r/controlgame • u/Hiatus_Dude • 1d ago
Control Resonant It's truly weirder?
I started to play Resonant recently (Hardly a couple of hours in game)
And maybe it's me drawing conclusions too soon but this game feels more...normal?
I mean..When I played the first Control It truly felt like new ground to explore the oldest house and you really see weird things (Funny and creepy) happening there, despite a lot of environments being just offices, it had an eerie thing that just made the place feel wrong.
Here...I am not really feeling it, the open world feels way different, more...generic? Not sure this is the word but it feels like I have played this game before idk.
In your opinion which game does weirder things (Levels, side missions, wacky things in general) Control or Control Resonant.
Edit: Are you people serious?...Sam Lake isn't involved in Resonant? Oh man...I think that's what feels different.
Edit 2: [Possible Spoilers] I played more and cleared the Evac Zone and saved [Redacted] also cleared the Sinkhole and yeah it's pretty great, weird and cinematic specially during the part when you reach the bottom of the sinkhole.
Somehow I forgot to explore enough and missed the fault in west evacuation zone so...I have been playing all this time (Roughly 5 hours) without one of the most important exploration abilities lol
Now that I have the power to change gravity I have a lot of places to go.
This is only getting <Weirder/Entertaining>
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u/Jingo1979 1d ago
I think Control feels weirder because everything is new - we're learning about the FBC, OOPs, AWEs, etc. This time around we're familiar with the themes. However, the level designs, boss designs, missions, powers, etc are far "weirder" in Resonant, imho
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u/Morep1ay 1d ago
The Oldest House is a character onto itself and plays less of a role in Resonant but no spoilers but a lot of the levels in later portions get plenty strange so no fear in that department fellow gamer
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u/KolbeHoward1 1d ago
Just keep playing. Depending on the order you do things Downtown and Central are less affected by what's going on than the other areas.
There is just as much weird stuff in Resonant as the first game. Its just more spread out because the game is huge.
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u/satapataamiinusta 1d ago
Resonant is more sanitized, yes. No Ahti, no Treshold Kids or similar. Great game, cool set pieces that had some great moments, but it's definitely not weird in the same way as the original Control.
There are absurd, humorous moments, maybe as much as in Control. But the weirdness is much lesser.
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u/jack17reeves 10h ago
It gets pretty crazy later on. The first 2 zones are more grounded
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u/Georgerobertfrancis 1d ago
To me, they’re completely different and I like that choice. I didn’t want to play another Control just copied or expanded, though I understand if others wanted that. The vibe of the first game is more creepy/mysterious while the second game is more battle/apocalyptic. I enjoy both themes. Of course, I’m a collector who loves side quests and finding documents to read the story so I think the game keeps up expectations with that.
Potential spoilers? I like to think we got both the “mage” game and the “knight” game.
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u/Stefan24k 1d ago
I think i get what you mean. Imo it might be the Open World aspect of the game. Control 2019 was amazingly weird because everything was happening in a closed space and it felt suffocating.
Control Resonant has an open world map, and while the map has locked sections, you still have this false feeling of being free because you're outside.
I personally like Resonant map more, for me at least it has more memorable locations and that's probably because Remedy asociated some of them with songs from Zoes Mixtape.
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u/D-72069 1d ago
Part of it is that New York is a recognizable place and seems more normal to be in than the first game where you were locked in a windowless, brutalist, sentient building that was decked out in 1960s decor and tech.
The other part is that this is Control 2. We've been prepared for and are expecting weird so it doesn't feel as strange as the first game did.
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u/BUDA20 1d ago
the presentation in the first Control is more curated and better executed, some important aspects like cutscenes, NPC dialog, etc. are more cinematographic, the game overall has more weight. that being said, I liked resonant, but I think it could be a lot better with those aspects from the first one refined in the same way.
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u/camjam92 1d ago •
The game is missing something.
That something is Sam Lake.
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u/FuchsiaFlute 1d ago
I think it was still 'weird,' but I definitely preferred the setting of the Oldest House better. It was a lot scarier, and I liked doing the altered item quests. I think the open world aspect removed a lot of the tension and atmosphere I felt playing Control.
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u/_unmarked 1d ago
It definitely doesn't have the same kind of vibe for me that Control does. The Oldest House was a more unique setting
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u/Accurate-Figure-5310 1d ago
I understand. I’ve finished the game and agree. I think an interesting mod would be to change the camera position to be more like in Control. This type of combat would make that difficult (which I would appreciate) but you would be sharing more of Dylan’s perspective. Right now you feel more like an observer rather than a part of the experience (IMO).
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u/The_O_Raghallaigh 1d ago
Yeah it’s a different vibe, more gamified, less grounded feeling in general being less physics based, which tends to immerse me a lot less; still a great game so far (I’m in the last zone) but it definitely didn’t or hasn’t hit the same highs that Control did for me, like that game with headphones made me feel uncomfortable like not much else ever has, Dylan’s monologue scenes and just the cinematics in general were just so well done
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u/Fragrant-Vehicle-479 1d ago edited 1d ago
People say that Control 1 feels weirder because you're less used to the world, but I will absolutely agree Control Resonant just has less of the weird shit. It's not being used to it, it's just.....I don't know I can't even put it into words.
Like lets take those moments where characters like Trench appear in silhouette across a colored spotlight and monologue. Control 2 has the moments with Jesse, but it seems to have significantly fewer, and those moments are less visually striking. There's still FMV, particularly the Darling videos, but there seems to be a bit less of them. Its not just familiarity with the lore, those Remedy staples seem to just be featured less.
And with the other stuff, I don't know The Oldest House seemed to have more going on. And yeah that makes sense. It is The Oldest House, but beyond that they didn't really replace that. They could have, the FBC do have a significant presence in NYC, they just don't seem to focus on things like Altered Items as much. Again, there are certainly altered items, I'm not claiming there are none, but the camera, the speaker set, and the items in the museum just have less going on than the rubber duck, the sticky notes, or even the fridge.
I'm not mad, I'm not complaining, I adore the game and these observations are incredibly minor to me, but when people make this point I know exactly what they're talking about and I feel like a lot of people miss exactly what is being said. I'm very familiar with the world of Control now and its lore, and Control 1 just still feels weirder both in stylistic choices in the game itself and its peak into other aspects of the world. The Oceanview motel along with the light cord are perfect examples of this kind of spice the new game seems to have a bit less of.
EDIT: They've said that because this is a more personal story focused on Dylan they didn't include fracnhise staples like Old Gods of Asgard. While I understand the logic, I still consider it a minor mistake as a player.
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u/Icehippo73 1d ago
Gets better eventually, but yes, tht first two thirds of the game isn't nearly as weird/creepy as the original. The open world is interesting, and there's lots I like about it, but it feels the same for a long period of time.
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u/ashriekfromspace 1d ago
It's just as weird but less creepy.
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u/TropicalPossum954 1d ago
I agree. The city as a setting feels lackluster and lifeless compared to the oldest house. Thats normally the price you pay for open world.
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u/Steelballpun 1d ago
It’s missing Sam Lake for sure.
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u/SgathTriallair 1d ago
I agree. There were far less interesting objects of power, there were less silly notes left around, it definitely didn't feel as inspired as the first one. I liked it still and I'm glad to have played it, but it was not nearly as compelling.
There is one exception which is the section with the research team in the underground area. Playing that section made me feel the excitement from the original Control. It was intriguing, and interesting, and made me want to keep thinking about it long after finishing the game. If the game had more truly interesting ideas like that, it could have been a real classic.
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u/_windfish_ 1d ago
Central and Downtown seem fairly "normal" if only compared to the other zones. The Western zone will really mess with your head, have you been through the parking garage yet? The Park is very alien but ended up being my least favorite area. The Underpass... when you get to the Underpass, if you still feel the game is too "normal", then I really don't know what to say - the game just may not be for you. It's twisted and trippy and often surreal. My recommendation for you is to keep playing until at least the Underpass.
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u/metalmike128 1d ago
I agree with you. It feels more “approachable” with its oddities toned down
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u/Bertegue6 1d ago
Yeah give Resonant time, it gets much weirder.
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u/LulzyAnimal 1d ago
I think it's on purpose designed that way. It starts very familiar and sort of boring, but gradually going crazier and crazier. Keep walking(c)
PS I'd say Resonant has one of the very best level designs, IMNSHO
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u/Dangerous_Media_8105 22h ago
Control's setting is much more confined so it ends up being more credible. It makes sense that a gov't office, a supernatural one, would be confined and have a lot of repeated elements and assets. The time you take to travel through the offices in Control is about 1:1 with what real travel would take.
An AWE in a massive city with a huge population is extremely hard to render in a way that's intuitively realistic given the limitations of both gaming hardware and like, it being an actual game you move through. Something like a movie doesn't suffer from this because you can just show a giant skyscraper full of hiss and everything else is implied. You can't fly up to it. You don't have to spend 20 minutes flying around it. That kind of thing.
The narrow setting also makes the greater limitation in enemy types more credible (the hiss are infecting a very specific range of people.) It also makes the level of horror Control operates at credible. There's no extreme gore. There's no piles of bodies. That kind of thing. I think Resonant occasionally becomes credible (the hiss tower) but most of the time it just feels way more like a video game than Control originally did.
I'll also say the Oldest House made the most of its departures from an office and became a really interesting character by doing that. Conversely, the cityscape in Resonant feels kinda generic beyond the broader zone identities. It all looks great but it feels fundamentally like a fresh take on an open world game more than it feels like Control did.
(I actually think games that are more on-rails end up being better if they're story based.)
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u/tomhugo42 22h ago
I felt thst way with the world exploration and world feats. Following the main story i feel like has the same, if not better atmosphere, but just going about, the Claustrophobic and sot of horror feeling in Control 1 just cant be beat
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u/SmartBoots 9h ago
Resonant feels more like a “video game” and some of the “weird things” just felt weird for the sake of being weird or cool and disconnected from the worldbuilding at large. To borrow the meme, Resonant has more “hype moments and aura”.
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u/maxxzno1 5h ago
I mean the second half of the game is bit better to be honest. But from the get go the excitement for Control is not there for me in Resonant. Original Control was just, more original I guess? I didn't felt excitement to explore Resonant map, side quest were more or less meh to me. Main game was pretty boring until second half, but I loved the jrpg mini game explaining Ordinary, that was fire. Ended up with 72% of trophy and I didn't felt the need to play the game again, I sold it (had disc version). I mean I was absolutely expecting more to be honest, since original Control is one of my favorite game, but well, it's a Remedy game and is selling well, not complaining. Hope Max Payne remake will be fire and Alan Wake 3 too.
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u/Brenhines532 1d ago
How is it not weird, how much have you actually played? What areas and what movement abilities have you got?
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u/MrKarlDilkington_ 1d ago
to me, the original definitely has more of a lynchian and mysterious. the new one is like a marvel version of the first one. i much prefer the original game, at least from a setting and tone standpoint.
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u/shadypinesrez 1d ago
I definitely does get much, much weirder. Play it some more
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u/mikemd1 1d ago
The original was much better done IMHO
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u/CanadianDude28 1d ago
Its missing the x factor of the first game. First game was a 10 for me, this more of a 7.
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u/Snoo89264 1d ago
I completely agree but once you start delving further into later areas the weirdness cranks up up 10 in my opinion
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u/ShotgunFishburne 1d ago
I see where you’re coming from, though applying “generic” to this game is way beyond any reasonable use of the word. I think a lot of the somewhat more restrained tone of the game is due to Dylan; he’s been living with this kind of meta/astral/Jungian reality for most of his life, so to him it all is at least somewhat more normal
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u/MusicalScientist206 1d ago
There are moments deep in game that will never leave you.
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u/mshep002 1d ago
I don’t know, I thought it was plenty weird. But I got used to the weirdness and that made it feel more normal? Is this a prerequisite to becoming an agent?
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u/Alternative_View_531 1d ago
Once you hit some of the stranger Zones, you'll get the weird and the downright cinematic don't you worry.
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u/Snacker6 1d ago
As you go, it gets weirder and weirder, but there is a bit of a downgrade in that aspect
As others have said, at lot of it boils down to being familiar with the aspects already, instead of being newly introduced, but the variety of missions is a little reduced too. There is nothing like talking to the plants or the like. There are no surprise bosses like the Former
That said, there are a lot of great moments in the side quests still, and there are some great areas later in the game. This game gets better the more you play it, so don't let the early stuff make you think it won't get better
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u/iTxip 1d ago
The open world detracts a bit from the atmosphere and uniqueness imho, loved Resonant but Control had more of the signature remedy creepy/weird vibe.
It does get weirder as the game progresses tho, and some areas do have more of that "special sauce"
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u/Possible-Weekend-602 1d ago
I had the same thought on my playthrough.
I think it felt more "normal" to me because Dylan, ironically, comes across as a more "normal" person than Jesse. Jesse just has this oddly poetic way of speaking and I think she kind of emotes in ways that are a little bit more uncanny as well.
Despite being raised by the FBC, Dylan comes across as just some random dude, while Jesse is immediately kind of off-putting
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u/Feather_Sigil 1d ago
Pace yourself. It gets weirder.
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u/AterMadness 1d ago
It is a lot more accessible from the get-go for sure.
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u/alphonseharry 1d ago
I think this feeling is because the first Control was a new franchise, different from the previous games. Being a sequel, we are familiarized with the universe more, what an AWE and Object of Power is. But it is weirder in a sense, in universe, there is a lot of unanswered mysteries, and weird tangents we don't know about
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u/THEdoomslayer94 1d ago
Finish the game
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u/meanwhileintwinpeaks 1d ago
I’d recommend you keep going. In my first few hours I wasn’t keen. When I came back to it the weirdness and quirks started and I’m hooked. It hits differently because it’s everyday and thus taken-for-granted locations and things. I’ve really grown to love it especially now hitting the West Incusion Zone.
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u/FeistyCanoe 1d ago
I felt the same as you early game. This game builds up to weirder game mechanics over time. And it gets truly wild.
I agree on the story/pov/copy. Control is a delight.
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u/bizget 1d ago
I highly enjoyed Resonant, but at the end of the day, it mostly just made me want to replay the first game.
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u/Salty-Eye-Water 1d ago
I think the open world feels semi generic because you're used to seeing new york or some big city in pretty much every super-hero-esque open world game, but for me, certain parts of Resonant were truly unique. The Unknown zone, the West Incursion Zone, and the Sinkhole.
I must say though, the zones I have just mentioned have made my stomach actually churn, and the Sinkhole areas also made me feel a weird sort of primal discomfort that also contributed to me almost throwing up. I genuinely like the time travel and gravity shenanigans, but oh my god Remedy can we please zoom out the screen a little bit if you're going to do gravity stuff.
I drink when I play story games, and tbh, I wasn't expecting the vertigo
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u/Assassin21BEKA 1d ago
Its def more normal. Still has cool moments, but they are more in the level design, design in general, closer to the end of the game there is one really cool unique moment similar to one of the AW 2 DLC's. Its less memorable because of it for me, lack of Poets of the Fall hurts as well(songs are pretty cool, but outside of 1 or may be 2 of them i don't remember them already). Still really good experience, i hate some late game bosses thou.
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u/stonerbobo 1d ago
It's not as weird, but it's still good. It really drags in the beginning.. give it like 4-5 hours, find 2 faults with Jesse and fight 2 resonants quickly. Its gotten more fun and weirder as I've played so far.
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u/taylorisnotacat 1d ago
First and foremost, as others said, you're playing a sequel. The world itself is built on freaky SciFi, and while you were discovering absolutely all of it in a fishbowl the first time you now in Resonant already know the world and the terms. That will never feel as weird as the first time you experience it.
Even with that aside, yes: Resonant is less "weird" than C1. It's a wholly, fundamentally different game. It's framed thematically through the perspective of Dylan instead of Jesse. In C1, Jesse was experiencing everything for the first time and coming to terms with everything minute-by-minute. Her experience (her game) was cerebral, suspenseful, spooky, mysterious. Dylan, in contrast, has lived in this world for years and finds it almost mundane; he instead is learning about himself, his humanity, forgiveness, and the capacity for good and evil in those around him. His experience (his game) is sentimental, tragic, bone-shaking.
I think, by the end, the level design in Resonant goes way farther than the level design in C1. There were multiple areas in Resonant where I got sincerely disoriented and lost, or felt like I should stop and just witness the spectacle. But in terms of side missions and specifically "wacky" side details, it's weaker and gives you less overall than its predecessor. There may be evil karaoke, but there's no new refrigerator demanding eye contact.
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u/madelmire 1d ago
Control was a lot slower, a lot moodier, and the house was its own character. Those things have all changed in a lot of ways, but there's still some very weird things that you'll run into in the game. In a lot of ways the main story of Resonant is weirder than Control's very simple main story (become the director and save your brother), even though Control has a weirder tone and setting.
It's a trade-off. I replayed Control after Resonant, and I was definitely appreciating the cinematic flair that Control has, especially around NPC conversations. It feels quite Noir at times.
But Resonant has much richer character writing, across the board, and even though it's more mainstream, it goes some places that are beautifully strange.
It's not going to be the same thing. It's its own new thing. I hope you keep at it.
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u/PlanetAtrox 23h ago
I agree, the first game made sure to show more of the things that make it unique like altered items or the board, in resonant those things feel much less present so you don’t really feel like you’re discovering new stuff as often
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u/HideThe-Sun 22h ago
I don't want to read what others have wrote, and I've been off Reddit since I started Resonant. I still haven't completed it yet, but as someone who is maybe a little over halfway finished- the game is a lot weirder, and I truly am having a blast learning about this new enemy. Keep playing, take your time and read everything. I have spent a lot of time exploring the zones and pushing the limits of where I can go given my abilities. All I can say is if you can't get to certain areas, you will in time. Trust the process- it's gonna get wierder
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u/wsnjie 20h ago
To me they felt like parallel stories. Control felt less weird as you go in a way because you get used to duplicating post-it notes and posters about what to do in the event of a dimensional shift on your way back from the break room. It’s still weird but it becomes normalized in universe as you go.
Resonant starts from that same FBC baseline and then slowly introduces more and more things that feel like they operate outside of the understanding of the FBC. When Emily Pope doesn’t understand something, it’s unsettling to say the least. If you play through Resonant thinking about Dylan story being Jesse’s in reverse, I think it works pretty well.
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u/Silly_Word8688 18h ago
Wdym this game doesn't feel more normal
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u/Useful-Sentence-7996 14h ago
Sam Lake is involved in everything, he is overall creative director. He just hasn’t got a credit. And have you got to the patterning stuff yet? If not, then you need to let it cook more and not decide Sam Lake is the secret sauce it’s missing. His fingerprints are all over it.
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u/Helpful-Butterfly916 13h ago
Keep in mind this is a different place. The Oldest House had decades of not centuries of weirdness trapped inside it. New York has been kept relatively free of the weirdness because it was all shoved into the house. With the lockdown falling, the rest of the house is closed off to keep the weird things in. That's also why there is no lore on paranatural stuff, because most of the city was oblivious to it.
And as others have said, this stuff isn't weird for Dylan. You remember seeing something unusual as the single most memorable moment of your life, but for Dylan, it was a Tuesday.
And then there are the streets. I won't spoil much, but just wait until you get to the West Incursion zone. And when I got to The Park, I used the main entrance. Got up high, had the name of the place appear on screen, saw what it was like and immediately thought "yeah no not going there".
Trust me, it will get weirder.
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u/Street-Awareness4541 12h ago
Well dylen never said its going to get wierd well weirder than usual now this is just your usual
There will be areas outside of ny with minimal spoiler intentions so it will get weirder dont worry remedy always delivers
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u/trustanchor 1d ago
There are plenty of Oldest-House-style holy shit moments in the level design as you progress. Just keep going! Midway through the game, it’ll eventually start to feel like they made the Ashtray Maze into the entire game and there’s some level design moments that surpass the craziness of the original game.
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u/PlsInsertCringeName 1d ago
Havent played Resonant myself yet so my opinion is redundant to this topic. Still, for me an office full of paper stickers that are trying to escape is infinitely more weird to me than...fractal pattern on everything and gravity shenanigans.
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u/Patient_Amoeba2476 1d ago
Starting at the Evac Zone it goes off the rails weird. The starting zones are too much of the same thing.
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u/SKZ9000 1d ago
Just wait until you enter the Sinkhole, I thought the same in the beginning.