Control Resonant Is Not Open World, Remedy Confirms
Trust in Remedy!
For me, Control Resonant was the best reveal at The Game Awards 2025. It had just enough world-building, narrative hooks, and gameplay to sell me on a sequel. It also featured drastically different combat compared to the predecessor, and we now know a bit more about its world structure.
A More Controlled Environment
The reveal trailer for Control Resonant showcased larger urban combat arenas in Manhattan, unlike the corridors and hallways of the Oldest House. Many assumed this scale would translate into an open world, but that isn’t the case.
In a conversation with Game Informer, director Mikael Kasurinen confirmed the sequel isn’t open-world, but open-ended. You’ll be able to find secrets, side stories, and none of the content can be described as filler. Control itself had a fairly non-linear approach to exploration, and it seems like Resonant will double down on that for a grander but more deliberate experience.
He goes on to say that there is a strong focus on fast traversal, warped environments, and mind-bending powers and weapons. Kasurinen also emphasizes that their approach to traversal will stand out, particularly through a forward momentum melee combat system. I’m curious to see what that ends up being because we don’t really see a lot of experimentation in that regard anymore.
Jesse in Control already had some really fun traversal options, and based on everything we saw in the reveal trailer for the sequel, it seems Dylan can take that even further. There’s a hint of Prototype in there, which has resonated with me. It’s not all open environments either, because you can see closed spaces multiple times in the trailer, so it’ll be a mix of both from what I can tell.
As someone who has grown tired of open worlds with endless repeated activities, I’m glad that Remedy is developing Control Resonant with a level of restraint. Even though this is an action RPG with a focus on builds, weapons, and progression, it doesn’t seem like you’ll be spending a hundred hours finding a million different types of resources and wasting time with mundane activities.
