Over many years, I've written tens of thousands of words covering the Remedy Connected Universe, the Finnish studio's world tying the Alan Wake and Control series together. This is a team that loves rewarding players who notice the smaller details and go off the golden path in search of morsels of understanding. Connecting dots is often much of the fun in a Remedy game.
To my surprise, that side of the developer wasn't on display much in Control Resonant. There are definitely a few nods, and one chain of side quests in particular seems to have greater implications for the studio's future connected-universe games, but overall, I was taken aback by how disinterested Resonant was in tying itself to Remedy's bigger picture. However, it was by looking for those hidden details that I discovered something else I ended up loving about the sequel in a different way.
Even before I played Control Resonant, I was up to my old habits of streaming its trailers in 4K, freeze-framing, rewinding, and dissecting every scrap of detail I could pull out. What's its significance? Where have I seen this name before? What might this logo reference? Time after time, I couldn't find anything relevant to the lingering plot threads we were left with from 2024's Alan Wake 2 and 2019's Control.
In retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Control takes place in the Oldest House, a bureaucratic yet mystical space that is one part House of Representatives, and one part House of Leaves. The place was understandably littered with clues about the grander story being told in Remedyland.
But Control Resonant breaks down those walls and sets protagonist Dylan Faden out into the borough of Manhattan. Sure, like the Oldest House, the city is under siege from its own paranatural threats, but prior to that, it was just a city. So why should every inch of it be hiding more details about what Alan Wake or Saga Anderson are up to?
"It was important for us that our version of Manhattan has a character of its own," Remedy concept artist Mikko Kinnunen told me. "We were aiming for a timeless feel that plays with archetypal New York elements from movies such as Taxi Driver, avoiding direct comparisons to modern-day reality. [...] It was important for the city to feel like a character that has a life and history of its own, and we did not lean heavily into fourth-wall-breaking elements for this reason."
It was only when I stopped searching for things like hints of what Wake's agent, Barry Wheeler, is up to--like Alan Wake 2 provided--that I could appreciate what Resonant's finer details did offer. In place of puzzle pieces, I found a wide-ranging voice in the city's billboards, posters, flyers, and more.
Even better, none of it seemed to be done with generative AI, which Kinnunen confirmed, adding that there's "a feeling of cohesion you get when everything is authored by artists with a shared creative intent. It’s not just what the artwork looks like, but why is it there in the first place?"
Of the 60+ hours I've seen put into Resonant, I've several hours closely examining the city's signage. I've come to appreciate how many of them use photos of the developers, which Kinnunen said were the result of an "internal lighthearted casting round" in which Remedy developers had their likenesses photographed, then used in scenarios that fit their vibe, such as gym staff and restaurant employees.
In another game, signs and billboards using real-life photos of people might be jarring, but Remedy has been mixing media forms as long as it's been around, so I didn't think anything of it other than, "who are these people?" and "it's so cool that they did all this instead of taking an AI shortcut." Similarly, he told me the animals featured on the game's signs are the companion animals of Remedy's staff, as you might have guessed.
I noted the wide-ranging styles of the various billboards. Resonant's version of Manhattan wisely does not maintain one consistent voice. Instead, some posters are funny-looking, like an enraged man who was "fired over nothing" advertising a law firm, or a plethora of signs that cleverly use the word "control" as a minor wink at the player.
It reminded me of when the studio disguised the @ControlRemedy Twitter account as a brand of medicine until it was ready to flip the switch and announce the game at E3 2018. Remedy has always loved using names for irony, juxtaposition, or signs of nominative determinism. Just ask Max Payne.
Speaking of juxtaposition, I also love how the Federal Bureau of Control's messaging changes slightly when the shadowy organization finds itself public-facing. Kinnunen explained the intention behind that.
"If you look closely, the FBC has a different tone of voice towards the public than what they do internally. The internal, retro-style posters from the first game have made a return, yet we also have expanded upon them. Some PSAs aimed towards the civilians try to play it straight, yet the FBC still manages to make them creepy and funny by being slightly out of touch with modernity."
In every corner of the virtual city, I found intentionality, even as the point was sometimes merely to be plain, as was the case with the names of some businesses, the artist revealed. I could've saved a lot of time early on had I stopped trying to connect non-existent dots between Armistone building company and the Blessed Organization, a mysterious group in Control lore that I was sure would turn up more in Resonant--until it didn't.
"We wanted to mix a grounded feel of authentic-sounding names with more bespoke, authored ones. For example, [the in-game art studio] 'Könstig' has a few meanings in the Swedish language. Konst means art, and Konstig means strange (among other translations). 'Taikoo House' [sushi bar] is a favorite of mine," he teased, noting that he didn't want to spoil why.
Mirroring my colleague Tauriq Moosa's recent feature on the theme of contrast in Control Resonant, Kinnunen told me how many of the signs players see around the city have a purposeful counterpiece somewhere else, such as the politics-tinged billboards that, in one case, boast that there's "nothing more American" than oil with one that, in another case, demand climate action.
"There are multiple themes going on in various Zones that feature similar contrasts as these 'satirical jabs' mentioned. The key is to evoke a feeling or atmosphere without pushing any specific agenda. Growth versus sustainability is just one of many topics in the advertisements," he said, adding that "the themes are there to complement the setting of each Zone. The wealthy financial district of the Evacuation Zone feels different from the more blue-collar Central, for example. Everything is there to make the world feel a certain way, rather than trying to tell the audience what to think."
From theater marquees and coffeehouse chalkboards to sales flyers and calls for political action, the game is loaded with easily missed details, clever nods, and thematic relevance. It's all there, inviting players to inspect it, only with far different results than I assumed when I first began studying Resonant's trailers like the Zapruder Film months ago.
Remedy games have trained me to take a closer look for 16 years now, so my methodology didn't change when I first jumped into Control Resonant. But as clues to my favorite puzzlebox all but dried up completely, the purposeful, human-made details that were there instead became symbols of a new appreciation for one of video games' most creative studios.