If you thought CONTROL Resonant couldn’t get any cooler, Remedy pushed a hotfix today to fix one of the game’s biggest pain points. The update makes enemies more forgiving, especially in the early game, while still keeping fights challenging.
CONTROL Resonant released globally today, but PlayStation 5 users got two days of early access. Feedback from reviewers and players pointed out enemies’ high health, which is more palpable in the first couple of zones.
Today’s Hotfix 1.33 focuses on three main facets: “enemy health pools feeling too high, requiring too many hits to Falter (stun) enemies for executions, and Dylan’s overall combat strength early on in the game not feeling powerful enough (even if the man just woke up from a coma),” Remedy said in the patch notes.
The Dancer and the Deserter, two of the first major bosses you can fight in the game, also had their health and Falter reduced, while the developer increased the maximum strength for Dylan Faden’s abilities and his Aberrant weapon.
Respeccing is also less onerous now, with a lower cost and greater availability of reset items in the game’s vendors.
The patch notes also highlight the game’s Assist Mode, which was also present in the original CONTROL. This menu has a set of tweaks that can make the game easier or harder, such as sliders for incoming/outgoing damage and Falter. Many players used it to make enemies feel less like health sponges, though we’re using it to give us a bigger challenge in our NG+ run.
CONTROL Resonant released to critical acclaim, boasting a score of 84/100 on review aggregator Metacritic. We gave it a well-earned nine out of 10, due to the sheer spectacle and the fluid combat that keeps you glued to the screen. We also praised how exploring Manhattan is usually rewarding, with valuable upgrades hidden behind secrets or puzzles (like the pesky laundry puzzle in Central).
The studio said it will “closely follow your feedback and make further adjustments as needed,” so the team seems ready to tackle any bigger-scale pain points that may arise.
