Control Resonant will take around 30 hours to finish, according to lead gameplay designer Sergey Mohov, roughly double the length of the 2019 game it follows.
Mohov gave the figure for the "core experience" in an interview with TechRadar, reported by Polygon. He put a completionist run at around 50 hours. By comparison, Control's main story runs roughly a dozen hours, and HowLongToBeat lists an average completionist playthrough of the original at under 30.
A larger setting
The sequel changes setting, protagonist and combat system. Where Control took place entirely inside the Oldest House, with most levels confined to comparatively small areas, Resonant is set on the streets of New York City.
Remedy has said the map is built around open-ended zones intended to give players more freedom in how they approach objectives, without the game being an open world in the strict sense. Polygon notes that structure implies more optional content away from the main story, and that reaching 30 hours in the core campaign would still require substantially more narrative than the original carried.
The studio has shipped long-form campaigns before, though not on this scale in the Control line. Polygon puts 2023's Alan Wake 2, a largely linear title, at about 20 hours, which leaves Resonant's stated core length ahead of Remedy's most recent release as well as its direct predecessor.
A sequel that keeps the original's shape
Despite the changes to setting, lead character and combat, Polygon wrote after a hands-on preview that Resonant reads as a faithful follow-up to Control rather than a departure from it. The game is billed as an action RPG.
Remedy has not broken the 30-hour figure down between main-story missions and optional content, and Mohov's numbers are estimates from the development team rather than measured playthroughs.
Control Resonant is scheduled for release on September 24 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X.
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