Compare CONTROL Resonant vs Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the economy and resource balance, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

The movement feel draws recurring criticism and is one of the clearer limitations identified by reviewers.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the immersion, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

This is an exceptionally long game, commonly framed as a 100-hour-plus commitment. Many find that scope rewarding, while others describe it as daunting or exhausting.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the upgrade system, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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 difficulty balance is generally well received, with praise outweighing the smaller reservations raised across the reviews.

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

The dialogue quality draws recurring criticism and is one of the clearer limitations identified by reviewers.

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.

Between-battle planning feeds meaningfully into combat and character growth, yet repeated routines sometimes cross into busywork.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the weapon balance, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

Pacing is the most consistent weakness, with repetition, busywork, and slow stretches interrupting otherwise strong story payoffs.

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

The world interactivity is generally well received, with praise outweighing the smaller reservations raised across the reviews.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the environmental detail, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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: battles are widely described as polished, strategic, tense, and cleverly designed, though a few sources note repetition or uneven difficulty.

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 game layers tactical battles, management, exploration, and progression into a deep package. That richness excites many reviewers but can feel overstuffed.

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.

The many overlapping systems can initially feel complex or confusing, but several reviewers say the game remains approachable and rewarding to learn.

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 art direction is generally well received, with praise outweighing the smaller reservations raised across the reviews.

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

Repetition and busywork are recurring concerns, especially across multiple paths, even among reviewers who ultimately loved the full journey.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the originality, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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 innovation is generally well received, with praise outweighing the smaller reservations raised across the reviews.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the content variety, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the faithfulness to franchise, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

Quality-of-life features and refined systems make the enormous campaign more manageable, though some friction and repetition remain.

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.

Character arcs and interpersonal stories are a major draw, with the long structure giving key heroes room to develop.

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.

The setting's history and returning Three Houses connections give the game unusually rich lore for players who enjoy digging into its world.

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.

The exploration quality is generally well received, with praise outweighing the smaller reservations raised across the reviews.

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.

Writing is frequently praised for thoughtful themes, strong character work, and satisfying convergence across the campaigns.

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.

The intersecting campaigns and long-form plot earn strong praise for ambition and payoff. A few reviewers find the narrative dense or slow to reveal its full shape.

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.

The onboarding experience is generally well received, with praise outweighing the smaller reservations raised across the reviews.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the animation quality, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

Reviewers generally admire the sharper Switch 2 presentation and expressive visuals, even where individual assets or scenes remain uneven.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the atmosphere, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

The progression system is generally well received, with praise outweighing the smaller reservations raised across the reviews.

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.

Across the source set, reviewers repeatedly call the experience engaging, rewarding, and difficult to put down despite its intimidating scale.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the accessibility options, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

Branching paths, carry-over benefits, and extensive character building create strong replay appeal, provided players have the time for it.

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 huge amount of substantial content supports the asking price for committed players, though the higher price and physical-release choices draw criticism.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the platform-specific feature support, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the mission design, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the boss design, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

Opinions on the user interface design are mixed, balancing worthwhile ideas against noticeable friction or limitations.

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.

Opinions on the map and navigation design are mixed, balancing worthwhile ideas against noticeable friction or limitations.

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.

The quest design is generally well received, with praise outweighing the smaller reservations raised across the reviews.

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.

Dagda's cultures, histories, and intersecting conflicts are consistently praised for making the sprawling campaign feel coherent and lived-in.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the sound design, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the level design, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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 work is generally viewed as a strong complement to the large cast and cinematic story scenes.

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

Opinions on the menu usability are mixed, balancing worthwhile ideas against noticeable friction or limitations.

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

Reviewers respond very positively to the controls responsiveness, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the protagonist appeal, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

Music is regularly highlighted as an effective part of the presentation, strengthening both battles and dramatic scenes.

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.

Technical performance is broadly seen as polished and smooth, marking a meaningful improvement over earlier entries.

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

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.

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 enormous cast gives the campaign breadth and many memorable personalities, but its scale can make individual relationships harder to explore fully.

Switching among four heroes and following branching paths gives player choices meaningful structural weight, even when the consequences are initially unclear.

The class balance is generally well received, with praise outweighing the smaller reservations raised across the reviews.

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

Reviewers respond very positively to the content completeness, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

The recruitment system is generally well received, with praise outweighing the smaller reservations raised across the reviews.

The romance quality draws recurring criticism and is one of the clearer limitations identified by reviewers.

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.

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.

Reviewers respond very positively to the tutorial quality, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

Reviewers respond very positively to the violence level, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

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.

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 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.

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.