Control Resonant rewards players who take the time to read every file they find

Control Resonant is a game full of secrets, and most of them live in the files you can skip entirely. That is the whole point of a new report that makes the case for reading everything in Remedy’s sequel to 2019’s Control. The Federal Bureau of Control, the game’s central organisation, produces mountains of memos, reports and scraps of paper — and buried inside those documents is a workplace romantic comedy the report’s author did not expect.

The Paperwork Is Everywhere

The FBC handles strange objects and entities that defy explanation. It also handles paperwork. In Resonant, the menus themselves are stuffed with text, and the game unlocks enemy logs automatically after you fight each enemy type for the first time. Most players skip them. The report’s author admits she did too, at first.

She initially skipped documents that seemed optional, the enemy logs compiled in a separate tab. She was busy learning the city and beating down the Hiss and mold enemies. Gravity doesn’t always matter in Resonant’s version of Manhattan, which bends like an M.C. Escher drawing, and combat early on gave her trouble.

But eventually she decided to read through the logs anyway. They proved useful. The Threat Assessment Team, which compiles the logs, details each enemy’s attack patterns and weaknesses, which aren’t always obvious when foes arrive in large groups. The logs also hide a love story.

Rick and Lydia’s Love Story

The Threat Assessment Team consists of two people: Rick Patel, who documents the Hiss, and Lydia M.B. McPierce, who documents the mold and some later-game enemies. Rick is serious and straightforward. Lydia is the opposite, finding plenty of time to talk shit about the mold in between her regular notes.

Across dozens of logs, their individual personalities unfold. The report tracks the pair’s relationship across several documents, including one about a particularly dangerous Hiss variant that Rick came too close to during his observations. In that document, he finally lays it all bare, confessing his fear of death and his desire for a chance with Lydia.

He writes that he could have died, that another close call like that might just be the end for him, and that he doesn’t want to go without taking a chance on them. He remembers how they laughed at their ideal dates being the exact opposites of each other, how chaotic a pair they’d make, and wonders if they could have something real together. He asks what she thinks, and adds that she can tell him over coffee what a coward he is for not doing this in person.

Rick also references Lydia often. In one log, he says that had he realized Lydia had emetophobia, he would’ve offered to trade some responsibilities with her so she could avoid the vomit-like attacks of the mold. The report’s author, who has emetophobia herself, found this charming.

Lydia’s side of the story comes later. As the world looks doomed, she adds an aside at the bottom of a late-game document: “Hey Ricky, this is out of left field, but if we actually survive this, wanna grab a coffee sometime?”

More Than Romance

The logs are not the only place Remedy hides its writing. The report notes that the game seeds little stories and fun details throughout the world, not just in written documents. Among them:

1. An influencer’s view of Manhattan’s “inception ahh streets”
2. The FBC’s serious ethics violations

Reading enriched Remedy’s fantastically weird world. The report’s author learned how to fight the game’s enemies a little better, and in the process, she grew fond of two characters she never actually met.

The Missing Log

The report’s author is still missing one singular enemy log. She hasn’t confirmed whether Lydia has seen Rick’s note. But she knows Lydia likes him back.

Now she is determined to track down and kill that last enemy type so she can read Lydia’s final log. She is also sure she will stumble upon some other documents she missed along the way. She can’t wait to see what she finds.

The report’s core argument is simple: reading was integral to her own experience. It helped her fight better, and it introduced her to characters she would otherwise have missed. The enemy logs are not just tips. They are a workplace romantic comedy, and Remedy hid it in plain sight.

The report ends on a note of anticipation. The missing log is waiting, and so is Lydia’s answer.

Source material: “Control Resonant is a great game — it’s even better when you read everything,” The Verge.

Control Resonant · game narrative · hidden lore · Remedy · video game secrets