Control Resonant Shifts Focus to Dylan Faden for the Series' Fastest Entry

Remedy Entertainment is heading back to the Oldest House, but the paranormal bureau is looking a little different this time around. In Control Resonant, the highly anticipated sequel arriving September 24, 2026, the series is moving away from Jesse Faden to center on her brother, Dylan Faden.

I caught up with Remedy’s Art Director, Elmeri Raitanen, to discuss how this new chapter is evolving the franchise. Raitanen, who has spent 17 years at the studio—starting as a cinematic compositor on the original Alan Wake—noted that Resonant is the fastest game Remedy has ever developed. "Dylan basically can't even walk—he's just running everywhere!" Raitanen explained. "The melee combat is hectic. We can do more now, since Northlight supports a lot more enemies simultaneously in the scene than before."

A Larger, More Chaotic Oldest House

For those wondering about the scale of the game, Raitanen confirmed that the map size in Control Resonant is roughly twice as large as the original Control. The team is building the world from modular city pieces, creating more open scenarios than players might remember from the first game or Alan Wake 2.

Managing this level of chaos is a constant balancing act for the art team. To help players track the action, the developers have focused on distinct enemy silhouettes. "We wanted to make sure that in this fast-paced melee combat, all of the different silhouettes of the enemies are vastly different," Raitanen said. "You can even, from a glimpse, see that, okay, that's probably a ranged enemy, and that's probably a heavy, bulky melee enemy."

Visual Identity and the "Hiss" Factor

The team is also leaning into the surreal nature of the series, even using intentional glitches to build the atmosphere. Raitanen revealed that some visual effects are designed to look like bugs, though they are entirely deliberate. "We try to be so out there and weird and unique that you might not even know if something is not going right," he joked, adding that it’s easy to "blame it on the Hiss" when things look particularly strange.

While Raitanen kept tight-lipped about specific plot points, he promised that the game will contain the "crazy tentpole moments" fans expect from Remedy. "There will be these sorts of crazy tentpole moments in this game as well. But as we know from our past experience, they land the best when people don't know when they're happening!"

Control Resonant launches for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X on September 24, 2026.