Short answer: Control Resonant uses a granular "Adjustable Difficulty" system rather than a fixed Easy / Normal / Hard ladder. According to the official PlayStation Store listing, players can "customise the level of challenge or activate a range of assists individually to help you play the game" — meaning you tune the experience to your taste rather than picking a single preset.
That's a meaningful choice. Remedy's lead designer Sergey Mokhov has confirmed New Game+ carries over Aberrant progress and bumps difficulty, and creative director Mikael Kasurinen has named DOOM (2016) and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice as combat inspirations — so the game can absolutely hit hard when you want it to. But it also won't lock you out of the story.
This page breaks down what's officially confirmed, how it likely builds on Control (2019)'s Assist Mode, and which settings to pick based on how you want to play.
What's Officially Confirmed
The PlayStation Store page for Control Resonant lists two gameplay accessibility features that directly affect difficulty:
| Feature | What it means | |---|---| | Adjustable Difficulty (Advanced) | "You can customise the level of challenge or activate a range of assists individually." | | Game Pausing | "You can pause the game at any time during gameplay or cinematics (offline play only)." |
The "Advanced" tag is Sony's classification for the most flexible tier of accessibility — it means the system goes well beyond a simple Easy / Normal / Hard toggle. Combined with Remedy's track record (more on that below), this strongly suggests a slider-and-toggle system where you can dial in enemy health, damage output, resource drops, and similar parameters independently.
Kasurinen has confirmed that many bosses are optional — players who struggle with a particular encounter won't be gated from continuing the main story. Optional encounters can also be tackled out of order, so you can always come back later with a stronger build.
How It Likely Builds on Control (2019)
Control shipped with an Assist Mode accessible from the settings menu. It let players tweak:
- Damage dealt multiplier (1x → 2x → higher)
- Damage taken multiplier (1x → 0.5x → lower)
- Energy recovery speed (for Launch and other powers)
- Ammo replenishment rate
- Immortality toggle (no death from combat)
Each could be adjusted independently, and the game explicitly told players there was no penalty, no achievement lock, no "cheater" flag for using them. Remedy's design philosophy was clear: the story is for everyone, the challenge is for those who want it.
Given that the PS5 Store explicitly calls Control Resonant's difficulty "Advanced" and mentions "a range of assists individually," it's a safe bet that this same philosophy carries forward — expanded and refined for a bigger, more RPG-leaning game.
If you're here because combat feels too punishing, turn on the assists. Remedy has explicitly designed the game so that using accessibility options is not "cheating." The story, lore, and world are the point for many players, and the devs want you to see them.
Recommended Settings by Playstyle
Since the system is granular, think of these as starting points to dial in:
📖 Story-First Players
Goal: Experience the narrative, lore, and spectacle without friction.
- Set difficulty to its lowest tier or activate the "Story" assist preset if available
- Enable damage taken reduction (0.5x or lower)
- Consider immortality toggle for boss encounters
- Keep damage dealt at default so combat still feels weighty
This is also the right call if you're new to Control and want to learn the world before committing to a harder run.
⚖️ Balanced Players (Recommended for First Run)
Goal: Challenging enough to stay engaged, forgiving enough to enjoy exploration.
- Default difficulty (whatever the middle tier is)
- Leave assists off unless you hit a wall
- Swap Aberrant weapon forms freely — the five forms are designed to cover different combat scenarios
Most players will land here. If you're spending more than ~3 attempts on a standard encounter, drop the difficulty one notch — the game is 30 hours long and your time is worth more than stubbornness.
🔥 Challenge Seekers
Goal: Sweat every fight, earn every win.
- Highest available difficulty from the start
- No assists
- Min-max your build: invest in the skill tree, assign trinkets with trade-offs (more damage taken in exchange for more damage dealt)
- Save NG+ for after credits roll — it carries over your build and raises the ceiling further
Kasurinen's Sekiro reference means parry timing, dodge windows, and enemy aggression will likely punish hesitation. If you love that, crank it up.
New Game+ Difficulty
Mokhov has confirmed that New Game+ is in Control Resonant, and it comes with a higher difficulty baseline. Here's what carries over:
- ✅ Aberrant weapon upgrades and mastery progress
- ✅ Paranatural abilities and skill-tree investments
- ✅ Artifacts and collected trinkets
- ❌ Traversal abilities (re-gated to story progression)
The mode is designed not just as a difficulty bump but as a build experimentation sandbox — NG+ lets you try weapon/ability combinations that weren't possible in a first playthrough because you couldn't unlock everything at once.
Accessibility Features (Beyond Difficulty)
Difficulty is just one part of Control Resonant's accessibility stack. The PS5 Store confirms a robust suite:
| Category | Features | |---|---| | Audio | Individual volume controls (mute/SFX/music/voice independently), mono audio | | Subtitles | Basic subtitles for main story, large subtitles option | | Controls | Full controller remapping, adjustable stick sensitivity, stick inversion | | Gameplay | Adjustable difficulty, game pausing anytime (offline) |
If you're coming to this page because you need help playing the game rather than beating it, these options are all available from the main menu — no need to unlock anything.
Difficulty vs. Game Length: Does It Affect Playtime?
Yes, but less than you'd think. Based on how long Control Resonant takes to beat:
| Setting | Estimated main story time | |---|---| | Story / assists on | ~25–28 hours (fewer retries) | | Default difficulty | ~30 hours (the official figure) | | Highest difficulty, no assists | ~35–40 hours (more deaths, more retries) |
Difficulty mostly affects retry time, not content volume. The 30-hour baseline from Mokhov assumes a competent player on default difficulty.
FAQ: Difficulty Settings
Can I change difficulty mid-playthrough?
Almost certainly yes. Control (2019) allowed difficulty changes at any time from the settings menu with no penalty, and the PS5 Store's "Adjustable Difficulty (Advanced)" classification implies the same flexibility. You won't be locked into a choice made at the start.
Is there a permadeath mode?
Not confirmed. Remedy hasn't mentioned one, and the game's structure (open-ended zones, optional encounters, NG+) doesn't suggest a roguelike-style permadeath loop. If one exists, it would likely be a post-game unlock.
Do assists disable achievements?
No. Based on Control (2019)'s policy — which explicitly allowed Assist Mode without locking any achievements or trophies — Remedy treats accessibility as a player choice, not a handicap. Expect the same in Control Resonant.
What's the hardest difficulty called?
Not yet confirmed. Remedy may use named tiers (like Control's lack of explicit names) or may introduce labels closer to launch. Watch for an announcement in the final weeks before the September 24 release.
Is Control Resonant harder than Control?
Judging by the Sekiro and DOOM references from the creative director, yes — at the top end. The combat is faster, enemies have more agency (jumping, flying, varied sizes), and the Aberrant weapon's melee-first design demands more active engagement than Control's gun-and-Launch combo. But the assist system means the floor is also lower — you can make it as easy as you need.
Should I play on hard for my first run?
Only if you're confident in action-RPG combat and familiar with Remedy's pace. For everyone else, default difficulty on a first run is the sweet spot — you can always bump it up or start NG+ on hard if the default feels too easy.
The Bottom Line
Control Resonant's difficulty system is built on a simple principle: the game should meet you where you are. Whether you're here for the story, the lore, the combat challenge, or the build-crafting, the settings let you shape the experience.
- Story-first? Turn on assists, drop difficulty, enjoy the ride.
- Balanced? Default difficulty, no assists, adjust if needed.
- Challenge seeker? Max difficulty, no assists, save NG+ for the real test.
Whatever you pick, the Aberrant weapon's five forms and Dylan's paranatural abilities give you plenty of tools to work with. And if you're just starting out, our beginner guide covers the essentials before you commit to a difficulty setting.
