up to the first boss - as well as loading up a save in a combat sandbox later on, divorced from the story itself, and offering a chance to check out how the game might play a ways into the adventure, and with more of your kit unlocked.

While Control Resonant is many things I'd already expected from the studio, I was tentatively curious exactly how the "Action RPG" elements of the game might work out. In practice, it's something akin to Kingdom Hearts; less focused on bespoke stats or gear, more about what you've set to your loadout, including weapons.

Combat in Control: Resonant bears more resemblance to the previous adventure than you might first expect. You aren't chaining together elaborate combos like in a Devil May Cry or a Ninja Gaiden - instead you're making use of specific elements of your kit when it's most efficient to do so. Your basic weapon, the Aberrant, can shift forms much like the Service Weapon from the first game, and the core of combat revolves around using your equipped normal combo, combo finisher, and powerful alternate form when it makes the best sense to do so.

In practice this means making use of Dylan's acrobatic movement options, many of which are borrowed from Jesse's adventure, to dart from one group of enemies to the next. Dashing in mid-air to avoid attacks, doing a combo on a tough enemy to build up stagger, using your alternate form to finish the job, then moving onto the next. Abilities such as the option to slam immediately down to the ground to both deal damage and reset your positioning, grab rubble to form a shield around you, or throw out a shotgun blast of energy all run on a shared resource that replenishes as you land attacks with your normal kit.

While we only had limited time to check it out, combat scratches the itch for me much more than the original Control, even with so much transplanted near directly from that one. I don't think it's just a change in framing that makes the combat work better for me, but rather how the RPG elements and progression seem to tie into things.

Taking a peak at the menus, I was able to glean a few things about what makes Control Resonant an RPG. There's an in-depth skill tree that allows you to unlock some fairly major perks to your unlocked actions and base abilities alike, your weapons can be upgraded using materials to gain access to new abilities, and previously described Artifacts - which can also be crafted - play another role in the puzzle.

Which is to say - I'm excited to see more. You'll notice I've said very, very little about the game outside of what I could glean about the game's combat and what makes it an RPG. That's simply because it feels a bit redundant to say that the game looks gorgeous, the story already teases how it intends to follow-up on some of the most fascinating loose threads from the first game, and after Alan Wake 2 it really does feel like Remedy are at the top of their game.

There's still plenty of questions left dangling, and just because I loved what little I played doesn't mean that it will stick the landing, of course. Regardless, I'm excited to play more. Control Resonant is currently scheduled to release on September 24 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam, Epic) and Mac. Stay tuned for further impressions in the months ahead.