Every past hands-on report says the same thing: nobody in Control Resonant fires a gun. Remedy’s sequel hands protagonist Dylan Faden a shapeshifting melee weapon called the Aberrant and nothing else — the Service Weapon that defined Jesse Faden’s entire arsenal in 2019’s Control is gone. That’s the headline mechanical shift, but it’s not the only one. Between February’s reveal trailer, March’s PlayStation Blog deep dive, and June hands-on previews from Xbox Wire and GameInformer, Remedy has confirmed a specific roster of weapon forms, supernatural powers, and a combat loop that works nothing like the original game’s. Here’s everything locked in so far, and exactly how it maps against what Control did in 2019.
The Fast Version
- Releases worldwide September 24, 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam/Epic); Mac follows later in 2026 [2]
- Protagonist is Dylan Faden, not Jesse — combat is entirely melee via the shapeshifting Aberrant weapon, no ranged option confirmed anywhere [8][10]
- 6 confirmed Aberrant loadout forms (3 primary, 3 secondary) plus at least 2 Combo Ender forms, unlocked progressively [5][6]
- 2 traversal powers confirmed — Reach and Shift — plus at least 4 named combat powers dropped by defeated Resonant enemies [3][5][7]
- Melee hits fuel a Combat Ability resource; abilities stun; stunned enemies can be executed for a temporary damage buff [4]
- Progression runs through a hub called The Gap: skill trees, craftable Artifacts, and a respec option [6]
New to the series? Read the sections below in order. Played 2019’s Control already? Skip to “The Combat Loop” for the direct comparison. Need the story context first? Read our seven-year Control lore recap covering Jesse, the Hiss, and the Alan Wake connection before Resonant picks up.
Why Control Resonant Cut the Guns Entirely
Jesse Faden’s Service Weapon was the backbone of the first game — a shapeshifting sidearm with six firing modes, two of which you could carry at once. Dylan gets no equivalent. Every hands-on preview from June 2026 confirms combat runs exclusively through the Aberrant, a melee weapon, backed by supernatural abilities [8][10]. Senior game designer Sergey Mohov has framed this as a deliberate identity shift rather than a difficulty pivot: Control Resonant is “action-driven” and leans on “melee and supernatural abilities,” with the player “very much in charge and not simply reacting” — explicitly not a soulslike [12].
That distinction matters mechanically. A soulslike punishes aggression by design; Mohov’s own framing pushes the opposite, and it lines up with what reviewers actually felt hands-on. GameInformer’s preview described the flow as popping enemies into air-juggles and dodging mid-offense rather than turtling behind a shield, while still needing “real skill to master” once enemy patterns escalate [6]. Removing the gun isn’t just a weapon swap, in other words — it forces every encounter into melee range, which is the design lever behind the entire combat loop covered below.
Every Confirmed Aberrant Weapon Form
Combat runs on a three-slot loadout: a Primary form, a Secondary form, and a Combo Ender that only appears at the end of a combo chain [4][6]. Xbox Wire’s June hands-on is the only preview to publish Remedy’s actual in-game names for each form; GameInformer’s preview from the same week describes the identical set without using those labels, which is a useful cross-check but also the source of a naming wrinkle explained below the table.
| Slot | Form | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Flurry | Twin daggers, fast attacks, boosted critical chance [5] |
| Primary | Slash | Scythe, wide sweeps built for groups [5] |
| Primary | Slice | Axe, high single-target damage, bonus damage from behind [5] |
| Secondary | Crush | Heavy mallet, slow but hits hard [5] |
| Secondary | Drill | Directed, sustained damage over time [5] |
| Secondary | Extend | Whip-like chain staff, extends your effective range [5] |
| Combo Ender | Unnamed | Gauntlets that trigger rapid-fire punches [6] |
| Combo Ender | Unnamed | Glaive-like ranged projectile [6] |
The naming wrinkle: GameInformer’s independent hands-on, running the same build the same week, calls these forms “a one-handed axe,” “dual sword-like weapons,” and “a long-reaching scythe” instead of Slice, Flurry, and Slash [6]. Nobody’s guide has flagged this, and it’s worth knowing before launch — either one outlet paraphrased instead of quoting Remedy’s UI text, or the branded names were still being finalized in June. Either way, treat the Flurry/Slash/Slice/Crush/Drill/Extend labels as accurate to the preview build, not guaranteed to survive unchanged to September 24.
One thing every source agrees on: more forms exist beyond the initial six, unlocked by progressing The Gap’s skill trees, and the full list hasn’t been shown [4][11].
Every Confirmed Supernatural Ability
Dylan’s powers split cleanly into two buckets that no other roundup separates: traversal abilities you start with, and combat abilities you earn by killing named Resonant enemies.
Traversal (confirmed from the February reveal): Reach lets Dylan teleport short distances onto new structures. Shift redirects his personal gravity so he can walk along tilted or upside-down surfaces inside the game’s Gravity Anomaly zones [3][10].
Combat abilities (confirmed via defeating Resonants): Shield pulls loose rubble into a floating barrier you can also dash into offensively. Barrage rips debris from the ground and launches it at range. Seekers summons a volatile telekinetic entity that attacks on its own and can be thrown as a detonator. Mold Turrets deploys a separate summon that attacks independently and applies status effects [5][6][7].
That’s at least four distinct combat abilities across two independent previews (Xbox Wire and GamingBolt), not one ability described two different ways — GamingBolt specifically lists Seekers and Mold Turrets as separate confirmed powers in the same article [7]. Every source agrees Resonants themselves are “remnants of people who once held great power,” now corrupted, and each one you beat hands over a new ability rather than gear or currency [3][5][10]. That’s a real progression hook: your kit literally grows from the enemies you kill, not a shop or a skill point spend alone.
The Combat Loop — And How It Compares to 2019’s Control
The confirmed loop is: land melee hits to charge your Combat Ability resource, spend that resource on a power to stun an enemy, then execute the stunned target for a temporary melee damage boost [4]. It’s a closed circuit that rewards staying aggressive instead of kiting, which is the opposite of how the 2019 game played.
| System | Control (2019) | Control Resonant |
|---|---|---|
| Main weapon | Service Weapon — 6 ranged forms (Grip, Spin, Shatter, Pierce, Charge, Surge), 2 equipped at once [13] | Aberrant — 6+ melee forms across Primary/Secondary/Combo Ender slots [4][5][6] |
| Resource loop | Ammo pool shared across all Service Weapon forms [13] | Combat Ability resource, refilled by landing melee hits [4] |
| Signature power | Launch — telekinetically throw environment objects [13] | Barrage / Seekers / Shield / Mold Turrets, earned per Resonant kill [5][6][7] |
| Mobility | Levitate — full flight after unlocking an Object of Power [13] | Reach (teleport) + Shift (gravity redirection) [3][10] |
| Crowd control | Seize — briefly turns an enemy into an ally [13] | No direct equivalent confirmed as of this preview cycle |
The gap in that last row is a real gap, not an oversight on our end — no preview, official or press, has shown a mind-control-style ability in Resonant. If it exists, Remedy hasn’t revealed it yet.
Progression: The Gap, Skill Trees, and Artifacts
Outside combat, progression routes through a hub space called The Gap, accessible by holding down on the d-pad at any time [6]. Inside, you spend skill points across multiple trees to upgrade Aberrant forms, unlock new supernatural abilities, and craft perk-granting accessories called Artifacts [4][6]. GameInformer’s preview confirms you can respec those points for a resource cost if a build isn’t working, which removes the usual risk of committing early to a form you end up disliking [6].
One concrete perk example has leaked out already: a “Dodge Attack” talent that lets you press a follow-up input after a dodge to launch enemies airborne and deal bonus damage [4] — the kind of combo-extender that rewards the exact aggressive, execution-chaining loop described above rather than sitting back.
Who Should Care About Each Change
| Player type | What matters most |
|---|---|
| New to the series | You’re not missing out on the Service Weapon — it’s gone for everyone. Start with Slice (axe) or Slash (scythe) — both are single-target or group-clear basics with no timing gimmick, unlike the range-dependent Extend (whip) [5]. |
| Returning Control veteran | Drop any muscle memory built around ranged kiting. The Combat Ability resource only refills on melee hits [4], so playing cautiously at range actively starves your power bar. |
| Build optimizer | Track the Combo Ender unlocks closely — they’re confirmed to add entirely new finishers (gauntlets, glaive throw) on top of the six base forms, and The Gap’s respec option means testing combinations costs less than in most action RPGs [6]. |
| Completionist | At least two ability names (Seekers, Mold Turrets) and six form names are locked as of this preview cycle, but every source agrees more forms and abilities exist beyond what’s been shown publicly [4][11]. |
FAQ
Does Dylan get any ranged weapon at all?
Not according to any preview to date. Every hands-on session — Xbox Wire, GameInformer, plus reveal coverage from GameRant and Dexerto — describes combat as melee-only through the Aberrant [5][6][8][10]. If Remedy adds a ranged option before launch, it hasn’t shown up in a single one of the six previews checked for this piece, which makes it unlikely at this stage rather than just undocumented.
Is Control Resonant a soulslike?
No, and Remedy is actively pushing back on that comparison. Designer Sergey Mohov specifically called it an action-driven sequel where “the player is very much in charge,” not a game built around punishing, reactive dodge windows [12]. The melee-only combat invites the comparison on looks alone, but the confirmed resource loop (melee charges your abilities, abilities enable executions) rewards constant aggression instead of patience — the opposite of what most soulslikes ask of you.
Why does the weapon-form naming look inconsistent between articles?
Because it genuinely is, at least across the two June preview builds checked here. Xbox Wire’s hands-on uses Remedy’s branded names (Flurry, Slash, Slice, Crush, Drill, Extend); GameInformer’s hands-on, covering the same build the same week, describes the same forms by their weapon type only. That’s either a reporting choice or a sign the branding wasn’t final in the June build — either way, don’t be surprised if a name or two shifts by September 24.
For the full release rundown — platforms, editions, and everything else confirmed — see our Control Resonant hub.
Key Takeaways
- The Service Weapon is confirmed gone. Combat runs entirely through the Aberrant’s melee forms — no ranged option has appeared in any preview.
- Six loadout forms and two Combo Enders are named so far, but every source agrees more exist behind The Gap’s skill trees.
- Reach and Shift are your starting traversal kit; Shield, Barrage, Seekers, and Mold Turrets are combat powers you earn by killing Resonants, not abilities you start with.
- The core loop — melee charges your resource, abilities stun, executions boost damage — is built to punish the cautious, ranged playstyle 2019’s Control trained you into.
- Verified against previews as of June-August 2026, ahead of the September 24, 2026 launch. Names and numbers above are pre-launch and can still change.
Sources
- Remedy Entertainment, “Remedy Entertainment Unveils New Gameplay Details for CONTROL Resonant”
- Remedy Entertainment, “CONTROL Resonant Launches Worldwide on September 24”
- PlayStation Blog, “New gameplay details on Control Resonant’s supernatural action”
- PlayStation Blog, “Control Resonant: a deep dive into combat, buildcrafting, and player choice”
- Xbox Wire, “CONTROL Resonant: Hands-On With This Ambitious Sequel’s Shapeshifting Combat”
- GameInformer, “Control Resonant Preview: Hands-On With Remedy’s Surreal Take On Stylish Action”
- GamingBolt, “Control Resonant’s Combat is All About Aggression, Remedy Details Forms and Abilities”
- Dexerto, “Everything we know about Control Resonant”
- ComicBook.com, “Control 2 Fully Revealed by Remedy, And It’s Making Huge Changes”
- Game Rant, “Control Resonant Gameplay Shows Off Enemies and Unique Abilities”
- Gematsu, “CONTROL Resonant ‘Gameplay Reveal’ trailer”
- TechRadar, “Control Resonant gameplay designer says this isn’t a soulslike”
- Wikipedia, “Control (video game)”
- Wikipedia, “Control Resonant”
I have 30 years of gaming experience, beginning with such awesome titles as Diablo, Command & Conquer, and Settlers. Over the years, I've gained a thorough understanding of strategic and action games, including gaming mechanics, competitive techniques, and market trends.Gaming is more than simply a hobby for me. It is a lifelong pursuit of discovery, learning, and mastery. Strategy games helped me evolve and become who I am right now. Whether I'm optimizing tactics, evaluating game mechanics, or deconstructing meta plans, I attack each issue with the accuracy of a seasoned player.With a diverse background in classic and modern gaming, I surely am a reliable source for information on game mechanics, optimization tactics, and player progression. My passion for high-level play and in-depth game analysis ensures that my knowledge is going to help you win!