There are far too many games coming out and nowhere near enough time to play them all in September.

You could fuel a backlog for the next six months off its releases alone, so to cut through all the noise, I'm here to tell you Control Resonant is the one to pay attention to most.

Off the back of its other series, Alan Wake, developer Remedy has returned to the stories of Altered World Events with a confident yet unexpected sequel. It takes place after the events of the first title, but Jesse Faden has been swapped for her brother Dylan as the lead character, and the multifunctional Service Weapon has been replaced with melee combat.

Control Resonant is different in the way follow-ups usually aren't; they'll generally take the gameplay and narrative of the source material and expand on it. Control Resonant is not that.

It is, in a sense, a risk.

It's also one Remedy has comfortably pulled off.

The next game feels like the best of the storytelling prowess and cinematic direction of Alan Wake 2 combined with the more experimental and agile combat and movement of Control. The two styles of game meet in Control Resonant, as intense melee battles break up FMV overlays and unorthodox settings — it's the greatest hits of what a Remedy game is in 2026.

A train journey down to PlayStation's headquarters in London allowed me access to three hours of the sequel. I sampled the opening act, one of the new open areas called Extraction Zones, and then a second mission roughly halfway through the story.

What immediately struck me was the improvements made to how the plot is told and delivered. The first Control had an interesting tale to tell, but with Alan Wake 2, the developer took its storytelling chops to another level. That's now carried over to the Control franchise.

What I saw of the main missions painted a gripping, engrossing, and unpredictable picture for the campaign. FMV and real-life video effects play over the gameplay while the narrative itself documents how Dylan escapes the Oldest House to a world from the pages of Inception. It's unusual, and Remedy has proven it does unusual exceptionally well.

Actually playing the game will feel a lot more familiar, as a robust melee combat system lets you take down the Hiss. At the start of the game, you get to choose from three different weapon types, each of which is designed to suit a different style of engagement, from slow but powerful attacks to speedy swipes and flicks.

You do eventually expand your arsenal to a second melee weapon, a finishing armament, and an assortment of abilities that deliver satisfying blows to the army of supernatural enemies terrorising Manhattan. I went for a combination of a whip-like weapon that dealt damage all around me and a huge, rocky hammer that could be charged to destroy health bars. Alongside them, I had abilities that threw rocks at enemies, summoned fireballs, and a ground pound.

Control Resonant looks and feels cool to play; enemy deaths come with a great deal of satisfaction, and better yet when you've cleared the entire room. There doesn't seem to be anything as iconic as the Service Weapon, but there is far more variety to trial and experiment with as you search for your perfect build.

While the main missions of the story will deliver plenty of combat encounters, it's out in the Extraction Zones where you test your fighting skills across the typical activities of an open world effort.

What I played was a stripped-back version of the districts set to ship in the final game; Remedy explained the Extraction Zones will feature side quests and NPCs to find, which weren't present in the PS5 Pro build I played. However, I still got a decent understanding of what the developer is going for.

These areas can be explored in between the main quests: you return to them after finishing a level and are provided the option to look around or immediately run to the next mission.

The preview only came with access to one, and it did not seem particularly large, encompassing a handful of New York blocks. As I toured its streets, a few different side activities appeared, like protecting soldiers and clearing the streets of enemies. Given the nature of the build I played, which wasn't a content-complete example of Extraction Zones, it's tough to tell how much of a boon they'll be to the overall Control experience.

It was a good opportunity to test the complexities of the combat system, though, and I am convinced this is a different yet just as excellent direction for Control Resonant to take in the battling space.

Every area has a Zone Level, which is increased by completing the tasks within it. Reaching a new Zone Level unlocks advantages like better vendors, more bounties, and increased currency gain. I'm interested to see how full versions of the Extraction Zones play out.

Therefore, I'm already in a place of extreme confidence when it comes to Control Resonant. If the PS5 follow-up was purely more of the story missions I played, with their blend of FMV oddity, fascinating storytelling, and fulfilling combat, then the hands on session would have already done enough to win me over.

With the open-ended Extraction Zones on top, I'm interested to see how they break up the intensity of the core missions and quests. The version I played was unfinished, so with more content and handcrafted design to complement the open world activities, they should offer more of a tantalising reason to stray from the main path.

I'm there day one for the final version of Remedy's latest masterclass.

Control Resonant launches for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on 24th September 2026. Are you at all excited to play the Remedy sequel? Let us know in the comments below.