Remedy’s latest game, Control Resonant, is nearly a flawless PC port, with the numbers proving it. It runs on hardware ranging from a handheld to a full desktop rig, and it never looks bad. Lighting alone would justify the praise, yet the performance holds up just as well. Across every platform it touches, this title delivers on both fronts and earns attention for doing so.
Ray Tracing Finally Clicked
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti first arrived in 2018, and the early days of ray tracing were rough. Games like Battlefield 1 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider tried the technology, but the results were mixed at best. Performance dropped hard, and the visual gains did not always justify the cost.
Then Control came out in the summer of 2019. The lighting in that game changed everything. It looked better than almost anything else on the market at the time, even when it was not chasing total realism. The effect was immediate. Ray tracing finally clicked for the reviewer.
Control Resonant follows in those footsteps and manages to become one of the most beautiful games of the year. It does so through a lighting solution that remains the standard.
Scaling From Handheld to Desktop
The developer’s final title, Alan Wake 2, remains a technical triumph. It stands among the most strikingly beautiful games the reviewer has ever seen, with scenes that appear like a film when viewed at higher graphical settings. Yet it is not a game that runs well on modest PCs.
Instead of pushing for ultra realism like Alan Wake 2, Control Resonant backs off and scales down to suit weaker hardware. High-end PCs get a striking path tracing effect that brings out the game’s art style, while a handheld device still manages to look impressive.
The evidence arrived without delay. A reviewer installed the game on the Xbox Ally X, a handheld console, and anticipated problems. Having already managed Halo: Campaign Evolved, Star Wars Zero Company, and The Blood of Dawnwalker, the expectation was a chaotic experience. What happened instead was a pleasant surprise, achieved simply by switching on the handheld graphics preset and setting FSR to quality.
The visuals were excellent at 1080p. During the opening boss fight, with pieces flying all around, the frame rate stayed steady between 45 and 40 fps. Drops into the mid-30s happened now and then, but they did not seem to hurt the sense of motion, so the player never felt less skilled at the game. FSR’s frame creation can make the game look like it is running at 60+ fps, although it does add a little delay.
The Steam Deck Test
Valve’s Steam Deck is a handheld from four and a half years ago, and it does not handle Control Resonant the same way every other device does. Pushed to the limit, the machine showed its age. Even with the handheld preset turned down to 720p and FSR set to balanced, the frame rate could not manage to stay above 25 frames per second.
Playing the game in that way is possible, though the reviewer does not advise it. The experience works, but it does not feel comfortable.
Desktop Performance Exceeds Expectations
The game performs extremely well on systems with more powerful hardware. Remedy’s official PC system requirements recommend the RTX 4070 Ti as the GPU for playing at the medium preset, with ray tracing set to medium, expecting a frame rate of 60 fps. Testing indicates those requirements were conservative.
The reviewer installed an RTX 4070 Ti Super and set the game to 1440p with the medium preset, ray tracing at medium, and DLSS set to balanced. At those settings, Control Resonant averaged 111 fps, with a 1% low of 81 fps. That is far above Remedy’s quoted 60 fps for those settings.
The RTX 4070 Ti Super delivers roughly a 10-15% performance edge over the recommended 4070 Ti. Even if you cut 15% of the frames from the test, the average still sits at 94 fps. That figure exceeds what Remedy’s official system requirements imply.
Maxing Out the Details
There is plenty of room to push the settings further. The reviewer wanted to see what happens if the game is maxed out at 1440p with the same DLSS settings. Even at the Ultra preset with path tracing, the game averaged 70 fps with a 1% low of 58 fps.
Even after removing 15% of the performance gap to compare the 4070 Ti Super with the 4070 Ti, the remaining difference sits at around 60 fps. That figure does not include any adjustment for frame generation either.
Across several settings, the test reveals a steady trend: Control Resonant meets and exceeds its official requirements. The numbers do not lie; the game’s performance matches its promises.
Frame Generation Delivers Smoothness
Enabling frame generation improves the experience despite latency concerns. Turning it on for the RTX 4070 Ti Super raised the frame rate to 118, though the pre-frame-gen figure fell to 60. That is plenty to make Control Resonant feel quick, and it produces a very smooth frame rate for a high-refresh gaming display.
Normally, switching frame gen on brings extra delay compared to leaving it off. For reasons that aren’t explained, Remedy doesn’t allow the choice to enable Nvidia Reflex separately from frame interpolation. Because of this design choice, the reviewer finds themselves with lower overall delay when frame generation is turned on.
This particular arrangement delivers a real benefit. The title remains fluid, the display updates at a rapid pace, and the reaction time to player input is not diminished as much as one would expect. It is a rare case where a feature that usually demands a sacrifice elsewhere instead produces gains on both fronts.
The Verdict on the Lighting
Control Resonant’s lighting steals the spotlight. The reviewer acknowledges they likely would have walked away content even if the game performed far less impressively. That it manages to scale so well while maintaining such a striking appearance earns it a spot among the finest PC ports of the year so far.
The advice is plain if you own a gaming PC capable of running Resonant without strain and intend to play it anyway: grab it on Steam immediately. The port nearly reaches perfection, and the game’s own value justifies the effort.
What We Make of It
Across every device tested, from a handheld to a full desktop rig, Control Resonant delivers a stunning visual presentation alongside frame rates that surpass expectations. The game proves that performance and presentation can coexist without compromise.
Control Resonant runs without friction on almost every platform, but there’s one notable exception: the Steam Deck’s struggle, but it is a hardware limitation, not a flaw in the game’. Every other device handles the game with ease, delivering a quick, fluid, and visually striking performance.
This title serves as proof of what modern PC development can accomplish. It stands as evidence that ray tracing and path tracing carry genuine worth.
“The game does drop to the mid-30s occasionally, but even when it does, it still feels smooth enough that I don’t feel like it’s causing me to be any worse at the game.”
The game manages to hold its momentum despite the drops, which are real but do not spoil the experience. The responsiveness is such that an occasional dip never breaks the player’s sense of being fully immersed. In a demanding title, that kind of balance is rare.
Control Resonant comes across as nearly a flawless PC port. It ranks among the best optimized titles of the year, and it also stands out as one of the most visually striking. The port succeeds admirably, and the game delivers a delightful experience. For anyone with a PC able to handle it, it is worth considering giving it a shot.
Source material: “Control Resonant is Almost a Picture Perfect PC Port,” IGN.
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