Control: Resonant serves up our first good look at its weird new outdoors world at Sony's State of Play showcase

Control Resonant - Gameplay Reveal | PS5 Games - YouTube

Control Resonant turned up at today's State of Play showcase with a new gameplay trailer giving us our first up-close look at Dylan Faden's weird adventures in Manhattan—and folks, let me tell you: They were not kidding about it being an action RPG.

The original Control was, at its heart, a third-person shooter with a handful of bizarre abilities thrown in to keep things interesting. Control Resonant, looks to be all about the abilities: Dylan Faden (Control director Jesse Faden's brother, by the way, for those who haven't kept up with the story so far) wields a shapeshifting weapon called the Aberrant, but he also has powers that "extend beyond combat" and enable him to "traverse perception-bending locations and grapple with gravity anomalies that distort the vertical and horizontal plane."

The video is drawn from an early mission in Control Resonant, set in a twisted version of Manhattan where the laws of physics no longer apply. Dylan is able to traverse the landscape via his "Shift" ability, adjusting the Aberrant as required to face different sorts of enemies. "While in combat, we encourage you to play aggressively," creative director Mikael Kasurinen says in the video.

It's a bold move from Remedy: Control was a hit and a sequel inevitable, but Control Resonant seems so far removed from the original that I wonder whether some fans will be put off by it. PC Gamer's Robin Valentine expressed similar concerns when Control Resonant was announced in 2025, saying he's excited for it but adding that he "wouldn't be surprised if fans are hesitant about so big a shift." Full credit to Remedy for its willingness to throw caution to the wind in favor of flexing its creative muscles, but the company appointed a new CEO earlier this week who I feel like might not be quite so down with the concept of artistic freedom over the bottom line.

We'll find out later this year: Control Resonant doesn't have a release date but it's set to arrive later in 2026 on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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