Control Resonant Review: Assist Mode Softens a Slow Start

Engadget's review of Control Resonant describes a game that, like Remedy's 2019 Control, takes time to find its footing. According to the reviewer, the opening chapters feel like a slog, with only a small set of weapon abilities available until the closing third. Remedy adjusted some settings shortly before launch, and a Day 1 patch reportedly flattened the difficulty curve, which may reduce early friction.

The review highlights a particularly tough section set in a Manhattan area overrun by moss, mold and mold-spewing enemies. Dylan can float and leap in low gravity, but poisonous zones and attacks steadily drain health, while blunt attacks do little against larger foes. Fire-based attacks are said to be especially effective against mold enemies, though players must defeat a resonant boss to unlock them.

Later bosses draw criticism common to action RPGs: they become large damage sponges. Once their patterns and environmental tricks are learned, the fight turns into repeated combos until the creature falls. The reviewer still praises Remedy's major enemy design, singling out a puppet-dancer amalgam that appears midway through the game.

The most notable accessibility feature is Assist Mode, which the review says is not a casual mode that weakens the whole experience. It offers three presets: an easy option, a high-risk setting that increases damage for both Dylan and enemies, and a low-risk setting that lowers damage for both sides. Players can also adjust damage output, reduce damage taken, improve falter damage to trigger execution-style animations, slow projectiles, or lower enemy aggression if mobs are the main problem.

The game warns that default settings are probably intended, and the reviewer played that way. During post-game content, however, small boosts to falter damage and power recovery made Dylan feel very strong against rare Apex monsters, which reward build materials and in-game currency.

Assist Mode may help more players finish. The reviewer notes having repeatedly started and stopped the original Control. At the same time, the options can remove some challenge and delight. The review wonders how streamers will demonstrate skill when characters can be powered up early.

The review also points to optional content that rewards exploration: taxi-themed spot-the-difference puzzles, mini logic puzzles in laundromats and diners, and other science-fiction distractions. Some of these side activities feel substantial enough to stand alone.

During the playthrough, the reviewer says they never encountered enemies many levels above them. Even so, certain sections required desperate chipping at health bars or led to repeated deaths. The reviewer felt they were in the right place at the expected level. The takeaway for mold monsters: unlock paranatural fire powers first.

For players drawn to Remedy's world but frustrated by difficulty, Assist Mode appears to be a meaningful option. For those who want the intended challenge, the default settings remain the reference point. Engadget's impressions are subjective and based on one playthrough.