How Remedy designed Control Resonant’s wildest mission: ‘Anything kind of goes’
Note: Some spoilers for Control Resonant's "Recursions and Iterations" mission follow. One of Control Resonant's most memorable missions involves time travel - kind of. There are certainly multiple timelines intersecting, or maybe overlapping, or maybe running in parallel. As protagonist Dylan Faden, you meet some of the researchers who are trapped in and investigating these […]
Control Resonant's "Recursions and Iterations" mission is a standout sequence that blends time travel and combat. Protagonist Dylan Faden encounters researchers trapped in timeline anomalies, only to find them dead in every timeline he explores. The mission's ambiguity about the researchers' fate is part of its unsettling atmosphere.
Remedy's developers found it challenging to define the mission's outcome, even after extensive work on the level design and narrative. Toward the end of the mission, players encounter a mind-bending combat sequence with multiple Dylans from different timelines joining the fight, reminiscent of a Titanfall mission. This late addition was inspired by that earlier mission and crafted to reuse existing Dylan animations.
The Underpass level, where Dylan must navigate between three research stations, underwent several iterations to visually differentiate the stations and ensure players understood the time differences. The mission's success with playtesters highlighted the importance of balancing ambiguity with clear guidance to create an unsettling yet coherent experience.
Written by urgent.news from The Verge's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
