Remedy has started laying out how New Game Plus will work in Control Resonant, and the pitch is straightforward: keep most of your hard-earned progress, then let the game fight back harder. On paper, that is exactly what a second run should do – reward mastery without turning into a victory lap. The studio also says the feature is designed to encourage build experimentation, which is usually code for ”you did not really see the whole system the first time.” Control Resonant is set to launch on PlayStation 5 in 2026.
What carries over in Control Resonant New Game Plus
Players starting a fresh run will keep Aberrant upgrades, health and combat ability resource improvements, unlocked supernatural combat abilities, talents, and artifacts. Traversal abilities do not transfer, because those stay tied to story progression and the way the world opens up. That split is smart: it preserves progression where it matters in combat while still forcing players to re-earn mobility milestones.
Control Resonant’s first playthrough is built around discovery, but New Game Plus shifts the emphasis toward refinement. That puts it in familiar territory for modern action games, where post-game modes increasingly serve as labs for player expression rather than simple difficulty toggles.
Artifacts and the fourth slot
One of the more interesting additions is the artifact system, which acts as a layer of passive modifiers with trade-offs, not just flat buffs. Players can already equip up to three artifacts during a normal run, but New Game Plus unlocks a fourth slot, opening the door to more elaborate combinations. That is the kind of small-sounding change that tends to have outsized effects once players start min-maxing builds.
- Up to three artifacts in the first playthrough
- A fourth artifact slot in New Game Plus
- Artifacts can affect survivability, combat, exploration, or the resource economy
- Untapped artifacts are found in the world and crafted in the Gap
That crafting loop matters because it gives the mode a reason to exist beyond tougher enemies. Games from Diablo to Elden Ring have shown that players will happily re-run content if the reward structure keeps expanding their options. A fourth slot is not flashy, but it is the kind of lever that lets designers push the meta in useful directions.
Enemies, bosses, and a less forgiving Manhattan
New Game Plus is not just about carrying more gear into the same fights. As players progress, enemies become more dangerous, encounters change, and some bosses can show new behaviors, meaning old strategies may stop working the second time around. The result is a version of Manhattan that keeps mutating under your feet, even if you thought you had it figured out.
That escalating pressure is the real hook here. Instead of handing out power and calling it progress, Control Resonant appears to be asking players to use a broader toolkit with more precision. In other words: yes, you are stronger, but the game is less interested in applauding you for it.
Release timing on PlayStation 5
Remedy says Control Resonant will release on PlayStation 5 in 2026. The bigger question is how far players will push these systems once the full game is out: will New Game Plus become the preferred way to experience the combat sandbox, or will it end up as a niche playground for build obsessives and completionists?