Remedy Reveals More About Control Resonant Combat System and Why The Game Doesn’t Have Parry

Remedy Entertainment keeps revealing details about Control Resonant, the studio's biggest project to date, launching next month on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. As is well known, the game has officially shifted genres into an action RPG, resulting in a combat system now built entirely around melee encounters. In a new interview, one of the developers discussed what makes it unique.

Speaking with IGN, Sergey Mohov, lead gameplay designer on Control Resonant, talked about how the studio approached the revamped combat system and what it will offer players. He claimed the team initially considered letting players switch between forms of the Aberrant, protagonist Dylan's weapon, but the idea was scrapped to keep combat feeling more dynamic. As a result, Control Resonant also won't include a parry system—Mohov's take is that the best defense is a good offense. You can check out more on the combat system below:

“We want everything to feel immediate. You press the button, the thing happens. That's the philosophy of design. You press Square, Dylan does the attack. You press R1, Dylan does the ability. There’s no, ‘I'm switching to the mode of this and then I am pressing another button or holding a modifier key’. We did prototype all of these things and those slowed down the combat quite a lot, and we don't want you thinking about that. We want everything to feel immediate and visceral.

We did prototype parry and deflect mechanics, and decided to remove them. The idea behind the combat system of Control Resonant is that offense is the best defense. When we implemented these kinds of defensive mechanics, we noticed that we're waiting for enemies to do something to press the button in return. And that just didn't seem to fit the philosophy that we had for the combat system.”

Remedy also recently released its Q2 2026 financial results, showing Control Resonant has been wishlisted over 1.5 million times, a strong sign of player interest. The studio's previous release, Alan Wake 2, has meanwhile sold 3 million copies. Speaking about the new title, Remedy CEO Jean-Charles Gaudechon called Control Resonant a must-have day-one purchase and stated the studio hopes to turn it into a lasting franchise, as you can check out his comments below:

“Our first priority is to ship an outstanding game, and that guided how we selected the release date. We position CONTROL Resonant as a must-have day-one purchase while also building CONTROL into a lasting franchise. In a competitive autumn window, we believe the distinctiveness and quality of the game will make it stand out. CONTROL Resonant will be available across all major platforms from day one and is priced attractively for an AAA title. Combined with the release window becoming slightly less crowded since our original reveal, we remain confident in our positioning.”

Remedy has also previously discussed the possibility of a third Control game, although it’s fully dependent on the performance of Control Resonant. The studio is also working on Max Payne 1 & 2 remakes, which are currently in full production, along with a new IP still in the concept phase.

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