Control Resonant's Assist Mode Lets Players Tune Difficulty, Engadget Says

Engadget reported that Control Resonant, like 2019's Control, begins slowly. The reviewer described early chapters as a slog, at least before Remedy adjusted some settings just before the game went on sale. The review said the game took roughly 50 hours to complete with plenty of side quest distractions.

The reviewer encountered difficult sections later, including a Manhattan area overrun by moss, mould and mold-spewing monsters. Despite protagonist Dylan's ability to float and leap with minimal gravity, poisonous areas and attacks constantly reduced health, and blunt attacks barely affected bigger enemies. The reviewer later learned that fire-based attacks are super-effective against mold enemies, but players must defeat a resonant boss to unlock them.

The final parts and bosses suffered from a common action RPG flaw: large-scale damage sponges, according to Engadget. Once players learn attack patterns and environmental quirks, the review said, the fight becomes a rinse-and-repeat cycle with favorite combos and attack powers until the creature collapses. The reviewer praised Remedy's major enemy design, particularly a puppet-dancer amalgam that appeared midway through the playthrough.

Assist Mode is the solution, Engadget said, and it is not a casual mode that weakens the entire game. Resonant includes three presets that could be roughly described as easy, high-risk, with high damage for the protagonist and foes, and low-risk, with low damage for both sides. Adjustable parameters include increasing damage output, reducing player damage, or improving falter damage so Dylan can perform one of his raging execution animations. Players can also reduce projectile speed or enemy aggression if mobs are causing the most trouble.

The game warns players that they should probably use default settings, and the reviewer did. While playing post-game content, the reviewer said a few nudges to falter damage and power recovery made the character feel incredibly powerful against even rare Apex monsters, which offer big rewards in build material and in-game currency.

Engadget said these features ensure many players will finish the game, and the reviewer noted having started and stopped the original Control countless times. But the review added that the options will strip some of the challenge and delight. The reviewer is interested to see how streamers will show off their prowess when players can beef up characters so early. The review said the Assist Mode helps players immerse themselves in what the game does well, including the lore of Dylan, Jesse and the FBC, spot-the-difference taxi puzzles, mini logic puzzles inside laundromats and diners, and other sci-fi distractions, some of which feel substantial enough for their own Doctor Who episode.

During the playthrough, the reviewer never came across enemies that were many levels above them, yet the aforementioned sections were struggles: desperately chipping away at enemy health bars or getting overwhelmed and killed countless times in a row. The reviewer said they were in the right place at the right supposed level.

Remedy's Day 1 patch apparently flattened the difficulty curve a bit so that players may have fewer issues with the start of Control Resonant, according to Engadget. The review advised players to grab one of the paranatural fire powers first when facing mold monsters.