7 tips for Control Resonant I wish I knew before I started playing

Control Resonant is out this week, and you’re going to need some of the best tips if you want to solve the new Hiss crisis that’s hit Manhattan.

Control Resonant puts you in the shoes of Dylan Faden, an asset of the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), a government organisation dedicated to the research and containment of paranormal entities. Following a containment breach of the Oldest House, Dylan is recruited to help put a stop to the monsters that are spilling out onto the streets of Manhattan.

Arguably one of the biggest games Remedy Entertainment has designed so far, Control Resonant has many different mechanics and secrets waiting for you to discover, to the point where certain gameplay elements may feel overwhelming.

If you’re wanting a bit of a leg up though, here are seven tips that we can share to make your first few hours of surviving the containment breach all the more manageable.

Best Control Resonant tips and tricks

1. Level up every Aberrant form, even ones you don’t use

The Aberrant, which is the name given to Dylan Faden’s melee weapon, is a shapeshifting tool which can take on many forms. You can switch between one of three forms of primary attack, but also have access to three secondary forms and six combo finishers.

Whenever you unlock a new upgrade for the Aberrant, the strength level of this weapon increases by a number between one and five, which indicates how much damage you do. However, you can also increase the strength level of the Aberrant even by upgrading forms that you don’t use or have equipped, making it ideal to invest in all forms equally if you want pure damage upgrades.

2. Don’t rush through the Resonant boss fights

Resonants are the names given to various bosses which appear throughout Manhattan, with one located per region for a total of six bosses. Although you’ll need to kill all of them eventually, it’s entirely up to you when you go after these bosses, and can continue pursuing the main story up to certain points while leaving them alive.

Defeating a Resonant resets the world state of Manhattan, respawning enemies and activities while also making them stronger. This ups the difficulty of the game, while also giving you better rewards for defeating random encounters. If you find the game is starting to get a little easy, feel free to pick out a boss to go after, but if you’re struggling still, there’s no harm in delaying your fight against a Resonant while you level up some more.

3. Complete side activities in each zone

There are many side activities available in each zone during Control Resonant. Called World Feats, these smaller missions often involve you defeating a certain miniboss or defending an FBC asset for a certain amount of time.

Completing World Feats will give you Zone XP which allows you to level up certain areas, with each level bringing new rewards such as bonus Source and Health Elements, new side missions, or extra outfits for Dylan to wear. They also reset with a fresh batch of missions after you defeat a Resonant.

4. Craft artifacts wherever you can

In the Gap, an otherworldly dimension where Dylan can level up his gear and abilities, you’ll be able to craft artifacts for him to wear which can give him an edge during combat.

These artifacts unlock special abilities, both active and passive, which prove to be useful during certain encounters. For example, fighting in Mold-heavy environments encourages you to craft an artifact which slows down Infected build-up. You can equip these at any time from your loadout menu.

5. Read every note and document you pick up

The world of Control is heavily enriched by the amount of lore and storytelling that is going on in the background. This is stuff Dylan doesn’t necessarily witness himself, but can read about in the various notes, documents, and audio files he finds while exploring.

These notes give you additional context about the world, the FBC, the various characters within it, and the surplus of paranatural monsters and creatures you come into contact with. They can also be humorous as well as informative, and definitely enhance your playthrough. We’d recommend reading as much as possible if you want to truly understand Control Resonant’s story.

6. Focus your Talent Points on Falter and Dominance

Falter is an additional metre that builds up on enemies you attack. If you deal lots of attacks against an enemy within a short window of time, you’ll push them into a Falter state. This temporarily stuns them and leaves them open for an Execution.

Performing an Execution on an enemy will grant you Dominance, which gives you a small melee damage boost allowing you to weaken more enemies around you. You’ll only have a few seconds, but the extra damage is worth it. There are several talents in the Talent Tree you can pick up to improve this further.

7. Don’t worry about inaccessible areas

Similar to the first game, Control Resonant adopts a metroidvania approach to its open world. There are several areas which are seemingly inaccessible to you from the beginning of the game.

Worry not, there are new abilities you can unlock later which will allow you to come back and access these areas, allowing you to progress further into the game’s twisted version of Manhattan.

Those are all the tips we have for you to start your journey across Manhattan as Dylan Faden.