Is New Game Plus Available in CONTROL Resonant?

CONTROL Resonant's New Game Plus arrives at launch with a clear premise: it lets players replay the story as Dylan while keeping most of what they built. Destructoid's reporting frames the feature as strongest on a second run, when knowledge of the main story frees players to inspect details and lore instead of rushing forward.

Background: Why the First Playthrough Changes the Second

The first playthrough of CONTROL Resonant is described as amazing, but the second pass can be even better. Already knowing what will happen lets players pay more attention to the game's details and take time with lore. For readers, that makes New Game Plus more than a difficulty reset: it is a way to revisit the campaign with a different goal, choose abilities that were not selected in the first run, and test builds without starting from zero.

Remedy implemented the feature so players can take control of Dylan once again. The launch version has one major caveat: it is limited to a second playthrough of the story, not unlimited replays. The developer has said it is planning a fix.

Development Process: What Launch New Game Plus Does

When players start New Game Plus in CONTROL Resonant, they can revisit the main story, face off against Resonants, and complete side quests. Combat abilities carry over, so a player can choose whatever skills they did not pick the first time around.

New Game Plus starts on a separate save slot. That keeps the post-campaign state of the first playthrough available if the player needs to return to it. The enemies are more challenging in New Game Plus, but the reported experience is that the difficulty increase is likely felt in the final zones rather than from the opening.

To offset that difficulty bump, players receive a fourth Artifact Slot. That slot opens build options: for example, a run can focus more on Falter or damage.

Spoiler Warning: How Carry-Over Rules Affect Early Access

Starting a New Game Plus run removes key items and traversal abilities acquired from faults. Pretty much everything else moves into the next playthrough.

If a player completed a certain side quest in the Unknown Zone, the reward item from that side quest stays in the inventory. Because of that carry-over rule, Dylan can enter the Gap as soon as the playthrough starts. This is one of the launch feature's practical differences from a normal first run.

What carries over in New Game Plus:

• Combat abilities
• Passives and Talents
• Aberrant upgrades
• Source, resources, and reset items
• Resonant Token, available from a specific side quest
• Zone progress and vendor level
• Cosmetics
• Challenge progress in Arcades

What does not carry over in New Game Plus:

• Key items
• Side quest progress
• Completed secrets, but their rewards do

Latest Progress: The October "New Game Plus Plus" Plan

Remedy added New Game Plus at launch, but the feature only lets players play through the story a second time. Remedy has a planned "New Game Plus Plus" update for October. It will allow players to replay the story as many times as they would like.

That October change matters for build planning. Repeated runs make it easier to reach maximum level across all zones, because zones can be reset and secrets and world events can respawn for another pass. For readers who want to test builds, collect cosmetics, or finish arcade challenges, the update turns the launch version from a single enhanced replay into a long-term progression system.

Current Stage: One Replay Now, Unlimited Runs Planned Later

At launch, CONTROL Resonant New Game Plus provides a second run with most progress carried over, a separate save slot, a fourth Artifact Slot, and a limited set of removed key items and traversal abilities. The current stage is between that launch feature and the October "New Game Plus Plus" fix: players can start a New Game Plus run now, while unlimited story replays remain the planned next step.