In Control: Resonant, doors and ledges are not marked with yellow paint to guide every step. Its director explains that this deliberate choice aims to allow players to observe their surroundings, make decisions, and experience the pleasure of finding their own way.
In Control Resonant, players will not find large yellow marks to indicate every door, ladder, or walkable passage. The game’s director, Mikael Kasurinen, advocates for an approach that relies on observation and autonomy rather than explicit markers. The goal is simple, yet ambitious: to make exploration an experience in which everyone actively participates.
Action-adventure games often rely on highly visible visual cues to prevent players from getting lost. A colored surface on a ledge or a door allows for quick understanding of where to climb and which path to follow. For Control Resonant, Remedy has chosen not to systematically rely on this method.
In an interview with the Dropping Frames podcast, Kasurinen confirmed that the absence of yellow paint was intentional. The formula summarizes a thoughtful decision, made in line with how the team wishes the audience to discover its universe. Instead of constantly receiving visual instructions, players must interpret what they see.
A world that suggests rather than commands
The artistic direction employs other means to attract attention: specific lighting, objects placed in the environment, or shapes that seem to stand out from the background. These details can guide the gaze without turning every discovery into an obvious indication. The path exists, but it is up to the player to spot it and understand its logic.
This approach concerns doors, ladders, and interactive elements, but it also fits within the overall design of the world. An unusual room or a bright contrast can spark curiosity, without immediately guaranteeing that it is the right direction. The environment thus becomes a set of clues to interpret, rather than a map covered with imperative signals.
The change in scale makes this commitment particularly noticeable. A broader sequel and open-world action RPG, Control Resonant allows for more discovery than the first Control, released in 2019. Thus, Remedy must guide players through larger spaces while preserving the feeling that they are exploring at their own pace.
Player autonomy at the heart of design
For Kasurinen, a successful experience relies on a balance between skill, autonomy, and a sense of connection. In the case of guidance, it is autonomy that takes center stage. The player must be able to observe a situation, consider several possibilities, and then decide on a course of action.
According to the director, a too-direct indication can remove part of that decision. If the game precisely points to a goal, the action feels more like executing a command than taking personal initiative. Conversely, when the environment allows for some interpretation, finding one’s own path can become a satisfaction in itself.
Kasurinen humorously references the very visible trails used in some games to lead the player to their objective, including those he associates with Wolverine. His argument is not to condemn all guidance but to express a preference for less insistent help. Each game chooses its balance; Remedy’s aims to preserve more space for deduction.
This philosophy aligns with the studio’s taste for universes that do not immediately reveal all their rules. Locations may appear enigmatic, sometimes even puzzling, until their details start to make sense. The audience is not just a spectator of a backdrop: they participate in its deciphering, piece by piece.
Learning to read the clues of the environment
Not painting accessible surfaces in yellow does not mean the game renounces any form of guidance. Light, the composition of scenes, and the arrangement of objects can subtly direct attention. The intent is to give the player footholds without obscuring the effort of understanding.
A less marked exploration, but more engaging
This freedom can also be unsettling. At first, some players may not know where to go or might overlook an element that seemed important. Kasurinen acknowledges that this way of conceiving exploration can make the game difficult to access for some of the audience.
Nevertheless, Remedy seems to see this risk as the flip side of a fully embraced ambition. When indications are rare, attention shifts more towards discreet signs and the relationships between locations. An opening seen from another angle, lighting that contrasts with the rest, or an incongruous object can then take on new importance.
The joy sought lies particularly in the moment when one understands how to progress without an arrow having revealed everything. This small victory belongs to the player, as it arises from their observation and judgment. Discovering a solution on one’s own can leave a more lasting impression than reaching a clearly displayed marker.
The director also wishes that choices and detours leave a mark on the audience’s mind. Once an area is crossed, a question may linger: could it have been possible to act differently? This uncertainty invites revisiting places, checking a forgotten lead, or imagining what another decision might have changed.
The gamble of a universe that resists immediate answers
An overly readable world risks becoming a succession of mechanically executed objectives. By leaving some elements ambiguous, Remedy wants to encourage curiosity and create a desire to return. Exploration is no longer just about following a route: it becomes a way to test one’s hypotheses.
This intention relies on a more active relationship between the game and its audience. Developers create the spaces, themes, and clues, but they do not necessarily dictate how to assemble them. Players must do their part, accept not to understand everything immediately, and decide which details deserve their attention.
The desired outcome is thus not merely a bigger map, but a territory that invites interpretation. Its progression may require stopping, looking around, and questioning a first impression. In this perspective, the absence of yellow paint contributes to the very identity of the adventure.
This choice also distinguishes discovery from simple navigation to a marked point. An omnipresent marker brings comfort, but it can make the space interchangeable, as all paths seem to speak with one voice. Remedy, on the contrary, favors environments whose details require attentive and personal reading.
Between accessibility and trust in the audience
The line between stimulating mystery and frustrating confusion remains delicate. A clue too discreet can cause players to disengage, while strong guidance risks flattening any surprise. The challenge lies in constructing markers that are coherent enough to help, without turning every detour into a pre-chewed answer.
This search does not guarantee that every player will appreciate the same dose of uncertainty. Some will prefer a clear progression, while others will enjoy the pleasure of getting lost for a moment before understanding the terrain. Control Resonant risks not satisfying all expectations in the same manner.
The commitment reveals a certain trust in the audience’s ability to observe and decide. Developers shape an experience, but do not wish to solve each spatial puzzle in advance. The game can thus leave open questions, routes to compare, and details that only make sense after several passes.
As one progresses, a door without glaring indications can become an invitation rather than just a decorative element. A light, a displaced object, or an unusual perspective can direct attention, without imposing a single answer. It is in that space between the clue and the decision that Remedy intends to bring the exploration of its new universe to life.
A world that prefers to suggest rather than signal
In Control Resonant, a door, a ledge, or a ladder do not automatically dress in yellow to draw the eye. This choice, embraced by director Mikael Kasurinen, reflects a precise ambition: to leave the player an active role in discovering the world. Rather than transforming every useful element into a signpost, Remedy prefers to subtly guide attention through lighting, objects placed in the scenery, and the composition of locations.
This approach changes the way of exploring. It is no longer just about following a sequence of clearly marked instructions but about observing, formulating hypotheses, and deciding where to go. An opening in a wall, a light in the distance, or an unusual detail can become clues. The game does not give up on guiding the player: it does so without always providing the ready-made answer. The difference is important, as it transforms movement into a genuine act of reading the environment.
Kasurinen believes that pleasure often arises from the feeling of having found the right path on one’s own. However, this autonomy can be disorienting. Some players may feel lost or even not know immediately which path to follow. The studio accepts this risk, convinced that a less directive experience can evoke more curiosity and encourage players to retrace their steps to spot what escaped their initial glance.
By eliminating the very visible yellow markers, Control Resonant thus emphasizes an exploration where each decision seems to belong to the player. The environment becomes a discreet language, and progressing requires paying attention to it. This way of guiding may not suit everyone, but it gives the adventure a particular flavor: that of advancing by intuition, sometimes doubting, then feeling the satisfaction of having deciphered the world without it having explained everything.
