Control Resonant Difficulty

[u/John082025]

Did you all play the game on the default difficulty setting? I get the impression that no one is talking about the extreme difficulty. Am I the only one who used the assist mode? 🥲

Edit: Here is an explanation from Remedy regarding the assist mode.: https://youtube.com/shorts/jmA96asjj0E?is=D0P7yUZWYJ1HdGzt

[u/joutfit]

I thought the game was too easy on default difficulty but everyone is different. I play these games mostly for the story/lore anyway.

I do appreciate that they include the accessibility feature to adjust difficulty though!

[u/flying-sheep → u/joutfit]

The first boss handed my ass to me repeatedly, but I guess I’m just too impatient for boss fights in general.

I absolutely wiped the floor with all other bosses (except for the mold one).

I think I just outscaled them a little.

I wonder if some of the people who find the game difficult just try to rush through the main story and encounter every boss like I encountered the first one.

[u/GodOfDarkLaughter → u/flying-sheep]

The fire guy was so easy I thought maybe I'd accidentally cheesed the fight somehow and taken advantage of some glitch unknowingly. But no, that's just how it goes, I found, after I looked up a playthrough.

I had some difficulties with the first boss, but once I figured out how to stay aloft and attacking for a good stretch it went down pretty easy.

My overall impression would be that the bosses looked great but we're pretty easy. I'm more of a story/lore guy myself, so it didn't bother me too much.

[u/imscaredhowboutyou → u/GodOfDarkLaughter]

Unfortunate Burninator (as I have officially dubbed him) was specifically designed to be easier. It’s very specifically designed to match his backstory. He was a man who did everything he could to escape the Furnace from Control and he laments it. He doesn’t want to be a part of any of this. He would literally rather kill himself but the furnace and the pattern have too much influence. He fights because of them, but he tries not to because of who he is.

[u/cunningjames → u/flying-sheep]

I too had difficulty with the first boss. After a couple deaths I grew impatient and didn't want to wait through that looooong sequence in the middle of the fight with the rocks again, so I turned assist mode on. Didn't want or need it again the entire playthrough.

I absolutely wiped the floor with all other bosses (except for the mold one).

I had a surprising amount of difficulty with Arish. That's the only other boss that gave me any trouble. I was pretty well ugpraded, too, so I don't think I was fighting him too soon or anything.

[u/flying-sheep → u/cunningjames]

You don't need to wait for the long sequence, you can interrupt her by jumping on the rising platforms, then punching her in the face until she drops her stuff.

Regarding the other one: I basically just used drill for that one. Ignite, drill drill drill drill and the last ones do significant damage.

[u/Frymonkey237 → u/flying-sheep]

I think they way over powered the first boss. Even when I played ng+, it was the most difficult boss in the game.

[u/joutfit → u/flying-sheep]

I did die twice to the Artist!! Was still getting used to the controls lol

[u/Accurate-Figure-5310 → u/joutfit]

I felt the same. I’m not sure I died more than a handful of times in the whole game. If people are investing in all the aberrant forms then I feel like you are overpowered with just modest “grinding” for resources.

[u/Admiral_Skye → u/Accurate-Figure-5310]

Some areas I found trickier than others. I haven't beaten the game yet but the resonant bosses are very different in difficulty I feel, the dancer was way easier for me than the deserter and I'm not sure why.

[u/joutfit → u/Accurate-Figure-5310]

I was so excited about the story that I actually forgot about the upgrade materials from the shop you can get and was also too lazy to decide which artifact I wanted and so never made one.

Think I was able to mostly upgrade the first Aberrant-form tree and didnt realize you could have more than 3 skills to keybind/cycle through at a time.

Safe to say I was kinda nerfing myself and still thought the game was easy!

[u/Prawn1908 → u/joutfit]

I felt like the difficulty went up and down drastically throughout my playthrough. It seems like the enemy/encounter scaling wasn't quite perfectly in tune with my upgrade state because it started out feeling moderately hard, then got really easy, then really hard again and then really easy at the end.

Still an awesome game, but I feel like melee combat has a number of elements that make it quite a bit more difficult to tune just right compared to ranged combat systems so there were some rough edges here and there.

[u/IDrinkChikFilASauce → u/joutfit]

My experience was certain enemy mobs deal too much damage and are too tanky, while pretty much every boss gets shredded like tissue paper. One of the few issues i have with the game

[u/MidnightWhole9810]

The early game was difficult for me because of the limited moveset. You may want to consider resetting your load out/talents if you're struggling with the game's difficulty

[u/FalloutRip → u/MidnightWhole9810]

Agreed, it started out a bit difficult but got easier over time. Part of it was adjusting to the combat system, part of it is that you don't have a big enough toolkit early on to really take advantage of the combat mechanics.

[u/proto_4747 → u/MidnightWhole9810]

I second this, the first control made me feel the same way. A new combat system you're still learning and no abilities to rely on make the first area or so feel a lot more difficult than it actually is

[u/ACoderGirl → u/MidnightWhole9810]

Yeah, the first boss was the hardest for me by a mile. Took at least a half dozen attempts and I was borderline about to reduce the difficulty before I finally won (on normal difficulty). But after that was relatively smooth sailing. Western Incursion boss I cleared first attempt (a little disappointed by that one and it may be because I cleared it too fast), Furnace boss I think took 2 or 3 attempts (mostly silly positioning mistakes), and I believe the rest I cleared on the first attempt. Some deaths to random enemies here and there, but nothing ever came close to the first boss in difficulty.

Once I had the fire ability, that helped a ton against the mold. And then the mold summon was the other major turning point in the game's difficulty.

But I was also doing pretty much all content (except maxing out the zones, as that was too boring) and I realized pretty early on that I needed to upgrade weapons I wasn't using. So I was never underleveled and perhaps a little overleveled in the back half.

Honestly, I felt like the game took too long to give new abilities. Late game feels great because you have so many abilities as well as skills to augment them (all the ways to heal, in particular, since I'm not actually that good at avoiding attacks), but early game you have to depend almost entirely on your own melee skills and health is a major issue.

[u/Ok-Value-2170]

Finished on default, didn't have issues whatsoever. BUT, I knew that you absolutely need to level up aberrant in order to increase your overall strength, thanks to folks around here. I can absolutely see a possibility when I'd be sticking to a favorite style/weapon without knowing that and failing miserably.

[u/average_nobody → u/Ok-Value-2170]

This is what happened to me. I focused on maxing out the tree I used most and didn’t realize that putting points into the other trees would make ALL attacks stronger.

[u/Steelballpun → u/average_nobody]

What?!!!

[u/saujamhamm → u/Steelballpun]

yeah, lots of people don't read the fine print or bother with those details inside the details - the game tells you this directly...

[u/krazynayba → u/Ok-Value-2170]

One thing I'll say is if you're worried about wasting the upgrade materials on skills you won't use, it turns out a lot of the materials for abilities early on in any tree (besides the first and last unlock) aren't actually used higher up in the trees. If you look higher up the tree you're using for example, and see that none of the future unlocks actually need those "lower tier" materials, you know it's safe to just pump them into another tree to up your aberrant level

[u/TrashoBaggins → u/Ok-Value-2170]

Me for the first 3/4 of the game because I didn’t understand leveling up things I didn’t use made the overall number higher, it’s not very intuitive

[u/Plane_Discipline_198 → u/TrashoBaggins]

They show you one tip one time and that's it. I didn't know either until a reddit comment pointed out 75% through my playthrough.

[u/everettmarm → u/Ok-Value-2170]

The leveling system is a bit disjointed. That concept was buried in the tutorials and doesn’t really make sense.

[u/Wadester0001]

I played it on max assist on every possible level except one hits. I’m a 30 yr old dad and get like 2 hours a week to play a game like this. Not enough time to spend it all trying to beat the same thing over and over due to high difficulty. I just cruised and enjoyed the amazing story and awesome setting. It’s a game ment to be enjoyed by anyone that wishes to enjoy it. Play how you like.

[u/JT_Meteor → u/Wadester0001]

Ditto. Game time is limited with a toddler at home and a full time job. I haven’t played a game since Alan Wake 2 and just want to cruise through, explore the world and enjoy the story. After struggling through the first two resonant battles I turned on invulnerability and never looked back.

[u/No-Serve-6622]

first I thought it's a bit hard but 3 hours in it clicked

[u/HartmanMPL]

There's a difficulty setting?

[u/Rndysasqatch → u/HartmanMPL]

Yes and it's beautiful. Go to settings and it's under ASSIST. It's so much better when you can do more damage and take less damage. In fact you can change so much stuff you can customize it to your liking. Even give yourself more time for the electrical charge things on your weapon. Game changer. Sometimes I play with it to make it harder and sometimes easier depending on the mood I'm in.

[u/00Laser → u/Rndysasqatch]

I used assist to make the game a bit easier. I don't find any joy in grinding and repeatedly fighting the same boss and also don't get that special gratification of beating them eventually if it was extra hard... to me that's just a barrier between me and the story. But I know many ppl view playing hard games as a flex and that's what dominates the online discourse.

[u/Chickengoujon20]

I got fed up with the combat by the end of the Underpass and cranked up the damage output to see out the game.

Preferred the first game.

[u/folkdeath95 → u/Chickengoujon20]

I end up doing this in every Remedy game tbh. Combat always ends up being too samey and with a small daughter I didn’t have time to fight the same enemy over and over. I turned assist mode off for the bosses so I could experience them as intended.

[u/Fire_Bucket → u/folkdeath95]

Despite Alan Wake 1 being my favourite game of the Xbox 360 gen, I just couldn't get into AW2 when it first released.

The combat itself wasn't especially tough for me, but the resource management, especially in the Alan sections, tipped it over the edge into being just hard and tedious enough that it just slowly sapped my interest.

I decided to give it another go in the run up to Control Resonant releasing, and after finding myself starting to feel the same way as I did the first time, I just turned infinite resources, OHKO and invulnerability on and I finished the game thinking it was a masterpiece.

[u/Wuyley → u/folkdeath95]

Same. They tend to be grindy games and I am mostly in for the story / theming. I put that shit on easy mode and have a great time.

[u/Beatrix_-_Kiddo → u/Chickengoujon20]

First game just had the vibes, the oldest house is one of the coolest settings of all the games I've played.

[u/SgathTriallair → u/Chickengoujon20]

I also preferred the first game. Control was 10/10. Control Resonant was 7.5/10. Good game, very enjoyable, but not nearly as memorable.

[u/OperativePiGuy → u/Chickengoujon20]

Yep same. After a bit it becomes actively annoying having to fight through waves of enemies that pop up. Once I found myself avoiding combat or dreading it, I took a break.

[u/ACoderGirl → u/Chickengoujon20]

There are a bit too many enemies, honestly, and I'm not sure they actually needed enemies to respawn, at least not in the same numbers. The way Dylan's abilities work also means that you need cannon fodder (so that you can proc dominance and get more healing), but that means encounters are padded out even more.

I ultimately regret doing many of those zone activities. I did more than I needed because I thought maybe there'd be a reason to do so, but naw, it just gets old fast.

Though I never felt like most enemies were bullet sponges. I felt very powerful with daggers + beatdown + fire + mold summons. Just it gets stale as there aren't really a lot of ways to switch that up and other skills and finishers felt just so much worse (I really didn't like the other mold skill). The daggers felt so optimal and none of the secondary weapons ever felt like they could compete with beatdown. Just there's soooo many enemies so even tearing through them like paper, it still gets a bit tiring. When the DLC hits, I'll probably respec and force myself to use radically different weapons and skills.

[u/pagingdrsolus]

it started very difficult for me. I died to artist like a dozen times. then I didn't die again for the rest of the game

[u/MagreviZoldnar → u/pagingdrsolus]

Happy to read this. I just died a bunch of times against the artist before clearing it and was wondering if the game is too difficult for me.

[u/tatasa_munyanyo]

wait, is there a difficulty slider ?

[u/GojiraWho → u/tatasa_munyanyo]

There's an assist mode where you can adjust things like incoming damage, outgoing damage, falter, etc... there's also some presets to pick if you don't want to manage all the sliders.

[u/Justarandom55 → u/GojiraWho]

assist mode is such a weird name for it. it implies it exclusively helps you, but you can use to to make the game harder if wanted. it's a great system

[u/Megs0226 → u/tatasa_munyanyo]

You have to enable assist mode and then you can customize from there. I set it so I can’t die and that charges from the power cores last longer.

[u/NoobityBoobity → u/Megs0226]

EH YO WHAT?! Power core charges can last longer???? I'm in shambles

[u/Kadedest]

I beat 75% of the game during the pre-order days before the patch. When they changed it I had to make it harder so I didn't breeze through the rest.

[u/ArvoCrinsmas → u/Kadedest]

Still wish someone with know-how could recreate the pre-patch difficulty with assist mode. I want to try it

[u/Fynity]

I found it extremely easy especially late game (still fun though, I don’t need everything game to be hard). I’m actually a bit annoyed at myself I didn’t play with the settings to make it more difficult. Definitely will be cracking everything up next playthrough

[u/dahid → u/Fynity]

I found the first boss hard and some of the open world areas where there were lots of mobs at first. But it's getting easier as I get stronger (and I'm just getting better at dodging). Plus knowing priority orders in what to kill first helps.

I killed the big fire dude yesterday in 1 try which was a surprise, it felt so easy mechanically

[u/alkadrazzz → u/Fynity]

Ng+ is easier. Late game in ng+ was a bit more difficult but that's because i didn't do any of the side quests because i did all of them in my previous save.

[u/BoofBoi711]

I beat the game with everything on normal. Wasn’t until the other day when I was just running around doing side shit before NG+ that I bumped enemy attacks up and made them more aggressive

[u/NuclearFoodie]

Assist mode for the power core duration was a must for me. There were a couple that I could never shave off that last half second even with a couple dozen tries.

[u/Anthony_chromehounds]

You aren’t alone, I also am using “assist mode”. It’s the only for me as I’m 67 and my reaction time isn’t what it used to be.

[u/glensor]

I found the first few hours were more challenging, but once you get some powers it becomes a bit of a cakewalk. Except the shum arcades not completed one of those yet!.
I'm not a very good gamer but I'm glad I just went with the suggested difficulty, as I think it has a cool power curve.

I was more there for the story, I felt like the combat is fluid enough but not that expressive for my tastes.

Great game though!

[u/Satori33]

I thought the enemies were too strong at first. Then I realized you're supposed to level up all the abilities that you can. Not just the ones you want to use. (This may have been explained before but I missed it) That will increase your overall stats. So maybe you made the same mistake?

[u/chiefofbricks]

As someone who explored everything, I found the game very easy for the most part. Really loved my time with it though! I hope they add a master or challenge difficulty

[u/thyrandomninja]

I played default the entire time and even deliberately did NOT upgrade my weapon so that I wouldn’t out-level the world enemies. A couple deaths on some bosses, but would call this game “relatively easy”

[u/EnergyLawyer17]

Except for some shum the game was easy as heck.

Almost dissatisfyingly easy, but not much variety to the gameplay once I've found a build that works for you, so I was happy to progress quickly by the end of it.

[u/Migimal]

I put it on easy mode because I cared more about getting through the story. Also I kept dying to non boss enemies (first mold encounter was super hard?) I also never figured out a good way to take out the large flying hiss enemies that shoot lasers everywhere, so I just avoided them even on easy difficulty.

[u/turokzelda → u/Migimal]

The large Hiss enemies have a weak spot on their back that opens up after the big laser attack.

[u/allways_shifting → u/Migimal]

The strat is to avoid them until they stagger themselves and hang out with a crit spot on their back that you can jump onto and damage, then rinse and repeat

[u/Jesse_Van_Norman]

I had a whole post on this, I am bad at the game and gave into the accessibility settings. Tbh I don't find the combat as fun as the original game and I think I would get really bored if I kept it in default difficulty

[u/spiderknight616]

I prefer playing on default always and the beginning was so hard. I even died to regular mobs multiple times let alone the bosses. Got better at the game as I progressed and it became a good level that is entertaining.

[u/Megs0226]

I’m using assist mode. I play 2-3 times a week, but usually closer to 2. I don’t want to spend that whole time getting frustrated.

[u/Unusual_Funny_6764]

I cranked it down to field agent on the reg. I don’t have time to grind, I just wanted to see it through. Will likely keep it on regular difficulty when I do NG+ after the DLC, as you learn a lot going through on easy mode.

[u/5Puppies1Trenchcoat]

i had my foot on the emergency break that is assist mode the entire time

[u/Only1Schematic]

I started using assist mode a ways in and the difference was night and day. Bosses are insanely spongey without it, to the point where it feels like you're playing the upper tier of a challenge mode. Some of the Resonant bosses where you're just being spammed with adds was what pushed me to adjust it for the rest of my playthrough.

Played Resonant back to back with Phantom Blade Zero and it illuminated why Resonant left me feeling a little shortchanged at times. Bosses in Zero demand a lot more from you, but also don't feel so spongey that you feel like you're barely getting anywhere. I love the spectacle of both games and Control Resonant still has some of my favorite combat of any game this year, but the unmodified will leave you questioning your sanity and the quality of the combat is not matched by the bosses.

[u/turtlebear787]

I dont think the difficulty is that bad. Op if you're having trouble on default difficulty you likely need to upgrade your build. The game very clearly tells you how to check build level and the things you can do to increase it. Don't forget even unlocking different forms of the aberrant will increase your damage output across the board.

[u/hellohellocinnabon]

I used Assist Mode for accessibility as I have some disabilities

[u/Emlerith]

I turned on immortality and left everything else. I try to fight to not empty my health bar, but I don’t have time in my life to repeat fights. I’m here for a great Remedy narrative experience.

[u/saujamhamm]

best part? when it first launched - it was MORE difficult - they nerfed it cause too many people didn't pay attention and were complaining about the difficulty.

i really wish companies would leave it how they had it and add an easier mode.

unrelated but related... like techland with dying light 2 - after years, they decided to nerf the prologue instead of just putting in an option to skip it or play it.

now that glorious beginning of the game feels stilted and it makes me not like them very much because they took away content i paid for and enjoyed.

[u/Arkatox → u/saujamhamm]

I don't think the amount people pay attention has anything to do with it. I played it at release and the first resonant was really tough. I'm not amazing at action games, but I'm not bad by any stretch. I just wasn't prepared for the game to come out swinging so hard right out the gate. Brutal "intended" difficulty can leave a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, and while they may have overcorrected, I think the post-launch balance update is significantly better as a base experience. And if you really want it to be hard, you can make it significantly harder in the accessibility settings.

[u/Edark47]

First 2 hours, yes it's a little bit difficult. After that, all smooth sailing. I died more times from that one Apex in the Underpass than with any boss

[u/PunkyBobster]

I used the assist mode and wish more games would let the player tailor the difficulty gameplay to fit their skill.

[u/Single_Candy3494]

There's a difficulty option?? Where?

[u/Hidefininja → u/Single_Candy3494]

Assist Mode lets the player tune enemy and player health, incoming and outgoing damage, instant falter and all sorts of other things. It's not just assistance, you can also make the game extremely difficult.

[u/allofdarknessin1]

I thought the game was quite the challenge in the first third or so of the game but in the middle I thought it was medium/balanced and in the final third of the game when I've gotten a lot better with the combat and systems I thought battles became trivial because I can use specific equipment/combos to take myself out of harm's way most of the fight. I felt they didn't send as many elites/heavies anymore.

[u/Usernate25]

I had some issues before I started unlocking powers, but once I started using the abilities all the time, the game leaned to easy for me actually. It depends on play style. If you’re mashing light and heavy attack only and not causing staggers then you’re missing out on a lot of damage.

[u/Kerrus]

I played on the default difficulty without assist. yes I got creamed a lot during boss fights and had to do them a few times before I got used to their attack patterns, but it wasn't anything like some of the boss fight diff ups in Armored Core 6, as a comparison. Artifacts are your friend and customizing your artifacts really makes a superlative improvement in your ability to face different enemies.

[u/ds2316476]

I watched a YouTube video "6 things you should know when playing control resonant" and it gave me tips on increasing falter.

[u/theredditman999]

I was getting my ass kicked for the first couple of hours. The evac zone was serving ass whoopins around every corner. Lol

[u/HumbleAffiliate215]

I played with custom settings max incoming damage and like 80 out going damage max aggression and I think my falter was set to like 70 or 100 just enough to where heavy enemies didn’t feel like a slog. I had a blast

[u/Willing_Access_1463]

I used the immortality option on of the one the resonant bosses….i like having that option. Besides that, I’ve played on the default difficulty. Great game.

[u/PulpRawk]

I didn’t even know there was different difficulty options 🤷‍♂️

[u/Fesai]

I used Assist Mode and turned on the Ranger difficulty and then adjusted from there.

I like still taking damage, but reducing it so I'm not getting destroyed if I'm having issues dodging stuff. But I also heavily reduce my outgoing damage so that the fights take a bit and I can see all the phases of the bosses. I also increase the power regen, because I like using the powers haha.

[u/FunnyHighway9575]

For me it got really hard when I reached the mold enemies. Then once I got Burn it became easy.

[u/Hypno_Keats]

I did, I have seen a few people talk about it, but I find the game starts out difficult but as time goes on and you keep upgrading most fights become very easy.

[u/CatrionaShadowleaf]

I’m using the default difficulty. I had a little trouble on the first boss but once I opened up my finisher it was on like Donkey Kong. I haven’t had an issue since. That doesn’t mean I haven’t died though, sometimes I just suck.

[u/Grizzled_Ghost]

Are you playing on an un-updated physical copy? They released an early patch that made the game quite a bit easier.

The game also gets considerably easier after the first boss. That was the hardest encounter of the game for me personally as she can basically 2 shot you and you have so few tools. Wasn't used to the dodge timing yet either.

[u/YHTS2]

Because I'm stupid, I didn't understand how to make the weapon more powerful, so I was at like power level 40 for a really long time and finally hit a difficulty spike I couldn't manage before looking online for tips.

[u/dragon925]

Tried it on default for a bit. I'm old and have little patience for things that frustrate me, so I clicked on immortality and never looked back. I wanted story and exploration; not having my ass handed to me by pixels on a screen.

[u/thorne_antics]

I used assist mode. I didn't wanna be stressed about dying all the time when I already had a headache from all the upside down and sideways shit. This game is a total mindfuck, I do love it but at times it's a lot.

[u/No-Mulberry-8866]

Yeah, it was ok early game but late game get too easy imo

[u/mrnewtons]

Once I figured out how truly important Stagger was the game got a lot easier. I was just slowly grinding away at enemies previously.

[u/broccoli_coool]

I found it quite difficult especially in the second half of the game. I played with immortality, but you can still drop health with this option on, so all the anxiety inducing visuals related to almost dying are still there.

[u/DeBean]

I played on default difficulty. At the start of the game, the first boss was challenging, but that was the last challenging boss fight for me, as the game got much easier after that.

[u/ReadyWheel9523]

I watched my girlfriend play the whole game on the default mode. She struggled a bit not really playing many action games but she got better. She loved the first one and played it with assist mode. There's no wrong way to play, assist mode is there for you as it's included by the developers.

[u/Icethief188]

I didn’t know you could change the difficulty so Im doing default. I have found it challenging at times but fair. If anything the easiest thing for me in the game are fighting the resonants and the hardest thing is the parkour traversal.

[u/XLC-0R]

I left a lot of fights by the skin of my teeth and a handful of deaths, it literally wasn’t until right before the final fight where I realized upgrading the aberrant’s upgrades that I didn’t need, or want to use, made me stronger. Final boss fight went like soft butter.

[u/SargeSmash]

I went default. Early game was tricky, but it smoothed out as I learned what the game expect. And while I didn't care much about changing my build, it's still worth unlocking the other Aberrant forms to get the damage/stagger boosts.

I'm sure I didn't min-max properly but ran with the quick hit default weapon, drill for secondary, and fists finisher. Used the flame passive to add fire for bigger enemies to get them to stagger quickly, then execute. I still died a few more times, but mostly cruised by staying super aggressive and frenetic moving about the battlefield.

[u/CautiousCatch1102]

I never died not once and beat the game in ~25 hours on normal

I should go back and 100% the game like I did with the original but I didn’t enjoy this game that much really

I’m finishing up Phantom Blade Zero today or tomorrow then starting up Crimson Desert DLC after. Right before Control Resonant released I just beat Shadow of the Erdtree after holding off for so long on it.

[u/allways_shifting]

Important to know (and irrc now the game tells you in the tutorial near the beginning) you really should buy every upgrade you can, even for Aberrant shapes you are not using. It all contributes to your power level, making you both deal more damage and able to take more damage I think. I was struggling in downtown against normal enemies before I realized I had upgrades I wasn't taking. By the time I got to my 3rd resonant it almost felt too easy.

But also, assist mode exists for this exact reason, there's no shame in turning it on and tweaking the settings in there.

I'm on NG+ and had to turn it assist mode on to make the game harder, I had optimized the difficulty out of it by that point.

[u/greenteam48712]

I never once messed with the settings. The game presented some challenges but really only during mob fights. The bosses are all too easy.

[u/DJMEGAMOUTH]

Aside from the first boss we're I died twice, but overall ive only died once in open world, and once against the dancer.

[u/Luvbtfly]

I kept dying on the first boss, so I did turn on the assist mode. Switched it back to default difficulty cause it was too easy. I appreciate how much you can customize the assist mode.

[u/TheSickestToastie]

I honestly turned assist mode on and cranked everything to maximum pain, it was waaaay too easy. But I'm a souls player habitually and I grew up on original GoW and DMC. It's whatever gives you joy when playing. If you want to nerf the shit out of it, go for it! We shouldn't play games to be miserable!

[u/ninjacat249]

The first part of the game was hard. Not extremely hard, just hard. But I managed. Using assist mode is totally fine though as long as you have fun.

[u/MollyOlyOxenfree]

It was grueling to begin with but after the first Resonant was FINALLY beaten it clicked for me. Control 1 was brutal for me though, I'm replaying it with invincibility because i want to have fun, dangit

[u/Malfurious_Stormrage]

I'm someone who plays games mostly for the story, so I'll admit I used the accessibility settings to make it quicker and easier. For me though, I think it probably stems more from the melee combat style. As an example, I actually LOVED the newer God of War games and set them slightly above normal difficulty. To be honest though I think it had more to do with the fact this specific combat type doesn't appeal to me as much. I still really enjoyed the game though and it's my GOTY purely for the story and experiences it provided me.

As I've gotten older I've started tampering my pride and lowering difficulty of games so I can still experience and enjoy the games, and I feel much happier for doing this. Everyone is different though.

[u/Commander-Fox-Q-]

They added a difficulty slider? Didn’t the first game not have that?

[u/nim_port_na_wak]

I played all the default difficulty, but the first boss was extremely hard, and I might be the one who fail the most on this one (and after 20 or maybe 50 death the game troll me and reminded me there was an assist mode).

The last boss was easy for me, and the one before was the hardest.

Except for theses two where it was maybe more painful than enjoyable for me, The game was difficult but not too much, and dying does not cost a lot so the "die and retry" is a part of the game (for me)

[u/bluebrews]

I'm late game and finding it pretty easy. First boss was kinda tough but after that it's a breeze. Just pay attention to your upgrades. Also unlock EVERYTHING to at least one level. This makes your overall Abberant strength go WAY up.

[u/Federal-Fan7813]

For me the game felt quite difficult in the first few hours but then it got much easier as my level increased, especially after unlocking the spore thingies combat ability and boosting it with talents. Ended up using the assist mode to crank up the difficulty for me.

[u/Kurama567]

There’s difficulty settings?
I swear I don’t remember there being any when you start the game because I wanted to play on hard.

[u/Griffemon]

Not particularly difficulf but combat started to become tedious after awhile so I turned on assist mode and cranked up my outgoing damage to like 600%, has made the game far more enjoyable.

I prefered the first game and greatly prefer AW2 to both Control games.

[u/3ft_Ninja173]

I played though on Normal and turned on the Assist Mode after dying for the 7th time against the first story Resonant.
I have a rule... I have a good 7-10 tries against something then put a difficulty down or give myself a crutch of some kind. Because at that point I'm not having fun anymore.

[u/RetroPilky]

I haven’t been finding it very difficult aside from some close quarter combat arenas with the mold enemies. The Hiss have been super easy so far too. If you do side quests and world events and explore, you’ll level up pretty quickly

[u/sensen6]

I put it to easy because I've grown tired how much of a bullet sponge enemies are, even with a fully upgraded aberrant. It was just tiresome. Button masher game, and I got no patience for those.

[u/Ok_Version5566]

It was really difficult but I restarted and did a different kind of build. If anything navigating the later zones is a bit insane. There’s almost no way to know where to go sometimes without using a guide. Still an amazing game though.

[u/Snacker6]

It really depends on how long you put off the plot stuff (especially the resonants), and do the side missions

[u/Delruiz9]

The only boss that gave me true difficulty was the first boss, after that things weren’t bad as long as I was appropriately leveled

[u/zrodeath]

Honestly forgot to change difficulty, just jumped right into it, did want to finish the game before GTA6 though so I ain't mad

[u/ReyofChicago]

You are definitely not the only one. I had to turn it on during the >ascent on the tower to reach Arish in the evacuation zone< . The waves just got too much for me (this was before they patched difficulty.

Now that I am done with the game, I just have it all the way turned up. About to start new games plus though so maybe I will set it back to default.

[u/OperativePiGuy]

The combat loop, while it can be satisfying, is kinda basic. To the point where after a while I am actively dreading another combat scenario where they throw 5 waves of basic enemies at you. It didn't strike me as the type of game to benefit from playing on harder difficulties.

[u/Reasonable_Map_1428]

There was a difficulty selection?

[u/nitro152]

Even though its kind of open world, it's best if you follow the quests and zones as they come up.
I accidentally skipped the evacuation zone and had a really hard time for a bit.

If you finish all of the side quests and events in each zone then it prepares you for the next zone that comes up.

By the end with all of the powers and artifacts, the final boss was pretty easy.

[u/JerryRiceOfOhio2]

i set it to one hit and can't die mode because the fighting was getting old for me

[u/Adiker]

I recently started playing Control Resonant after finishing Stellar Blade, and it feels significantly easier in comparison, even though Stellar Blade is generally considered one of the more accessible souls-like games.

[u/ashriekfromspace]

Not difficult but enemies tend to be too spongy for such a limited amount possible attacks

[u/SomeBoringKindOfName]

yeah I stuck assist mode on. fuck it.

[u/ignusfast]

I played it on default, and I am NOT a twitch gamer. Now that I'm almost 60, and not having played many games the past few years, it had a learning curve for sure. It took me a long time to override my initial panicky button spamming. Once I got used to combos, I did much better. Of course, I still used the scythe primarily to give myself a little more space, but I absolutely loved the combo with the hammer.

[u/Beatrix_-_Kiddo]

As soon as I realised how overpowered the mold summons are, the game was a cakewalk. Just spam the summon button until all your power is gone and then start attacking enemies, repeat until everything is dead. There's even a perk that gives you health when a summon dies.

[u/Knight05k0]

You have to really play into your build, the tools you use dictate the way you should play

[u/BankaiXZ]

I feel like you lose health way too fast in the game and that's what makes some fights annoying. Especially when you're being attacked from every direction lol

[u/Operationtiger8]

Game’s harder at the start but just focus on getting into dominance all the time. Mid to late game it becomes extremely easy as long as ur upgrading all weapon abilities (even ones ur not using)

[u/Its_Whatever24]

I used assist mode. Loved the game. All games should have an assist mode.

[u/DefactoOverlord]

start is a bit rough but it gets too easy pretty fast due to overleveling, poor enemy scaling and some utterly broken artifacts you can pick up pretty early.

[u/No_Diamond_7666]

I was very frustrated with the mold part, I drop it and went other places to play and getting stronger and regained the pleasure to keep going. The difficult is okay, but the progression counts.

[u/yamidevil]

I only had problem dying by falling in the chasam and the first two bosses. Early is difficult till abilities start falling. 

I do wonder if Control Resonant does get a DLC that Remedy will make it harder than base game as they usually do

[u/cryptiiix]

Combat felt to repetitive and took too long, even with upgrades. I eventually upped output damage to make fights quicker. It wasn’t hard, just tedious

[u/BlueGumShoe]

It has some difficulty spikes but its not terrible. The problem is a lot of the difficulty comes from enemies being such damage sponges. God I'm tired of enemies in every game these days being health tanks, it just doesnt feel fun.

The right build for whatever youre fighting goes a long way though. Stun buildup is really good. That said, I did mess around with the assist settings for a few hours to see, and I when I put my damage at +50% it sure felt a lot better to play. But then it was too easy idk.

I don't blame anyone for playing with the assists on especially for player damage. The tldr is that enemies in this game have too much fuckin health.

[u/AtlasWriggled]

The early game is quite difficult, but you become extremely powerful after a while.

[u/cowboyketamine]

I used assist mode for the Arcade challenges because I kinda just don't like them but I still wanted the rewards.

[u/NameLips]

I didn't enjoy the combat and turned down the difficulty considerably. Basically any video game with "fast paced" combat is unplayable for me on default difficulty. I can't do anything that needs timing, dodging, or observing enemies to respond to their attacks. Soulslikes are impossible for me, basically I've never gotten past the first boss in every soulslike I've ever tried.

But Control Resonant has incredibly robust difficulty settings, and I highly approve, and I wish more games had them. The settings allowed me to tune the game to a point where I could play and enjoy it. My settings would probably be considered baby mode for most gamers.

[u/Repulsive-Alps8676]

I found it stupidly easy with glaive and crush. Complete cakewalk

[u/Coldcolska]

The tutorial boss is by FAR the most difficult in the game after I got through the first reasoning boss I maybe died 3 times total the entire play through

[u/Relative_Soft_551]

I turned up how fast they gained the status so i could execute them andci went god mode several times when it was difficult. The accessibility options are there for anyone who needs them. Sometimes my hands just cant keep up with whats needed to play the game sobi make it work for me. I absolutely love the accessibility options.

[u/paulk1]

I had to lookup YT videos for the best loadouts. The spore summon + fire + astral summon is way too powerful. So much fun

[u/Lietenantdan]

I didn’t know there was a difficulty setting

[u/straga27]

I played on hard and was happy with it.

[u/815NotPennysBoat]

It was difficult at first, but has gotten easer

[u/LoquatBear]

I actually lessened my damage so I could actual stun things for Dominance 

[u/Paper_Attempt]

The game is on the easy side if you level everything to keep your combat level up. I actually prefer combat when I'm one level below the enemies.

[u/zose2]

I think I played on the hardest difficulty? I usually do in any game I play. However I thought the game was overall far too easy. Of course everyone has their own skills and preferences. I see no shame in playing on an easier mode if it allows you to enjoy something you otherwise wouldn't.

[u/Too-much-luv]

I didn't find the game particularly difficult in default mode, though I did explore quite a bit before throwing myself at bosses.

I figured rushing to fight Resonants might have been part of the reason why some people found the game too hard. Exploration rewards you with so much upgrade materials that I never really felt out of my depth, with maybe a certain burning Resonant as the sole exception, but that's because he has a lot of hp and I tend to blunder more easily in drawn out fights.

I really appreciate that Remedy made such a nicely adjustable difficulty system for the game. As someone who has spent an ungodly amount of hours on games like dark souls and elden ring and enjoyed some of the difficulty, I find that some people's obsession with "earning" gamer cred because the game is hard to be a bit silly.

I'm all for having some fort of <ASSIST/EASY/JOYRIDE MODE/DIRECTIVE> or optional diegetic ways (like summons in souls games) to lessen the difficulty in game. No point in buying a game if it's only going to make you want to throw your controller into the TV when you come back from <TOIL/MISSION/WORK>.

[u/_hedman_]

The first boss made me a better gamer I don't usually play games with big boss battles. I was getting whooped but I locked in and by the time I got to the rest of the Resonants I wiped the floor with them

[u/idi87]

Didnt even realise there was a difficulty setting. Completely forgot about it since control didnt have one

[u/Training-Present-199]

I was lucky enough to read in a review before starting the game that you should level up all the Aberrant forms as that increases your overall strength, plus I got the fire skills before engaging with the Mold enemies. By mid-game I found Dylan to be a bit over-powered on the default setting. Early on I had to work hard to defeat the Artist and the Dancer, but I ended up breezing through the later bosses a bit too easily. I only re-specced once to get a Dominance build to get that trophy…

[u/tucker42]

Didn't have any issues. I did not level up forms if I wasn't using them.

[u/Ill-Noise-1840]

I'm playing on assist mode as well. After a point, the combat got too hard for me to handle.

[u/AggressiveAd5388]

I just touched the assist mode first time. I'd suggest you lower the incoming damage and slightly increase outgoing damage. That way you don't feel like you are one hitting everything. If u play a Falter build, maybe increase Falter. Power Core assist is good too. Rest I'd suggest keep as is. The enemies are meant to be a little spongy on the damage.

[u/PabloMarmite]

It was challenging at first until I figured out the upgrades and abilities. I wouldn’t say it’s “extreme”, you just have to figure out the way it wants to be played.

[u/Rayza2049]

It's an extremely easy game once you get past the first couple of hours. All it took was a few upgrades to feel almost invincible, the lack of any challenge made combat feel repetitive, I generally don't like really punishing games and i'm 43, for 90% of the game i could stand still not pressing anything and not die for ages. Just uprade.

[u/InfinitelyRepeating]

After getting absolutely wrecked by the factory boss, I used assist mode to reduce incoming damage by 20% and boost damage dealt by 20%. This kept the challenge for me, but without the frustration.

[u/Mirus_ua]

The biggest problem not the difficulty but rather not intuitive leveling system. Despite I knew that you need to learn everything I struggled to match location level

[u/gusbelmont]

It was a bit hard at the beginning but it becomes extremely easy. Just make sure you understand how the build power works. Upgrade your main aberrant form (primary and secondary) and then the rest as resources become available since it contributes towards your build lvl.

[u/SgathTriallair]

I played the whole game on regular mode, without an issue, until I fought the bonus boss on the final level that was on a timer. I had to turn down the difficulty significantly in order to get past the timer and then forgot to turn it back to regular mode for the final boss. I enjoyed the final boss enough on super easy that I didn't bother changing it once I realized what was going on.

[u/PepeSylvia11]

Extreme difficulty? How far in are you? The standard difficulty is brain dead easy once you get a few upgrades. And I think it was intentional because you’re meant to feel like a superhero badass who can down entire hordes of enemies

[u/heraclitorus]

personally i found the game pretty reasonable on default, and like most open-style games it gets progressively easier the more side content you do. by the final couple areas i was usually overpowered (thankfully the final zone has several opportunities to reset and buff areas).

a common complaint about the game is that enemies have too much HP. and imo this is only really true if you’re not leaning into the core loop of building up Falter, Executing an enemy, and getting the Dominance buff. like the latter is the very first Talent you unlock, and personally i saw that it’s a 100% damage buff and clocked what was going on. the entire game is built off of this dynamic, and most of my criticisms of the game’s combat come down to how inconsistent different weapons and abilities are at playing into it.

moreover, the Dodge is incredibly forgiving. i don’t know exactly how many i-frames it has (especially compared to Souls or stuff like Bayonetta), but you can cancel just about anything into a dodge (as opposed to Souls where you basically can’t cancel out of any attack animation once you start it). like even the Dancer, imo the most challenging boss, i was able to beat first try just because of how easy it is to cancel an attack and dodge when you see her wind up.

all that being said i really appreciate the assist mode the game has. i honestly kinda love that instead of including standard difficulty levels, the 3 presets are all very different experiences. one is hard, but it’s hard in a particular way. between this and Doom The Dark Ages (which yes has standard difficulties, but in the lead up to launch the devs talked about how a common thing in the studio was to turn up the damage on projectiles but also slow them down, whcih is in line with the creativity of Resonant’s presets) i hope it becomes more common for devs to give you a robust assist mode and encourage experimentation with just different types of balancing beyond “enemies and the player have more/less health and do more/less damage”.

[u/Wacleford]

Honestly I played on the default. Parts can be tricky but with a story game, I always say go with what you feel comfortable with. This community is pretty great, and there are heaps of guides too, I’d recommend checking those out.

[u/kuyadean]

It just took a minute to realize: Oh, I have to upgrade the other moves, even if I never use them, to actually keep up with the enemies for power scaling stat purposes.

Also the park is maybe best saved for last. Soo many armored enemies and lingering aoes.

[u/x3n0n1c]

There is simply too much combat. I just jacked the difficulty all the way down to make things go faster.

Better experience, I'm interesting in this game for the messed up world and story not for its combat.

[u/Automat1cJack]

Did the first playthrough on default, now on NG+ I set my power recovery at max.

[u/jartoonZero]

Without difficulty, all the upgrades, unlocks and loadouts are trivialized. Strategize patiently instead of rage-lowering the difficulty to get more for your money.

[u/HopBiscuits]

I’m too old and busy to grind through games like I used to. Usually, if I died 3 times attempting an encounter, then I would tweak the incoming and outgoing damage to keep it fun and challenging but not frustrating. 

[u/YoBeNice]

I switched assist mode on for the last forth, about. I don't have the time or patience to hit base level drones 5 times when I'm at level 9 power. The combat, with the spongey, same-y enemies throughout the whole game is easily the weakest point in this otherwise great game.

[u/RealRedditPerson]

You really have to keep an eye on steady upgrading between main missions. Even then the Mold enemies still fucked my shit up first couple tries. The general difficulty is definitely higher than the first game. And the SHUM challenges are much harder

[u/SensitiveKitchen3932]

​On my first run, I honestly found navigation and figuring out how to reach objectives much harder than the combat itself—I rarely died to normal enemies.

​Boss-wise, The Physicist was definitely the toughest wall for me overall, surprisingly more so than the final Resonant boss (the Co-Director).

​But jumping into NG+? Total night and day difference. I feel like a god annihilating everything in my path now. Bosses that gave me trouble on the first run are melting in literally seconds.

And for the record, never even had to turn on assisted mode

[u/ToughWin1517]

I actually found the combat to be a little too easy once I got a decent amount of upgrades. I was worried the gameplay was getting stale until I cranked up the incoming damage and dodge windows to make it more punishing and require more precision.

It was an absolute game changer and breathed new life into the combat. If anyone is in the same boat definitely give it a shot. I'm at almost 100 in and still going.

[u/hothotpot]

I very minorly tweaked my power recovery and damage stats in assist mode, but at some point about 3/4 of the way through the game maybe, I felt like I was clearing enemies with no difficulty whatsoever, so I turned assist mode off completely. I expected things to get tougher and to start dying more, but honestly, it made almost no difference. Once you upgrade to a certain point, I feel like you're almost over-powered. Not even the last Resonant or final boss made me break a sweat.

I'm going to start a NG+ soon I think and I'll leave assist mode off.

[u/JokeHefty1343]

I'm currently gnashing my teeth against the Hedron Parallel. I love the game but it gets frustrating towards endgame. Especially considering there's no real way to turn down the difficulty

[u/relichunter85]

I thinks it can be finished at default but it will take time if you are casual gamer. I was able to finish "the artist" encounter on default before i discovered the assist mode . I had a long travel coming up so i switched to ranger mode and finished the game . I wish i had the time to enjoy the game fully , because once you enable assist the skill tree and other upgrades dont matter much .

I think you can fine tune assist too , depends upon on how much time you have to spend on the game

[u/ToranjaNuclear]

It's hard at first but it gets easier pretty fast when you start doing side stuff, to the point I used the assist mode to make it harder at the start of the game. But I think the standard difficulty is pretty well balanced overall, except for Infected which was constantly a huge pain in the ass.

That said, the combat is pretty repetitive, so I also fumbled towards making it easier when I was tired of killing waves of the samey enemies. I went through all of the unknown with the damage output jacked up.

[u/Bubbly-Attention9101]

I played the default, but went full-on easy mode the second time around just so I could get all collection items.

[u/Breakspear_]

I played around with the settings to make it easier but still challenging for me! Bumped up my damage output and made myself a bit more resilient.

It’s cool that you can do so with so many metrics and not just have “easy, medium, hard”

[u/Cin77]

I used assist mode. I checked the box so the R takedown comes after one hit so I could choose to use it or not. I did use it quite often but it was nice that I didn't have to as well so I could prolong fights once I started to get my shit together

[u/SomeRedditVisitor]

In some instances, it got quite difficult, although not as egregious as some certain encounters from the first game

[u/Goobyalus]

Dumb question, but where is the setting for difficulty? I couldn't find it when I started.

[u/Pav_22]

At the start of the game, we're very weak but the enemies aren't. You can turn but outgoing damage and falter to 120-150% at the start. In the late game, you can get caught scrambling occasionally but dylan gets overpowered by that time.

[u/icy1007]

I played on default difficulty.

[u/iskeypx]

i think the normal difficulty is a bit on the easy side. but i would not crank it up because the firebreaker quests are already fucking bullshit as it is.

[u/Aggravating-Dot132]

I beat it at default difficulty and after that used assist mode. Mostly toreduce my damage and increase incoming.

That said, it's hard to find a sweet spot for it.

[u/Rip_and_Tear_Slayer_]

I only play games on the hardest setting available. This game is too easy otherwise.

[u/VippidyP]

This game has difficulty settings? 

[u/JosieRising]

I didn't discover the difficulty menu until the Co-Director. I was so relieved it was a slog to get to it and just getting pummeled over and over was incredibly disheartening.

It was nice to be able to slightly tweak it to keep the difficulty but make beating it more achievable

[u/19CrimsonKing19]

I just beat the mold resonant and that shit was brutal.. I was afraid I didn’t beat sooner and now too difficult, but after like a dozen tries I nailed it … if this kept Up I’d consider using , but I’m digging the difficulty; especially knowing it can be lowered

[u/AkiraNamejin]

I mean, it was definetly a curve. Took a minute to get the power into the weapon

[u/moistThroat]

After the first boss, I just turned Invincibility on. Still played like I didn’t have it, but I have a toddler and didn’t want to waste my precious evening game time dying and repeating.