This is an arthouse action game from Finnish developer Remedy, a studio well known for crafting games with a unique, surreal style. As a sequel, it faces the challenge of not only meeting the high bar set by its predecessor but also bringing fresh ideas to the table. The game has clear strengths in character development and the depiction of its paranormal world, but it doesn’t feel as creatively enigmatic or expansive in its influences as the 2019 game Control did. As you explore New York, using supernatural abilities to fight glowing orange enemies, a sense of familiarity begins to creep in—like you might be playing any number of similar games. In the original Control, players took on the role of Jesse Faden, a paranormal event survivor navigating the surreal, ever-shifting architecture of the Oldest House, a mysterious government bureau. The game was like a series of interactive Twilight Zone episodes, where you battled everyday objects imbued with supernatural powers, all while exploring spaces that defied normal physics. This time, you play as Jesse’s brother Dylan, who awakens after years of being contained in the Oldest House to find its bizarre contents have spilled into Manhattan. This means the game takes you from the intriguing, otherworldly setting of the Oldest House into a more familiar urban environment that has appeared in many other games, such as Marvel’s Spider-Man and The Division. This shift is somewhat disappointing, as Remedy’s strength has historically been its ability to create uniquely strange and bewitching experiences. Despite this, the game still offers a free-form structure that lets you engage with enemies, missions, and locations in roughly the order you choose. While the main story missions are more rigid, the side content is flexible and engaging. You fight a supernatural force using a variety of imaginative kung fu moves, with abilities that level up in satisfying ways. Your weapon can transform into different forms, such as a blade, scythe, or hammer, and as the game progresses, secondary attacks and passive abilities add more depth to combat. However, compared to the precise swordplay of games like Onimusha: Way of the Sword, the combat here feels a bit more straightforward. The game’s standout moments come from its creative, small-scale details rather than its grand story beats. Dylan’s movement abilities are more imaginative and enjoyable than his arsenal of weapons. The shift from the confined, surreal setting of the Oldest House to the open, urban environment of Manhattan allows for playful mechanics like triple-jumping across rooftops and manipulating gravity to walk on streets that appear to be bent vertically, reminiscent of Inception. These moments are laced with whimsy, such as a handler playing EDM music over the radio as you run through a distorted, multilevel parking garage. While the story here is more conventional and focused on redemption, it also includes moments of genuine human connection with Dylan’s colleagues and his elusive sister. This tonal shift towards mainstream storytelling is not inherently bad, but it leaves a longing for the more hallucinogenic, surreal vision of the action-RPG that defined the original Control.