Compare CONTROL Resonant vs Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse

One critic found repeated combat and progression interruptions strong enough to pull attention away from the world and story, reducing immersion despite the striking setting.

The blend of French history, gothic locations, and compelling exploration makes the world absorbing. Strong atmosphere helps sustain the desire to investigate.

Even skeptical critics repeatedly call the game singular. Its collision of character-action combat, non-Euclidean Manhattan, paranormal comedy, and art-house spectacle gives it an identity few other open-world games resemble.

Some see a distinctive identity, but many feel the game borrows too safely from established Metroidvanias. A competent revival does not always feel like a new benchmark.

The roughly 25-to-40-plus-hour scale gives the world room to breathe, but the campaign can outlast the combat system's depth. Late repetition makes the length feel excessive for some players.

The main adventure and optional discoveries generally feel substantial without overstaying their welcome. One player finds it a little short despite its density.

Precision platforming becomes frustrating when gravity changes, tight trajectories, or awkward geometry demand more exact movement than the traversal system comfortably provides.

Platforming can be exhilarating when jumps, grapples, and light abilities click together. Its tight timing and repeated hazard rooms also produce some of the strongest complaints.

The sequel earns broad credit for refusing to repeat the original: its melee focus, warped open zones, gravity traversal, and structural experimentation feel unusually bold for a major sequel.

The whip and tarot systems bring welcome fresh ideas for some. Others find the exploration tricks and movement upgrades too conventional.

The best missions keep escalating into strange, memorable scenarios, giving the campaign a strong sense of surprise beyond standard combat objectives.

Optional objectives can encourage fresh approaches and exploration. Repetitive or uninspired combat challenges are less successful.

Reality warping, particles, reflections, shadows, and large combat effects create spectacular scenes, though the sheer visual noise can occasionally hurt clarity or expose platform-specific image issues.

Flashes and impact effects can overwhelm the screen or feel distracting. These touches do not work equally well for players who value restrained, readable action.

Technical bugs are not portrayed as constant, but the glitches that do appear can be disruptive, including enemies getting stuck, traversal oddities, and occasional postgame or loading issues.

Several players encounter few bugs, but others report windowed-mode problems, a fast-travel glitch, or an HDR pop-up that prevents loading. The issues described vary substantially.

The combat-exploration loop can be exciting once a build comes together, but repetition is a persistent concern. Several critics felt the same encounter rhythm and combo patterns wore thin well before the campaign ended.

Hunting bosses, gaining powers, and opening new paths creates a compelling loop for most. One disappointed demo player found the loop slow and unrewarding.

Upgrade materials are criticized for being overcomplicated and awkwardly distributed, making some desired upgrades harder to complete than the rest of the progression system suggests they should be.

Limited healing makes long gauntlets and crowded encounters stressful. Mana-supported spell combinations are appreciated, but scarce restoratives and interrupted casts can make resource management feel punishing.

One critical take finds progression too dependent on repeating activities and combat to keep pace with enemy scaling, turning advancement into unwanted grind.

Opinions split on repetition: some enjoy farming enemies for experience and testing combinations, while others find prescribed spell-upgrade tasks taxing.

Dylan's growth from damaged FBC test subject to a more self-directed person lands strongly, and his evolving relationships give the story a clear emotional spine.

Rose’s growth and vulnerability give her arc emotional weight for many. Others see a determined heroine who changes too little or remains an underdeveloped archetype.

Upgrades provide plenty of specialization on paper, but restrictive respecs, material requirements, and number-focused improvements can make the system feel cumbersome or less transformative than expected.

Works of Mercy encourages experimentation by tying spell upgrades to practical challenges. Repetitive requirements and uneven weapon upgrade rewards can make advancement feel like busywork.

The opening can be daunting because movement, builds, enemy pressure, and RPG systems arrive before the combat fully blossoms. Once more tools unlock, the learning curve becomes far more rewarding.

Boss patterns and combat rhythms become satisfying as they click. Animation commitments and unfamiliar movement timing can take some adjustment.

Enemy behavior draws a sharp complaint for leaning on hectic pressure rather than convincing intelligence, making some fights feel artificially chaotic.

Enemies can track jumps and time attacks around dodges with frustrating precision. That behavior makes already demanding traversal and gauntlets feel less forgiving.

The game is widely praised as a visual showcase, especially for lighting, surreal geometry, and dense effects. Lower-end modes can introduce softness, artifacting, or weaker lighting that undercuts that presentation.

The game can look striking in motion, but character models and image clarity receive mixed reactions. Nintendo versions draw repeated complaints about blur and low resolution.

Combat is responsive, aggressive, and capable of spectacular build-driven highs, but opinion splits sharply on its staying power. The strongest criticism targets repetitive strings, damage-spongy enemies, and a system that can feel shallower over a long campaign.

Combat is the clearest strength, combining weapon-specific attacks, grappling, spells, and parries. Crowded encounters and occasional sluggishness can interrupt that flow.

Pacing is a recurring weakness: the opening can be slow, progression sometimes stalls the story, and several late sections drag. Other sources find the game accelerates impressively once it opens up.

The adventure often improves once the castle opens up, but the early hours can drag. Repeated backtracking and long stretches between useful travel points are recurring interruptions.

Zone leveling, skill points, powers, and build choices often make exploration feel purposeful and Dylan's growth tangible. Criticism focuses on opaque power-level tracking, restrictive respecs, and progression that can become busywork.

New abilities and equipment usually make Rose’s growth satisfying. Slow access to mobility tools and small level-up bonuses leave some players underwhelmed.

Manhattan is packed with strange signage, abandoned interiors, warped streets, and small physical details that reinforce the setting, though some sewers, warehouses, and city blocks repeat too visibly.

Layered backgrounds, gothic architecture, and detailed vistas make many locations memorable. One sharply negative demo impression found the environments bland instead.

The default difficulty is one of the most disputed elements, especially in the opening hours and against tanky late bosses. Better builds and extensive Assist Mode settings help, but progression walls can still feel abrupt.

The challenge can be rewarding, with learnable patterns and meaningful skill tests. Difficulty spikes, crowded rooms, and overpowered late-game equipment create an uneven curve for others.

The writing is strongest when it balances human vulnerability, bureaucratic absurdity, and strange lore. Some dialogue and thematic beats are less elegant, but the overall character and world writing earns substantial praise.

The writing is praised for personal stakes, thematic clarity, and eccentric characters. Other reactions point to weak scripts or dialogue that gives away too much.

The strongest mechanical moments come from combining traversal, gravity shifts, powers, combat, and environmental ideas in ways that feel purpose-built for this world.

The whip and tarot abilities connect traversal, combat, and progression in satisfying ways. A minority find the individual mechanics inconsistent or too familiar.

Dylan's guilt, childhood trauma, bond with Jesse, and search for redemption produce some of the game's most affecting scenes. Several critics describe moments that hit harder emotionally than they expected from a Control sequel.

Family loss, personal growth, and moments of redemption give the story unexpected emotional pull. Rose’s relationships provide much of that impact.

Documents, recordings, side stories, and environmental details keep the FBC mythology rich, with the best optional material adding texture to Manhattan and the broader paranatural world.

Franchise callbacks and ties to earlier events reward familiarity with Castlevania’s history. French historical references add another layer of interest.

Requiring physical fast-travel points can be inconvenient, but it also nudges players to stay in the world and stumble into side content rather than teleporting past it.

Fast travel helps with backtracking, but its locations, discovery, and extra transitions often feel cumbersome. Several players find revisiting distant areas slower than it should be.

The sequel keeps Control's uncanny blend of cosmic dread, bureaucratic absurdity, and offbeat humor alive across Manhattan. A minority feel the broader city setting dilutes some of the Oldest House's concentrated unease.

A burning Paris, gothic interiors, and evocative audio create a strong sense of place. Brighter visuals and frequent chatter dilute the mood for some traditionalists.

Documents, recordings, hidden reports, and other collectibles make exploration feel worthwhile by feeding the world's mysteries rather than functioning as empty checklist filler.

Meaningful hidden rewards make optional searches worthwhile. Weapons, equipment, and upgrades help give discoveries a useful payoff.

The strangest spaces still generate strong cosmic-horror unease, using impossible geometry, isolation, and paranormal imagery to make exploration feel unsettling.

The horrors are intimidating without overwhelming the empowering rhythm of play. That balance gives the macabre setting tension without making it oppressive.

Loot and world rewards can make exploration satisfying, especially when discoveries feed upgrades, but some reward placement and generic material boxes feel less thoughtfully integrated.

Exploration rewards are valued for giving hidden chests and optional routes a tangible payoff. Weapons and useful passive equipment make discoveries feel worthwhile.

The game generally feels polished for its scale, but scattered technical hiccups, stuck enemies, audio cuts, and other small scuffs prevent it from feeling immaculate.

The core action and presentation are often described as polished and carefully executed. That finish helps the revival make a strong impression.

Zoe is the standout supporting character, with her radio banter and evolving bond with Dylan giving the journey warmth. Some sources find that relationship rushed or uneven, but the supporting cast is usually viewed positively.

Captured bosses bring distinct personalities and rivalries to Rose’s journey. Some players wish the wider cast contributed more, while others find the constant commentary excessive.

Despite changing protagonist, setting, and combat style, the sequel usually retains Control's strange humor, paranormal logic, lore, and visual identity. A smaller group feels the open-world structure leaves too much of the original's magic behind.

Franchise identity is a central disagreement. Many celebrate a thoughtful modernization, while others miss the RPG detail, atmosphere, and signature oddities of earlier Castlevanias.

Newcomers get helpful recap material and can follow the core story without exhaustive Remedyverse knowledge, though the early combat and build systems are not always explained as clearly as they could be.

Learning the core moves is often handled well, but important systems are not always explained clearly. Mirror travel in particular is easy to discover late.

Weapon forms offer different rhythms and build possibilities, but critics disagree on how meaningfully those choices change combat. Some forms feel expressive, while others seem like variations on the same basic loop.

Distinct weapon styles reward experimentation and situational choices. Strong upgrades and dominant late-game options sometimes make other weapons feel redundant.

The roster has memorable supernatural designs and multiple factions, but ordinary encounters can still feel repetitive. Reused archetypes and endless smaller enemies weaken the sense of variety over time.

Enemy variety is disputed: familiar monsters delight some players, while others tire of recolors and repeated types. Combat combinations sometimes compensate for the smaller roster.

Traversal is one of the game's most consistently celebrated strengths. Double jumps, air dashes, hovering, grappling, and gravity shifting make moving through Manhattan fast, expressive, and frequently exhilarating.

Whip-assisted movement often feels fluid, acrobatic, and exciting, especially as new abilities arrive. Early sluggishness and awkward grapple follow-ups frustrate some players.

The warped Manhattan, Patterning effects, impossible architecture, and surreal set pieces are among the game's clearest triumphs. Its visual identity is repeatedly described as bold, gorgeous, and unlike almost anything else in the genre.

The vivid gothic art, tarot illustrations, and painterly backgrounds are widely admired. Its brighter, more stylized look is less appealing to players who want a darker traditional aesthetic.

Most sources found the game highly enjoyable once its systems open up, especially when traversal, powers, and side quests click together. A few harsher takes found the repetitive combat too intrusive to sustain that fun.

The strongest reactions describe a highly enjoyable, absorbing adventure. Combat and discovery keep those players eager to return even after setbacks.

The camera and targeting can struggle when arenas get crowded or fights move vertically. Mis-targeted attacks and awkward framing around large or airborne enemies are recurring frustrations.

The camera can drop ahead of Rose during falls, making incoming hazards difficult to react to in time.

The story is broadly praised for Dylan's redemption arc, surreal set pieces, and powerful character moments, but the central plot is less consistently loved. Some critics find the overarching tale, finale, or emotional transitions weaker than its best individual scenes.

Rose’s curse and her captured companions give the adventure more story presence than many expected. Reactions split over predictability, excessive explanation, and a tone that can feel more anime than gothic.

Movement and combat animation generally look polished and energetic, with finishers and traversal selling Dylan's speed and force. A few rough character-animation moments keep it from being uniformly pristine.

Fluid movement and expressive combat animations are consistent highlights. The transitions between running, jumping, and grappling help sell the acrobatic action.

Exploration is a major draw thanks to vertical movement, hidden routes, bespoke side stories, and dense environmental storytelling. Confusing entrances and map limitations occasionally turn discovery into circling the same blocks.

Hidden rooms, meaningful upgrades, and optional areas make exploration rewarding. Cryptic progression, repeated routes, and distant travel points can turn discovery into a chore.

Assist Mode is a major strength, with granular sliders and presets that can soften damage, dodge timing, resource pressure, and other difficulty spikes. It gives story-focused players unusually fine control over the experience.

Adjustable damage, healing, and boss respawns make the game easier to tailor to different skill levels. Most welcome that flexibility, though a few dislike the toggles or find they do not solve platforming frustrations.

Dialogue is uneven: the best exchanges give Dylan and Zoe warmth and personality, while snarky banter and some overt thematic writing can feel forced.

Companion banter can make the journey lively, funny, and less lonely. Frequent interruptions and overexplaining wear on players who prefer a quieter atmosphere.

Side stories, altered objects, puzzles, bosses, and strange one-off scenarios keep the world varied, though a layer of repeated activities and combat encounters can feel like busywork.

Distinct weapon families, spells, and encounter combinations give the action welcome variety. The available toolkit feels more expansive to some players than to others.

Performance is generally smooth on stronger hardware and PS5 Pro, while base-console stress scenes and Steam Deck play can show dips or compromises. The overall picture is solid rather than flawless.

Some versions maintain smooth action, while others show noticeable drops or limiting frame caps. Switch 2 reports are generally more favorable than original Switch and Steam Deck accounts.

Progress and power-level information can be buried too deeply in menus, making it harder than necessary to understand whether upgrades are meaningfully changing Dylan's strength.

Tarot-themed menus are attractive and generally easy to understand. Cropped item information on Steam Deck undermines their usability.

Bosses are visually memorable but mechanically divisive. Some fights are inventive spectacles, while many others are criticized for huge health pools, limited move sets, and late-game battles that turn into endurance tests.

Boss battles frequently stand out for inventive patterns, striking designs, and demanding use of movement. A smaller group finds them uneven, forgettable, or frustratingly spongy.

Hits, metal transformations, spatial ambience, and supernatural effects are repeatedly praised for giving combat and exploration weight. The audio mix helps sell both spectacle and unease.

Snappy whip cracks and impactful combat sounds help the action feel satisfying. One review criticizes the overall audio quality.

Navigation is one of the most consistent pain points. The flat map, unclear entrances, multi-level spaces, and gravity-bent geometry can leave players lost even when the world itself is visually compelling.

Map markers, completion tracking, and tarot clues help organize exploration. Even so, unclear objectives and awkward connections leave some players wandering for long stretches.

The FBC's bureaucracy, Manhattan's altered neighborhoods, scattered documents, and small survivor stories deepen the setting at nearly every turn. World-building remains one of the sequel's most dependable strengths.

The ruined Paris setting and its history make the world engaging. A few reactions miss the ordinary people and encounters that would make its spaces feel more inhabited.

The zoned Manhattan is admired for feeling hand-crafted, vertical, and distinctly Remedy rather than like a generic checklist map. Still, some critics see bloat, repeated activities, or a loss of the first game's tighter spatial focus.

The open-ended world leaves room for branching discoveries while keeping the main route manageable. Its initial linear stretch gives way to a more inviting search for secrets.

Puzzles can be clever and visually inventive, especially when gravity and perspective are involved, but they also produce some of the game's most confusing or progress-stalling moments.

Environmental clues, portraits, and room-specific mechanics produce satisfying discoveries. Some puzzles cross into obscurity or become frustrating when progress depends on finding a particular trigger.

Level design is a standout, from folding streets and gravity-shifted city blocks to stranger interior spaces that turn perspective itself into a traversal and puzzle mechanic.

The castle’s distinct rooms, secrets, and shortcuts earn broad praise. Opinions are less enthusiastic about the early areas and how well the larger regions connect.

Side quests are a major strength, often delivering the funniest, strangest, and most memorable stories in the game. A smaller layer of repeated tasks and weaker rewards keeps the optional content from being uniformly excellent.

Tarot investigations give boss hunts a clear purpose, with late-game searches attracting the strongest praise. Familiar tricks make those quests less surprising for some genre veterans.

PS5 Pro receives especially strong praise for ray-traced reflections, shadows, reconstruction quality, and a cleaner presentation, while Steam Deck support is notably less convincing.

The absence of a native Switch 2 version disappoints players who want the newer hardware used more fully. Resolution and control concerns strengthen that criticism.

Build experimentation, postgame exploration, missed side content, Resonant cycles, and New Game Plus-style interest give enthusiastic players clear reasons to return after the credits.

Multiple endings and unfinished discoveries give reasons to keep playing. The lack of New Game+ and concerns about shallow upgrades limit the appeal for some repeat players.

Positive value comments point to the substantial campaign, side content, replay potential, and localized pricing, making the package feel generous to players already invested in its style.

The lower price earns strong approval, especially given the amount of exploration and optional content. Players repeatedly describe it as good value.

Technical performance is usually strong, particularly on high-end PC hardware and PS5 Pro, with ambitious effects running smoothly in many accounts. Some platforms and heavy scenes still show frame pacing, image-quality, or optimization compromises.

Performance varies by platform and build, with solid experiences alongside frame drops, menu hitches, and disappointing handheld results. A stable presentation is not consistent across all reports.

Music and licensed tracks remain strong and often memorable, but some critics miss a single transcendent set piece on the level of Remedy's most iconic musical moments.

The soundtrack sharply divides opinion: some love its orchestral and electronic blend, while others miss the memorable melodies of older entries. Reworked classics are a particular point of disagreement.

Inputs are consistently praised for immediacy: attacks, dodges, air movement, and cancels respond quickly enough to support the game's fast, aggressive action.

Many find the controls responsive, but others report input delay, long animations, or unreliable grappling. Platform and build differences matter when judging how crisp the action feels.

One source specifically criticizes loadout management for making important changes more cumbersome than they need to be during an action-heavy game.

Menu reactions split between quick, clear operation and interruptions to combat flow. Frequent equipment swapping, cropped text, and occasional hitches are the main complaints.

The cast is usually praised for grounding the strange material, especially the supporting performances, but Dylan's delivery is unusually divisive and receives a few pointed complaints.

Voice performances are mostly well received and help bring the cast to life. Some find the English delivery uneven, while the Japanese dub receives a particularly favorable comparison.

Dylan is deliberately awkward and damaged, and most sources warm to his vulnerability, guilt, and dry personality. A vocal minority strongly dislike his writing, voice, or demeanor and would rather have stayed with Jesse.

Rose is often praised as a confident, vulnerable, and engaging new Belmont. Her headstrong personality is less convincing to those who want more agency or complexity.

Precise whip aiming can be finicky, with missed anchors or unintended targets disrupting traversal and combat.

A familiar returning voice is especially rewarding for a longtime fan. The casting continuity adds an appreciated connection to earlier games.

The wider cast earns praise for interesting, distinct personalities. Creative companions help the journey feel lively beyond Rose’s own story.

Checkpoint spacing is one of the most disputed design choices. Distant save rooms can mean tiring runbacks, while optional boss-door respawns considerably reduce frustration.

Some players can read attacks clearly even in hectic fights, while others lose track amid projectiles and effects. That split matters in a game built around precise defensive timing.

Crashes and freezes affect a handful of playthroughs. Reports include repeated Switch crashes and two freezes on PS5 Pro.

Keeping progress and experience after death can make retries feel productive. Poor respawn positions and lengthy returns to danger still create frustration.

The postgame gives completion-minded players room to keep exploring, finish side stories, refine builds, and chase remaining discoveries after the main campaign.

Facial work is one of the visual weak spots, with some expressions looking stiff or strange compared with the quality of the environments and effects.

PC graphics options are criticized as sparse or absent, leaving little room to recover performance beyond changing resolution.

Handheld play can be enjoyable, particularly on Switch 2’s smaller screen. Steam Deck performance and cropped menus require more compromise.

DualSense feedback is used effectively to reinforce powers and supernatural moments, adding tactile texture without being treated as a defining feature.

Tarot clues can make investigation satisfying without simply placing an objective marker. Their clarity varies, and some players find the hints too cryptic or too limited when stuck.

Bickering companions and eccentric personalities bring welcome humor and levity. These lighter exchanges help make the dark journey feel less lonely.

Streamlined equipment removes the routine of constantly equipping whichever armor has the highest stats. That reduced busywork is appreciated.

Loading is a recurring frustration, especially when mirror travel adds multiple transitions. Waiting repeatedly can make useful shortcuts feel slow.

The overall response is favorable, with many calling it a strong or excellent comeback. More reserved reactions see an enjoyable foundation held back by uneven difficulty, technical issues, or a weaker franchise identity.

The steelbook earns direct praise for its appearance, adding appeal to the physical package.

A full physical release is enthusiastically welcomed, especially by a player planning to keep it in a collection.

The leaner RPG systems divide opinion: some appreciate less equipment busywork, while others miss richer statistics, loot drops, and build depth.

There is some freedom to choose routes and approach the ending early. Players hoping for extensive sequence breaking may find the progression rules surprisingly rigid.

The skill tree supports multiple builds and can be satisfying to optimize, yet several critics find its apparent depth overstated or its upgrades less transformative than the sprawling layout suggests.

The opening teaches movement and combat through practical encounters, making the basics approachable without removing the challenge.

The macabre presentation is praised for restraint rather than for sheer intensity. Its intimidating horrors remain stylized instead of excessively grotesque.

Physics, destructible scenery, telekinesis, and gravity manipulation make the environment feel like part of the action rather than a static backdrop.

Weapons, spells, and three relic slots allow enjoyable combinations without excessive complexity. The freedom to adapt builds is a strength, though frequent menu use can interrupt experimentation.

The physical edition appeals to collectors, with enthusiasm for owning the game and praise for the steelbook presentation.

Refreshed classic monsters can look imposing and give combat personality. Criticism centers on generic designs, excessive health, and enemies that feel more annoying than interesting.

Routine world events and chore-like objectives can clash with urgent story beats, making some mission structure feel like open-world padding rather than purposeful adventure.

The Portuguese localization is received positively overall, including the dub, but the reviewed build had enough missing or inconsistent localized lines to keep it from being fully seamless.

The short demo is criticized for underselling the full game. Later movement options and stronger areas make the adventure feel different from its opening slice.