What Are Resonants? Control Resonant's Bosses Explained

The game isn’t called Resonant for nothing. Resonants are its marquee bosses, and they’re tied directly to how your character grows. Here’s what’s known so far.

What a Resonant is

Resonants are powerful, paranatural antagonists — twisted, amplified beings shaped by the same reality-warping forces tearing through Manhattan. They function as the campaign’s major boss encounters, set-piece fights that gate progress and test whatever build you’ve assembled. Each one is distinct in look and behavior rather than a reskin.

Beating one rewards an ability

This is the key hook: defeating a Resonant grants Dylan a new combat ability. So bosses aren’t just obstacles — they’re the primary way you expand your kit. Your power curve is paced against them, which means build decisions and boss fights feed into each other throughout the game.

Some choices are permanent

Several of these unlocks come with a catch. After certain Resonants, you’re offered a choice between two upgrade paths, and committing to one locks out the other for that playthrough. It’s a deliberate, Deus Ex-style fork: there’s no “correct” pick, only the build you’re shaping. If you want to see the road not taken, that’s what New Game Plus and respecs are for.

Why this matters for your build

Because abilities flow from bosses, the Resonants effectively author your options. Plan around them:

• Go into a fight knowing what your current build does well, so you can lean on it.
• Read each post-boss choice in terms of the playstyle you’re building toward, not in isolation.
• Don’t agonize over a single locked path — the system expects you to specialize.

What’s been shown

Previews have leaned on Resonant’s heightened, surreal style for these encounters — the kind of large, uncanny adversaries and reality-bent arenas Remedy is known for. Specific Resonant identities, movesets, and counters are still mostly under wraps ahead of launch.

We’ll expand this into full per-boss strategies — patterns, phases, and recommended setups — as the game releases and encounters are confirmed. For how the abilities you earn here slot into a build, see the combat and build systems guide.