The combat system in CONTROL Resonant demands constant pressure and aggression from the player: journalists share their impressions of the demo

Remedy brought a piece of the game to gamescom 2026.

Remedy Entertainment brought a demo of CONTROL Resonant to gamescom 2026, showcasing a previously unrevealed gameplay area.

The protagonist's main weapon will be the Aberrant — a shapeshifting Object of Power. In the demonstrated version, it defaulted to two blades. These allow for quick attacks and critical damage, and the finishing blow of a combo leaves a spinning blade that continues to deal damage.

The second form of the Aberrant shown was a drill. It applies a special effect to enemies, increasing the normal damage they take and their stun power.

Below the enemies' health bar is a Resonance meter. If filled, the enemy can be executed. However, executions are not just for quick kills — they also grant Dylan a Domination effect, which temporarily increases damage dealt.

In CONTROL Resonant, there is no blocking or parrying. Dylan's only full defensive maneuver is dodging.

However, the system is designed to constantly force the player to go on the offensive. Paranormal abilities use a separate meter, and it can only be restored through melee attacks.

This creates a peculiar closed loop: the player attacks with blades, restores power, spends it on abilities, fills the Resonance meter, performs an execution, gains Domination, and uses the temporary damage boost to continue the aggressive assault.

Health during combat is also restored exclusively by killing enemies. Health upgrades and other resources can be found in the world, but directly during combat, the primary way to survive is to keep attacking.

The developers specifically emphasized that this does not mean the game turns into a simple hack-and-slash where endlessly pressing one button is enough. The player will need to learn to combine Aberrant forms, paranormal abilities, and dodges.