Control Resonant Launches September 24: Remedy's Paranormal Sequel Is More Devil May Cry Than You Expected

If you played the original Control and came away expecting its sequel to feel like more of the same—deliberate gunplay, floaty levitation, corridors drenched in brutalist concrete—prepare to recalibrate. Control Resonant, launching September 24 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, is a melee-forward action game that plays closer to Devil May Cry than to its predecessor.

Remedy announced the release date alongside a deep look at the sequel's core combat systems, and previews from Gamescom 2026 have started filling in the picture. The shift in design direction is deliberate—and it works.

Dylan Faden Takes the Lead

Where Jesse Faden navigated the Federal Bureau of Control's brutalist headquarters in the original, Resonant puts her brother Dylan in the protagonist seat. Dylan debuted in Control's DLC, confined to a cell at the Oldest House—a captive with unstable paranatural powers he couldn't fully control. The sequel picks up after his release, with a Manhattan on the edge of collapse as new resonance threats pour into the city.

Dylan's main weapon is the Aberrant, a shapeshifting metallic bar that locks into three configurations: a one-handed axe for fast, aggressive swings; dual short blades for rapid crowd control; and a long scythe for wide sweeping attacks at range. The switching is instantaneous, and hands-on previews describe the combat as swift and impactful, with Dylan able to dash between distant targets in rapid succession to keep pressure on multiple enemies at once.

More DMC Than Shooter—and That's Intentional

Guns are present but secondary. Remedy has leaned hard into the melee system, equipping players with up to three active skills at a time from a freely swappable progression tree. Combat chains reward timing and momentum rather than cover-and-fire patience. Previews at Summer Game Fest 2026 described encounters as stylish and kinetic in a way the first game rarely attempted.

The paranatural set pieces appear to be intact. New York City's Manhattan is full of zones where the laws of physics have broken down—floating debris, geometry that folds in on itself, enemies that phase in and out of spatial coherence. The environmental design is still unmistakably Remedy, even as the gameplay DNA has shifted.

Early Critical Impressions

Several outlets came away from extended previews calling Resonant one of the most anticipated games of the fall. Windows Central noted that the game surprised them more than anything else shown at Summer Game Fest. Game Informer called the sequel weird and strange in exactly the right ways—praise that Remedy will probably use in a trailer.

The original Control earned an 85 on Metacritic and built a cult following that grew substantially through word of mouth after launch. Resonant arrives with more institutional marketing support and a larger day-one platform footprint than its predecessor. If the combat system holds up at full game length—a big "if" for a melee-forward action game—it has a real shot at being a 2026 Game of the Year contender.

The wait is three weeks. September 24.