Control Resonant Wins Over Critics: Remedy Delivers Again, Though Without Aiming for GOTY

Remedy has brought the Control universe back to the table and, as reported by Movistar eSports, specialist critics have received Control Resonant with a very positive verdict. We are not talking about a runaway phenomenon or an undisputed contender for the major awards, but rather a title that, judging by the first reviews, delivers what was expected of it and leaves a good impression on those who have already played it.

This matters for several reasons. The first is that the Finnish studio has spent years building a shared universe, and every new entry is a litmus test for whether that narrative bet still has legs. The second is that 2026 is a year dominated by an elephant in the room: GTA VI. As the source itself points out, Game of the Year should go Rockstar's way without much debate, so every other release has to earn its place on its own merits rather than by closing out the season with a trophy.

What you need to know

• According to Movistar eSports, the critical reception of Control Resonant is, broadly speaking, very positive.
• The source rules it out as a serious Game of the Year contender, an award it believes GTA VI should win outright.
• It is a new entry set in the Control universe, Remedy Entertainment's action franchise built around supernatural powers.
• The source has not published specific average scores or sales figures, so it is worth waiting for the full picture of reviews to settle.

What a positive reception means for Remedy

Remedy is one of those studios that plays in a league of its own. It does not compete on volume or budget with the big multinationals, but it has earned a reputation for its identity: unsettling atmospheres, twisted storytelling and an obsession with staging that few can match. The fact that Control Resonant has been well received confirms that this signature still works and that the universe that began with the first Control has plenty of life left in it.

The interesting part is the nuance Movistar eSports introduces: good reviews, yes, but without the label of a generational masterpiece. That is a comfortable yet dangerous place to be. Comfortable because it guarantees a loyal player base and an intact reputation; dangerous because, in a saturated market, games that land at a high B+ have a harder time surviving the release cycle if they do not generate sustained conversation.

The GTA VI factor

Nobody is fooling themselves here. Any studio releasing a game this year knows it is competing against Rockstar's shadow for media attention, for players' time and for presence on streaming platforms. The source makes it clear by noting that GOTY should go to GTA VI almost automatically. For Remedy, that is not necessarily a bad thing: it takes the pressure off and lets the studio play the alternative-game card, the one you enjoy once the novelty of the big blockbuster has worn off.

Our take

Here at the Underworld Lordz newsroom we are glad to see a studio with real personality keep earning critical support, but we are not going to fake an enthusiasm the reviews themselves do not convey. A "very positive" without GOTY ambitions sounds like a solid, well-executed game, perhaps somewhat safe. And honestly, that is exactly what many of us expected: Remedy rarely disappoints, but it also rarely fully surprises outside its comfort zone.

For competitive players, Control Resonant is a proposition to be understood for what it is: a single-player experience designed to help you unplug from the grind and from ranked. It is not going to change our training routine or make it onto any tournament calendar, but it is the kind of title many of us appreciate between blocks of scrims. A well-crafted break has value, even if it does not earn you points on the ladder.

For content creators, the analysis is more nuanced. A Remedy game always provides material: striking visual moments, theories about its lore and that sense of strangeness that works well in clips. The problem is the attention window. If GTA VI absorbs the conversation, the room for a title of this profile to stand out on stream narrows, and you will have to move fast to make the most of it before the algorithm looks the other way. Our advice: if you are going to cover it, do it early and with your own angle, do not wait for it to cool off.

What do you think?

We want to know how you see it from your side. Do you think a game with good reviews but no shot at Game of the Year deserves your time in such a packed year, or are you saving every free hour for GTA VI? Tell us in the team chat or on our Discord.