Control Resonant developers removed weapon switching and parrying for a "fast and brutal" combat

The buzz around Control Resonant from Remedy is hard to miss — over 1.5M people have wishlisted it ahead of next month’s release. In a chat with IGN, lead gameplay designer Sergey Mokhov said Remedy once built a prototype that let the Aberrant swap forms, but they scrapped it because the team wanted everything to feel immediate and tactile.

We want the game to feel instant. Push a button — something happens. That’s the point. Hit square and Dylan swings. Tap R1 and an ability fires. It shouldn’t be “switch mode, then press another button or hold a modifier.” We tried those systems; combat slowed down, and we didn’t want players to be thinking about that.

Parrying and deflecting were on the table too, which is notable given that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice informed some design thinking. Besides dodging, Dylan’s defensive option is summoning a shield made from nearby stones. So, no parry-heavy playstyle — the team politely pushed that aside.

We prototyped parrying/deflecting but removed it. Control Resonant is built around offense-as-defense. When defensive moves were in, we found ourselves waiting for enemies to act so we could react — that didn’t fit our combat goals.

There are other shout-outs, e.g., DOOM (2016): fight fast, tear enemies apart. You’ll alternate between the two-handed blade mode “Squall” for slicing and a two-handed hammer for knockdowns. Classic Control toys survive too — like the joy of hurling a giant rock at someone — and Remedy says they won’t complicate that ease of use.

Control Resonant will release on September 24 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.