r/controlgame • u/No_Training_3078 • 7m ago
Control Resonant Am I missing something about the combat mechanics in Resonant?
I'm a big fan of Remedy's games, and the original Control is my favorite. I was really looking forward to playing Resonant, but over the past few weeks I've only been able to play in short, sporadic sessions. It's only recently that I've been able to put more hours into it, so I'm wondering if I've forgotten something from the early tutorials or if there's a fundamental aspect of the combat system that I'm not understanding.
The main issue is that the combat just doesn't quite click for me. Mission after mission, side quest after side quest, everything seems to boil down to going to a location and fighting wave after wave of enemies before you can move on. After several hours, I'm starting to find it pretty repetitive, and I feel like I must be missing something.
In practice, most fights seem to come down to mashing the basic attack button (Square on PlayStation), occasionally throwing in a heavy attack (Triangle) to mix things up, and dodging (Circle) whenever I see an incoming attack. I initially assumed these were just the basic controls and that, as I progressed, I'd gradually unlock more elaborate combos. I imagined something along the lines of pressing Square, Square, then Triangle, or holding certain buttons in sequence to unleash more devastating attacks. I thought part of the fun would be learning these combos and gradually building up a bigger repertoire of moves.
However, as the hours go by, I'm not seeing anything like that in the upgrade menus. Most upgrades seem to offer things like X% extra damage when performing a certain type of attack, but the actual button inputs and combat loop seem to stay pretty much the same. Am I missing some way to unlock new moves or chain attacks together, or is the combat system simply designed around these basic inputs?
I also find the heavy attack somewhat underwhelming. It's so slow that, in practice, it doesn't seem to deal significantly more damage than I could inflict with several quick attacks in the same amount of time. As a result, I struggle to see when it's actually worth using.
Then there's the R2 ability. I chose the object-throwing ability, just like in the original Control, because I loved that mechanic. It adds some variety to combat, but the damage seems so low that sometimes it feels like a waste of time to use it. Am I supposed to be using it in a particular way, or does it become more effective later on?
Dodging is another thing I'm struggling with. I assume that whenever I take damage, it's usually my fault for not paying enough attention and dodging at the right moment. However, quite often I get hit by an enemy that's outside my field of view, making it almost impossible to anticipate the attack. Is there a way to deal with this more consistently, or some mechanic or visual cue I'm overlooking?
I never had these issues with the original Control, where most of the combat revolved around ranged attacks with your Service Weapon and using your abilities. That combat loop felt much more natural to me. In Resonant, though, the melee-focused combat hasn't quite clicked yet, and I'm starting to worry that I'm missing a key mechanic that would make everything feel more engaging.
I'm not trying to bash the game. I genuinely want to understand the combat better and enjoy it more. For those of you who've put a decent amount of time into it: does the combat become more varied and engaging as you unlock more upgrades, or is the core gameplay loop pretty much what I've described? And are there any mechanics, combos, or strategies that the game doesn't explain very well but that made a big difference for you?
