CONTROL Resonant New Game Plus Guide

CONTROL Resonant New Game Plus carries over Aberrant upgrades, health and resource improvements, Combat Abilities, Talents, and Artifacts, but it resets traversal abilities. The mode adds further Talent nodes, a fourth Artifact slot, alternate ability rewards from Resonant bosses, and more dangerous encounter variants. Players can also revisit World Quests, bounties, collectibles, and some side-story or conversation choices.

New Game Plus is therefore a continuation of Dylan's build, not a clean restart with higher enemy health. It preserves combat investment while resetting the movement powers needed to control story and map progression. Remedy has confirmed the feature before launch, although the exact unlock prompt and final difficulty options still require release-build verification.

What carries over?

Progress type	New Game Plus status
Aberrant upgrades	Carries over
Health improvements	Carries over
Combat resource improvements	Carries over
Combat Abilities	Carries over
Talents	Carries over
Artifacts	Carries over
Traversal abilities	Resets

This carry-over list comes directly from Remedy's New Game Plus announcement. Currency, crafting materials, quest items, map discovery, cosmetic settings, and individual collectibles were not all covered in the same detail. Those items should remain labeled unknown until the shipped game shows the transfer screen.

Why traversal abilities reset

Traversal powers control access to parts of CONTROL Resonant's large zones. Keeping them from the opening could bypass intended gates, change the order of discoveries, or disrupt quest triggers, so Remedy resets them even while combat powers remain. The choice preserves the world's progression without erasing the player's build.

This also means New Game Plus is not an immediate free-roam cleanup mode. Dylan will need to reacquire the relevant movement tools before reaching every gated location again. Players focused on collectibles should not assume the entire map is open as soon as the second run begins.

New Talent nodes

Not every Talent can be unlocked during the first playthrough. New Game Plus expands the available tree with additional nodes, letting the returning build deepen its original specialty or branch into a complementary role. This turns the mode into part of the intended build progression.

The final tree, node costs, and prerequisites have not been published. Save screenshots or preview menus may change before launch, so a complete Talent calculator would be premature. The useful strategy is to leave room for synergy between carried abilities and the new choices rather than treating the first-run build as finished.

Alternate Resonant boss rewards

Defeating a Resonant can offer multiple Combat Ability rewards, while the first run does not let Dylan collect every option. New Game Plus lets players confront the boss again and choose a different ability tied to that encounter. This makes replaying a boss mechanically meaningful instead of only repeating it at greater difficulty.

The system also changes how players should read a first-run “best reward” recommendation. One choice may fit an execution-focused build, while another may support crowd control or ranged pressure, and both can eventually belong to the same expanded save. Our Resonants guide will document each choice only after the release version can be compared.

The fourth Artifact slot

Dylan can equip three Artifacts during the initial playthrough and unlocks a fourth slot in New Game Plus. Because Artifacts may include conditions and tradeoffs, the extra slot can complete an interaction rather than simply add another percentage bonus. It also increases the number of combinations worth testing.

Untapped Artifacts can be crafted in the Gap, where their properties become part of the buildcrafting process. Remedy has not disclosed every pool, roll rule, or reroll cost. Until those systems are tested, preserve useful conditional pieces instead of dismantling everything that does not fit the first build.

Harder and evolving encounters

New Game Plus introduces more dangerous opposition and can change how encounters are composed. Remedy has said bosses may behave differently, which suggests that familiarity with the first-run pattern will help without guaranteeing an identical fight. The mode is designed to challenge the carried power level rather than let an endgame build flatten the opening unchanged.

Exact enemy scaling and new moves remain unknown. It is not yet clear whether difficulty can be selected independently, whether all encounters change, or whether boss health scales with carried upgrades. Launch coverage will need controlled comparisons instead of relying on one highly upgraded save.

World Quests, bounties, and collectibles

Players can revisit World Quests, bounties, and collectibles in New Game Plus. The return creates a cleanup opportunity, but it also supports alternate side-story choices or conversation outcomes rather than only checking missed boxes. Optional content may therefore be worth replaying even if it was completed once.

Remedy has not explained whether collected items disappear from the map, remain recorded, or provide a second reward. Achievement hunters should keep a manual record of any missing objective until carry-over behavior is confirmed. Our world guide will add an NG+ marker to each relevant activity after launch.

How to prepare before starting New Game Plus

Finish any first-run activity whose outcome you want to preserve, then record the build and inventory before accepting the transition. Keep at least one stable combat setup instead of converting every resource into an experimental upgrade. If the game offers a separate completed save, retain it until the transfer rules are verified.

Think of the first run as a specialization phase. Choose abilities and Talents that solve a coherent problem, knowing that later nodes and alternate boss rewards can broaden the setup. The builds guide gives a framework for planning around form, ability, execution, and Artifact synergy.

Is New Game Plus required for completion?

It is required to access at least some progression that cannot be completed on the first run, including further Talent nodes, a fourth Artifact slot, and alternate abilities from the same bosses. Whether every trophy or achievement requires those features has not been confirmed. “Completion” may therefore mean either clearing all first-run content or exhausting the expanded NG+ systems.

Players interested only in the campaign can still stop after the first ending. Those who want the complete buildcrafting sandbox should plan a second run as part of the experience. The current developer estimate places a completion-focused first playthrough around 50 hours, but it does not provide a separate NG+ duration.

What remains unknown?

The exact NG+ unlock condition, menu flow, number of cycles, difficulty restrictions, material carry-over, map state, quest reset behavior, and achievement requirements have not been fully detailed. Remedy has also not said whether a third cycle continues adding rewards. Any site claiming a precise answer to all of these points before launch is going beyond the public evidence.

This page will be updated after September 24 with screenshots of the transfer warning and a tested item-by-item checklist. Changes will preserve the pre-launch claims as dated context instead of silently rewriting them. That makes it possible to distinguish a launch change from an earlier reporting error.

Sources and verification

This guide was last verified on September 1, 2026 against Remedy's April 30 New Game Plus feature and its earlier buildcrafting overview, both published through PlayStation Blog. Every carry-over and new-feature claim above comes from those official descriptions. Unpublished transfer details are deliberately marked unknown.