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CONTROL Resonant removed parrying because Remedy wants Dylan moving forward
Dylan Faden has a supernatural weapon large enough to become a hammer, blades, a scythe or fists. Remedy still will not let him block with it. CONTROL Resonant's first public Gamescom demo is built around a simple rule: survival comes from maintaining momentum rather than waiting for enemies to provide a counter window.
By Hugat CONTROL Resonant 
CONTROL Resonant made its public playable debut at Gamescom ahead of its September 24 digital release for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
The new demonstration follows Dylan through a Manhattan park overtaken by blue Mold while he tracks one of the game's Resonants.
Defense has been reduced to movement
There is no traditional block and no parry. Remedy experimented with parrying during development, then removed it because the mechanic pulled combat toward a rhythm the team did not want.
Dylan instead has a dodge. Timing it perfectly slows time and creates an opportunity to counterattack, without forcing him to stand still and wait for a specific incoming strike.
Healing follows the same aggressive logic. Defeated enemies release blue health pickups, making kills part of recovery rather than merely the objective of an encounter.
Falter can matter more than raw damage
Enemies carry a yellow Falter meter underneath their health. Filling it opens them to an execution.
The Gamescom build showed several ways to push that meter. The Aberrant's Drill transformation deals heavy Falter damage, while Barrage hammers targets with rock projectiles and builds Falter quickly.
Ignite adds fire damage. Push provides the familiar telekinetic shove. Dual Blades in the demonstrated loadout carried a critical-hit bonus.
Dominance adds another layer by increasing Dylan's damage after a kill, making weaker enemies useful fuel during a larger encounter.
The bosses are also part of the build system
Resonants are not simply progression gates. Defeating them grants new supernatural abilities, and some of those rewards contain branching choices.
Remedy says the game's opening and final major boss are fixed, while several Resonants between them can be tackled in different orders.
That order can change which tools Dylan has available when he reaches another encounter.
Gamescom's Mold boss turns gravity into a combat mechanic
The demo eventually leads Dylan to the Collective, a giant cluster of Mold formed into multiple distorted faces.
Direct attacks initially do nothing. Its tentacles are attached around the arena, forcing Dylan to shift gravity, walk along walls and destroy those connections before vulnerable points appear.
Enemies and projectiles continue to pressure him while the arena's orientation changes.
Remedy wants exploration without map-clearing chores
Resonant expands beyond the Oldest House into large Manhattan zones containing story quests, side encounters, hidden discoveries and world events.
The city is not a literal recreation of named Manhattan landmarks. Remedy told Game Informer that its locations are designed to feel like Manhattan before being twisted into the studio's version of it.
The Gamescom route even passes a glitching traffic barrier that marks a nearby world event. The demonstration ignores it and keeps moving.
Choices can alter side stories, not the main ending
Dialogue choices influence how characters perceive Dylan, and some side quests can resolve differently depending on decisions.
The main narrative has one ending. Remedy is not presenting Resonant as a Mass Effect-style branching campaign.
The public now has less than a month to wait. Digital launch is September 24, a physical release follows in October, and the Mac version is scheduled for later.