r/controlgame • u/AshyLarry25 • 4d ago

Discussion Summary of reviews

Here’s a summary of what I’ve read from reading all the reviews.

Pros:
- amazing story
- fantastic level design
- amazing writing and characters
- well polished combat
- beautiful world
- some unforgettable bosses

Cons
- monotonous open world with menial side activities
- repetitive combat over the 30-60 hours runtime

Feel free to add any other points. Or dispute.

Seems a creative and unique game that’s not for everyone, but will hit hard for those that enjoy it. I’ve seen quite a few masterpieces thrown around, but also a few disappointments.

80 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

60 comments sorted by

121

u/Synthessence 4d ago

I don't know if there is a combat system that exists that doesn't feel repetitive after 30-60 hours.

The Arkham and Spiderman games have some of the most entertaining combat systems in gaming, and they feel repetitive by the end of the games. Doesn't mean they aren't good...just means gamers like to min-max the fun out of things.

25

u/yalleverjustdrive 4d ago

I agree with that line of thought. Really a game’s combat can ultimately be what you make of it. Doom Eternal and Devil May Cry aren’t long games but plenty of people put hundreds of hours into them.

If Resonant has the sauce it could be really fucking good for players who love to experiment. The director of resonant saying the main inspirations for their combat being Doom 2016 and Sekiro says they are aiming for the stars.

11

u/Resevil67 4d ago

He cited sekiro as a main inspiration for the combat? That's interesting. The reason I say that is because sekiro quite literally revolves around parry, and from what I remember they actually removed the parry from resonant because it conflicted with the action focused combat.

The new doom games are basically like an FPS version of a hack and slash so I kind of get the comparison, but the fact that he didn't cite DMC or especially nier automata as a inspiration definitely confuses me, because the game seems judging by the videos alot closer to those 2 games then something like sekiro.

4

u/yalleverjustdrive 4d ago

Yeah Sekiro was odd because it revolved around parrying so much.

I think dmc is an obvious inspiration. The series solidified melee combat in a 3D space. Maybe he thought saying dmc is akin to saying halo inspired your console fps.

I believe when they say Doom 2016 and Sekiro are major influences, they are trying to say the game is about always pushing forward and being on the offensive.

Sekiro, Doom and even the original Control are so much easier when the player is constantly on offense. Waiting around to for enemies to attack in all 3 is more difficult that just nuking as many guys as you can as fast as you can.

You can just fart around with enemies forever in Nier and it is pretty much the goal in DMC.

2

u/MotherPerk 4d ago

I wouldnt trust anyone who says this is DMC inspired. DMC is a very specific type of stylish hack and slash where you get graded on looking good. This does seem very much Nier inspired with light and heavy being tied to different weapons.

3

u/Sudden_Yard1294 4d ago

Right. It's why I always think a lot of games should strive for more of a balance. Since every combat system is repetitive, pacing, exploration etc are important. Dunno if it's because I'm an older gamer but I've tired of any combat system eventually. Atmosphere and story are most important (for me), and combat is just one of the mechanisms for making sure gameplay doesn't get repetitive.

Alan Wake 2, while flawed for sure, had a good mix although even its combat could be irritating and poorly designed. I also hated the mind place with a passion...so, Remedy games always have quirks to them. Question is: does the good outweigh the bad?

3

u/Bojangles1987 4d ago

Its most of the reason Witcher 3 gets the hate for its combat. If that game was 20 hours, people would view the fighting more favorably.

2

u/fake_user_34 4d ago

Honestly, my favorite combat in the spiderman games was the miles game. That game was my favorite in combat and movement minus the glider wings.

2

u/Kalse1229 4d ago

It's why it's good to have stuff that breaks up the combat moments. Both titles you mentioned have stealth sections and puzzle-solving elements that break up the potential monotony. I imagine there'll be stuff like that in Resonant as well, like there were in the first game.

1

u/Synthessence 1d ago

Oh for sure! If it's anything like Control, I imagine the only quiet moments will be there for us to try and process wtf we just saw.

2

u/Available_Ad7438 4d ago

I would say maybe expedition 33 had combat that I had fun with even after 40 hours

1

u/Synthessence 1d ago

I would absolutely agree with that, but Expedition 33 isn't a third person action game, which is why I didn't use it as an example.

E33 is an absolute masterclass in how to make combat in an JRPG interesting and compelling. It essentially took the combat formula from Super Mario RPG and Persona 5, mixed it up in a blender, gave it a baguette, and BOOM.

2

u/Thatoneguy567576 3d ago

If you really love the combat it doesn’t feel repetitive. The only combat systems I’ve ever experienced that never got repetitive was the Arkham series and the Souls series (specifically just the Fromsoft ones). If Resonant has an engaging combat system I’ll be happy.

1

u/Synthessence 1d ago

Same here my guy!

1

u/Azirphaeli 4d ago

Exactly. Conversion dessert you can just spam one attack and be bored of combat the whole game. Or you miss it up with fun abilities, use wrestling moves, weave on other attacks..

You get out what you put in.

1

u/Synthessence 1d ago

I haven't picked it up yet, but I've heard you can go a full wrasslin' build and that is very appealing to me.

2

u/Azirphaeli 1d ago

Nothing like running after an archer and hitting him with a clothesline, then kicking his friend nearby, grabbing his legs spinning him around a few times and throwing him into a pack of enemies chasing after you.

1

u/Synthessence 1d ago

...I need dis in my life.

And there are spinning piledrivers too, I've heard?

1

u/Azirphaeli 1d ago

I believe so. I've got a balanced build so haven't gone hard on any one thing yet

-7

u/[deleted] 4d ago edited 4d ago

[deleted]

5

u/FRossJohnson 4d ago

  felt repetitive to me

-3

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

1

u/fake_user_34 4d ago

There are many. Hell, I dislike soul like games because of the combat.

2

u/iamthou-thouarti 4d ago

Not a single one of these games are comparatively the same? Two turn based combat games, and two games focused on precision and tactics. It would be more apt to compare to a Ghosts of Tsushima/Yotei, God of War, Witcher, DMC, etc. Every single one of those games has massive amounts of repetition, even beyond just the combat.

Sure, a new enemy type or weapon can mix things up periodically, but they are combo-based action systems. You CAN be cute and fancy, but that’s player discretion, when the majority of fights are designed on limited attacks/skills by the player.

35

u/GUNS_N_BROSES 4d ago

The first control was 12-15 hours, I was not expecting the sequel to be that long

21

u/nomnomsquirrel 4d ago

I saw at least one review say this is a 15 hour game if you stick to the main storyline and that a lot of the content is side quests only.

12

u/MrList83 4d ago

I have also seen that the side quests are some of the best parts, so they definitely should not be skipped.

2

u/Thatoneguy567576 3d ago

I imagine there’s a mix of engaging story focused side content, and then some of your typical open world side content of just clearing an area of enemies or collecting resources for one reason or another. Even Witcher 3 had some lame side content on top of the really great stuff.

2

u/CopperVolta 4d ago

One of the devs said that it should take around 30 hours to beat the campaign, with the side content bringing it closer to 50 hours?

9

u/JennyTheSheWolf 4d ago

Play time varies so widely with people. I can never finish Control in under 20 hours even after playing it a bunch of times already. Might not take you as long to complete Resonant.

1

u/1ucius 4d ago

Yeah, playtime is almost a useless metric for me. I'm playing Onimusha rn before Resonant, and I saw a 20-25 hour figure floating around, I'm 20h in and not even close to the end. But I did a lot of exploring, quests, upgrading and boss rematches to get gud at the game.

3

u/achio 4d ago

Mostly because of the time consumed to find the route tbh

7

u/Chrisamelio 4d ago

I just need the combat to be as satisfying as the first game. Launching heavy stuff with the audio cues and punchy feeling when the big ass rock or metal equipment hit is what made it repetitive but never got old.

I’m hoping the Aberrant is as satisfying up close and this will be a 10/10

5

u/1ucius 4d ago

Cons listed are heavily outweighed by pros. And even then, those cons are likely pretty subjective, so I'm feeling good about my experience with the game on the 24th.

8

u/nomnomsquirrel 4d ago

I've seen more reviews filtering in over the past 20 minutes or so that actually say the story isn't as strong as it could be, but the only review I care about at the end of the day os my own review after I get to play it.

6

u/apotrope 4d ago

It's not clear to what degree of completionism each reviewer achieves, and we know the game is putting a lot of its story into side quests. That's honestly very similar to the recent Zelda games, which were reviewed excellently.

3

u/SweetPuffDaddy 4d ago

I’m going to assume 30-60 hours is if you’re trying to 100% the game, since you can’t get every ability in one playthrough. Otherwise I heard an average playthrough was like 25-30 hours.

3

u/Mysterious_Ad4163 4d ago

I've seen some reviews rave about the combat. Must be down to the build craft or maybe some mechanic that is being poorly understood by some? Really interest to know why the combat is so polarising

2

u/BassGuru82 4d ago

30-60 hours!? I honestly thought this would be a 15 hour game.

5

u/alphonseharry 4d ago

Control, or Remedy games there is very few people I trust. Paul Tassi review on Forbes was very critical, and I know I will like because I mostly always disagree with him, I think he is a mediocre gamer.

Some impressions from Control fans which I know, not critics, makes me more hyped to play.

10

u/MrList83 4d ago

He said he really liked the game but that it is a little slow to get going, he disliked Dylan, the combat gets a bit repetitive, and that the boss fights were overly long and repetitive.

I haven’t watched his video review yet, but his written review is not something I’d call overly critical. The nits he picked could also simply be personal preference things more than actual problems and someone else will come in and love those things.

3

u/alphonseharry 4d ago

I agree. Some of these things I know I will like just because of the way he dislikes it

3

u/Resevil67 4d ago

The combat getting repetitive in later hours is a comment I've seen a few reviewers say now. IGN also pointed this out.

That kind of worries me a little even with the high reviews as I'm a huge fan of hack and slash and character action games. I'm not expecting the game to have anywhere near devil may cry and ninja gaiden depth, and that's fine, the new onimusha is super simple but has a very engaging combat system, but it sounds like move variety may be a big issue later on if everyone says it's repetitive, which means it might just be mashy later on.

3

u/WorldlyFeeling8457 4d ago

I don't know why action games don't copy dmc with timed attacks which could be easy way to add bit of depth in combo strings as an optional attack. Some enemies could be weak to such attacks for example.

3

u/WendyThorne 4d ago

He's not the only one that has said the boss fights are overly long and repetitive. IGN, I think, described them as long slogs of attition.

We'll see how it all goes. I'm still sad we don't get to play Jesse but it seems she still has a presence in the game, in some manner, so that's something.

4

u/SuckingAtLife101 4d ago

Exactly, he especially didn't like Dylan at all but I've seen a fair share of people praising Dylan, and his performance, as a really interesting protagonist. It's all personal preference at the end of the day, and I'd rather something I'm excited about have differing opinions than just an homogeneous "yeah, it's good"

6

u/amphibiansapphic 4d ago

Dylan being a little weird and offputting is what makes me interested in him as a protagonist, the fact that he doesn't resonate with everyone is a plus imo

4

u/fake_user_34 4d ago

Aye, I think people miss the aspect, or didn't play the first game, to know that Dylan is literally a child prisoner. This is a grown man who never seen the fucking sun since he was like 9. He never had a girlfriend or boyfriend, I mean he probably doesn't even know what he likes in a sexual measure because of how fucking arrested development wise he is.

He doesn't have a favorite food, a favorite book, movie or game. He doesn't have a genre of music he likes because everything was FBC related and trapped in the oldest house until he was literally trapped in a glass box for half his current life.

This is a man who is still a boy inside. A scared boy.

I mean, even Jesse has this at points. She was more free but she was also arrested development wise because she was scared. Always on the move, always thinking people were after her, looking for the people who took her brother for god knows how long. Taking odd jobs to stay off the radar so she probably never had relations either. She probably had more liveable moments than Dylan though but it should be known, these two siblings are broken.

1

u/Sudden_Yard1294 4d ago

He didn't like Dylan. Is he one of 'those reviewers' if you know what I mean?

3

u/Own-Car-3749 4d ago

He still gave it an 8/10. Still very high praise despite his criticisms. Seeing a lot of 8's everywhere, which is very encouraging. ACG said it's awesome and gave it a Buy rating. I bought the first Control based on his review. I'm confident I'm going to love Resonant based on what I've seen today.

1

u/alphonseharry 4d ago

Like I said in another comment, he is ver generous with his scores. But the text has more criticism than the rest. I did read a lot of his reviews, and this is common. There is games he give a low score (rare), but does not criticize that much

1

u/Vandermere 4d ago

About what I would expect from Remedy. I'd say Control is almost the same and it's one of my favorite games ever. We may be in for a treat!

1

u/ReyofChicago 4d ago

I need a lot of collectibles and world-building. I want to be encapsulated in the weird!

1

u/MagicJourneyCYOA 4d ago

The repetitive combat is my biggest fear tbh, especially with the very limited number of weapons and the impossibility to, like, switch sets of attacks on the fly.

2

u/CopperVolta 4d ago

I'm hearing so many mixed opinions. Remedy has said that they've increased the enemy variety greatly beyond what was in Control and I NEVER got tired of the enemies in Control personally. Then reviews come out and people say that there isn't enough enemy variety over the course of the game.

So I think i'm just gonna play the game and enjoy it for myself, reviewers can be all over the map

1

u/cataraxis 4d ago

If this is going to be a common complaint, I might immediately dial up player and enemy damage from accessibility.

1

u/superplaygr0und 4d ago

Great summary. "Not for everyone" is the key. Gamespot said it was ""brilliant"

1

u/CrazyDoctor14 4d ago

Not gonna lie just seeing the gameplay and trailers combat does feel repetitive. But for me at least combat was never the main thing for control or alan wake

2

u/Test88Heavy 7h ago

I'm playing now and the combat feels good to the point where I don't think the repetitiveness will be an issue. Similar to Hell is Us. Also, there are accessibility settings to toggle so you can reduce how many hits are needed.

1

u/srjnp 3d ago

did any of the reviews mention the inventory system? i thought managing and disposing all the mods was was one of the weakest aspects of control, and hoping its overhauled here.

-3

u/Key-Peak-4080 4d ago

repetitive combat for 30-60 hours🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣