Dylan Faden Takes Center Stage as Manhattan Becomes the New Battleground in a Bold Action RPG Evolution
It’s official: Remedy Entertainment is going back to one of its strangest worlds. The follow-up to Control now has a name: Control Resonant. It looks like it will be a lot more than a typical follow-up. The release date for 2026 has been set, and Remedy is marketing this as a complete redesign of the series’ organization, combat, and story focus.
There isn’t a set date for release yet, but it will be available on a lot of platforms, including the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, and most importantly, Mac. The fact that Mac is included shows a broader launch plan this time, which suggests that Remedy wants to reach more people with the franchise.
The biggest change, though, isn’t technical; it’s in the story. Jesse Faden’s unhappy brother Dylan is at the center of the story in Control Resonant. In the first Control, Jesse’s trip into the Oldest House was shown from one point of view. This sequel changes that. Dylan steps into the field just as Manhattan is about to fall apart supernaturally.
The strange and unrealistic mood of the first game isn’t limited to one brutalist tower this time.
Instead, the crack goes through an entire city. The size of “A Bigger World, But Not Open World” makes Manhattan the place where cosmic instability, twisted gravity, and falling buildings happen. This makes the universe much bigger.
Even though the video showed wide views of Manhattan, Remedy has made one important point clear: Control Resonant is not an open-world game. Instead, the game is organized into big, separate zones. These are huge areas that are full of side quests, hidden encounters, and optional exploring.
This zone-based method lets Remedy keep the story moving quickly while also sparking interest. This idea is shown in the first exposed area, the West Incursion Zone. In this skewed part of Manhattan, buildings fold into each other, gravity changes in strange ways, and getting around is a puzzle in and of itself.
In the first game, the Oldest House felt like a living thing. Now, Manhattan feels like a house that has lost its connection to reality. “Movement Is Power: A New Combat Philosophy.” This version is bigger, but the design is still planned and dense, not spread out and vague.
One of the biggest changes is in how the game is played. Dylan’s power set isn’t based on raw telekinetic command, but on momentum and spatial control.
His skills include Reach, which lets him jump and grab onto things he wouldn’t normally be able to reach, Gravity Anomalies, which turn changing physics into weapons, and Shift, which lets him instantly move around in the middle of a fight.
These mechanics work together to make the fight more acrobatic and aggressive. Players are told not to stand their ground but to break lines, chain abilities, and change the flow of the fight on the spot.
Aberrant, a tool that can change its shape, is at the center of the battle. Aberrant is not a single-form gun; it can be changed to fit different play styles. Hammer, Blades, Scythe, and Fists are some of the confirmed forms. More will be shown soon. As the game goes on, players not only get stronger, but they also get more choices. This makes the system smoother by combining movement and weapon changes.
According to Remedy, the second game is more like an action RPG. Building your fighting rhythm is key to moving forward.
With the new powers, Aberrant forms, and more customizable systems, players can make their favorite moves better and make loadouts before going into battle. Builders are meant to feel purposeful, whether they are flying and quick or on the ground and slow. “Resonants and the Boss-Hunt Loop”
The Resonants, the enemies that give the game its name, are a big part of how you move forward. These enemies aren’t like other enemies; they’re powerful beings tainted by the same force that threatens reality. They are the most important parts of a boss hunt.
Dylan’s arsenal grows when he beats Resonants, connecting mechanical growth directly to story events. It’s easy to see the loop: explore zones, find secret enemies, improve your build, hunt a Resonant, get new skills, and go deeper into Manhattan’s collapse.
It’s important to note that Remedy says the game isn’t trying to be as violent as Souls, even though it uses action RPG elements.
There isn’t a lot of parrying in this game. “Two Siblings, Two Journeys” makes combat less about one-on-one timing fights and more about keeping the flow going and avoiding breaks in the rhythm.
Control Resonant’s story is similar to the first game’s, but it changes the way you feel about things. In the first book, Jesse was looking for Dylan. Now Dylan is looking for Jesse while also dealing with the fact that he is unstable and has dangerous skills.
Dylan’s story in Remedy is built around three main themes: surviving Manhattan’s end-of-the-world danger, facing his powers, and looking for redemption. His story is seen as more personal, more fragile, and maybe even darker than Jesse’s.
The Federal Bureau of Control is still very important, but it seems like it has less power now.
The fight is no longer the Oldest House’s narrow hallways, but a city that is falling apart under the weight of space. The FBC might not feel like an organization in charge, but rather one that is trying hard to get back in charge.
Zoe De Vera is an FBC Field Agent who is with Dylan and is in charge of him. But she’s more than just a voice that gives orders. Remedy stresses how important she is to Dylan on an emotional level as someone who can either support his humanity or question it, which would put him in even more mental conflict.
Also, Control Resonant is made to be easy to get into. New players can start without having played the first game, and old fans will find deeper story echoes and links.
In the end, this isn’t just Control 2. It’s Remedy’s biggest attempt to expand the world yet. It has a paranormal crisis that affects an entire city, a combat system that is based on momentum, and an action RPG structure that is based on perfect flow. Control Resonant isn’t just trying to make the formula bigger; it’s trying to change it completely. It all centers around Dylan Faden and Manhattan falling apart around him.
