The road to eradicating the Hiss from Manhattan in Control Resonant is one that requires every bit of perseverance as well as a bit of locking-in for some hard-hitting obstacles like the Resonant boss fights. Whether you’re someone who doesn’t casually enjoy action RPGs or is just looking to enjoy their next fill of a Remedy Entertainment entry, you’ll need to know that there are a handful of things that the game won’t tell you as you plow through enemies with Dylan.
Related
Control Resonant Review: Not Your Typical Sequel, And That’s Fantastic
Remedy refuses to play it safe and manages to do it again.
And if you want to steadily save Jesse and uncover everything about this new threat that’s caused a stir amongst the populace of the Oldest House and those affected in NYC, then be sure to read on with this list, where I discuss the best tips and tricks that you need to know as you’re playing Control Resonant.
8
Understand the Lore
The Richness is in the Ambiguity
We’ll get this out of the way first because it’s not really gameplay advice, but rather how this game’s storytelling enjoyment factor gets amplified if you’re a hardcore Remedy Connected Universe (RCU) fan. And yes, that totally means you’ve at least seen the Bright Falls miniseries. In all seriousness, I’m sure most of you playing Resonant will likely have played the OG Control or even prior Remedy games to some extent, but if you’re jumping straight into this one, I genuinely advise against it, even if you feel some sort of FOMO.
Remedy is the kind of storyteller that takes pride in showcasing the absurdity of the unknown, or purposely leaving out certain bits of context so you can piece together the overarching meta narrative yourself. Play the game at your own pace; heck, try to understand, or even just skim through, the ambiguous collectibles if you can, because the world really feels more alive here once you know some background info or even lost stories of certain NPCs and elusive figures.
7
Discover Side Quests
They’re Crazy Good
Control had an extensive array of side quests that had Jesse doing some chores for the Oldest House’s committee, but even if those seemed rather annoying, I strongly advise doing the side quests or side stories featured in Control Resonant this time around. The game will already point out that they can reward cosmetics and some unique loot compared to other activities, but that’s beside the point I’m trying to make here.
Quite a few of Resonant’s side quests are just plain brilliant from a writing standpoint, because some of them can go beyond conventional design, such as Dylan trying to contain a karaoke mic set to then setting across a set of different dimensions where you have to spot the odd taxi car; it’s all done perfectly with the utmost surrealism that the Remedy games are known for in their presentation.
6
Check Out Vendors for Resource and Upgrade Materials
For When You’re Not in the Mood to Farm
Each district or region in Control Resonant’s Manhattan has a vendor that you can visit to buy various kinds of upgrade materials in exchange for your hard-earned Source, distinguished by the ice-cream trucks. And not just those; you can also purchase cosmetic wear for Dylan and skill reset items in case you want to re-spec into a different combat build. Keep in mind that not everything in these trucks will be available immediately, since you’ll need to increase the district’s world level to a certain point.
And these vendors are especially helpful when you need just a couple of items to get a new skill or craft an artifact, since instead of going after the enemy type for the RNG drop, you can go here to get the exact material you need, which simplifies things. But I only recommend buying what you really need since you can pretty easily get materials from enemies in the endgame.
5
Complete Activities and Increase World Level
The XP’s Not for Dylan
Look, I know this may sound like a total chore, but doing the side content in Control Resonant is arguably important since it will be the main way to help strengthen Dylan and his arsenal. Each district level-up will reward you with a Talent Point, along with many of these side activities themselves, giving you an extra bulk of Source and rare materials for your troubles.
This includes things like defeating roaming mini-bosses, opening an airdrop, or defending a cache alongside FBC troopers. Moreover, with each new world level, you gain passive bonuses like increased Source from enemies and material drops, as well as eventually reaching a state where you can reset the district to feature refreshed activities and enemies at a higher level for more challenge.
Related
8 Best Aniimo to Capture Early On
The best early Aniimo in Idyll.
4
Dimensional Faults for New Movement Abilities
Uncovering Jesse’s Lost Tracks
These will come to you naturally, but should you prefer exploring right from the get-go, I would discourage that because discovering most of the Dimensional Faults in Control Resonant will prove beneficial for exploration. These main objective activities throw Dylan into a fragmented landscape where he can track down his sister’s known whereabouts. Most importantly, though, completing these Dimensional Faults will reward you with a brand-new movement/traversal ability.
You’re welcome to explore and cover as much as you can from the beginning, but don’t forget that these abilities are almost mandatory for some inaccessible locations in each district, such as the Shift ability from the West Incursion Zone, allowing you to climb and gain access to the Gravity Town area in the beginning district/region.
3
Resonant Boss Battles for New Combat Abilities
Some are Absolute Cinema, Some Just Painfully Annoying
The Resonants are the game’s various large-scale boss fights that you tackle over the course of the main story, but even then, they’re left to be toppled in any order you wish because the main rewards from these battles are combat abilities. This includes powerful new additions, like being able to ignite yourself and imbue your attacks with the fire element, along with being able to push enemies back like you’re some kind of Jedi.
The path leading up to unlocking the fight itself against the Resonants can be a bit tenacious, but I promise you that it’s worth it; some of these abilities become useful enough to help you take down enemies and larger threats with ease. This is especially true for the Mold enemies that you encounter later on, which are weaker to fire damage.
2
Best Early-Game Talents
For An Optimal Start
Dylan’s Talent tree is almost endless, but given the scarce amount of points you’ll have at the beginning, it is imperative to know which ones to invest in properly, since these talents help improve the baseline of your abilities and arsenal. Below are some of the favorites that I recommend working towards in the early-game hours of Control Resonant:
- Perfect Dodge
- Retribution
- Agile Response
- Decisive Step-Up
- Reactive Detonation
Some of the latter talent skills mentioned here are all on the left side of the tree, so I recommend working your way towards them, as the right side has skills that cater better to a Summon-focused playstyle, which I personally don’t prefer in an action game like Control Resonant.
1
Always Be on the Lookout for HP and Power Upgrades
Grow Stronger as You Fight Back the Hiss
Finally, I can’t stress this one enough, but always make sure you’re on the lookout for the crates that contain the Health and Power upgrade points. You’ll need to collect three of these each time you need to increase Dylan’s HP and Power gauges.
A lot of these will always be found the first time you encounter a vendor in an area, but besides those, you can find these rare storage crates in some accessible stores where you need to solve a puzzle or two to unlock the secret hideout containing them. Some are also just tucked away in secluded areas guarded by enemies, Basically, just try to explore, and if you see these crates popping up, prioritize getting them since the more HP and Power you have, the better your chances of survival against the Hiss.
Next
11 Best Metroidvanias If You Usually Hate Metroidvanias
It’s a genre that can be hard to get into. But these games make it a little easier than most.
Control Resonant
8.5/10
Released
September 24, 2026
ESRB
Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence