Control Resonant is a sequel — and also a starting point
Control Resonant is a sequel — and also a starting point
《Control Resonant》既是续作，也是一个全新的起点
Chronologically, Control Resonant is a sequel to 2019’s Control. But in most other ways, the games aren’t directly connected. To developer Remedy, they’re more like two sides of the same coin. 从时间线上看，《Control Resonant》是 2019 年游戏《Control》的续作。但在其他大多数方面，这两款游戏并没有直接的关联。对于开发商 Remedy 来说，它们更像是同一枚硬币的两面。
When Resonant was first revealed last year, creative director Mikael Kasurinen said you can play the games in any order. The world of Control is reality-bending in lots of ways, but the general linear progression of time isn’t really one of them — how would someone start with the sequel? 当《Resonant》去年首次公布时，创意总监 Mikael Kasurinen 表示，玩家可以按任何顺序游玩这两部作品。《Control》的世界在许多方面都扭曲了现实，但线性的时间进程并非其中之一——那么，新人该如何从续作开始呢？
It didn’t click until I played Resonant myself. In a two-plus-hour preview earlier this week, I played the opening act of the game, as well as a later story mission and an open-ended section filled with Hiss to fight. The events of Control, and of protagonist Jesse Faden’s arc, have already happened, but Resonant isn’t actually about what happens next. It’s about her brother, Dylan, and exploring this same world from a very different point of view. 直到我亲自上手《Resonant》后，我才恍然大悟。在本周早些时候两个多小时的试玩中，我体验了游戏的开篇、一段后期剧情任务，以及一个充满“希斯”（Hiss）敌人的开放区域。《Control》的事件以及主角杰西·法登（Jesse Faden）的故事线已经结束，但《Resonant》讲述的并非后续发生的事。它聚焦于她的弟弟迪伦（Dylan），并从一个截然不同的视角探索同一个世界。
“Right from the starting point when we were thinking about Control as a franchise that’s going to be several different games, the thinking was that it’s a story of a world, and then with every game we get a lens into that world through different protagonists,” Kasurinen told me. “从我们构思《Control》作为一个包含多部作品的系列之初，我们的想法就是：这是一个关于‘世界’的故事，每一部游戏都通过不同的主角，为我们提供观察这个世界的窗口，”Kasurinen 告诉我。
“Jesse’s coming from our world into the paranatural world; Dylan has always been there,” Kasurinen added, comparing Control’s setting of the mysterious, otherworldly Oldest House to Resonant’s setting of Manhattan. “Now he’s stepping into our world. And our world is weird to him. He has no connection with that. So he’s like a fish out of water in our world, just like Jesse was inside the Oldest House.” “杰西是从我们的世界进入超自然世界；而迪伦一直身处其中，”Kasurinen 补充道，并将《Control》中神秘且超脱世俗的“太古屋”（Oldest House）与《Resonant》的背景曼哈顿进行了对比。“现在他踏入了我们的世界。对迪伦来说，我们的世界很奇怪，他与这里毫无关联。所以他在我们的世界里就像一条离水的鱼，正如当初杰西在太古屋里的处境一样。”
That fish-out-of-water feeling is what makes Resonant a viable starting point for the series. Dylan knows a lot about the paranatural; he’s been held captive in the Oldest House for most of his life due to his abilities, and he was trained to be a weapon. As he navigates the outside world, he’s in a position to explain some of the finer points of the paranatural to the people he encounters and, by extension, the player. 这种“离水之鱼”的感觉，正是《Resonant》能够成为系列切入点的关键。迪伦对超自然现象了如指掌；他因自身能力大半生都被囚禁在太古屋，并被训练成一件武器。当他在外部世界探索时，他正好可以向遇到的角色——进而向玩家——解释一些超自然现象的细节。
That’s not to say Resonant is bogged down with expository dialogue. You get enough information to get by, and that’s about as much downtime as you’re going to get for a while. Combat in Resonant is about constant movement: Kill some weaker enemies to build up your ability gauge; use those abilities on stronger enemies; inevitably lose some health in the process; kill some more weaker enemies so they’ll drop health for you to pick up; repeat until all the strong enemies are dead. If you don’t want to die, you should probably be moving the entire time. 这并不是说《Resonant》充斥着冗长的说明性对话。你获得的信息足以让你理解现状，而这基本上就是你所能得到的全部“闲暇时间”了。《Resonant》的战斗核心在于持续移动：击杀弱小敌人以积攒能力槽；对强敌使用这些能力；过程中不可避免地损失生命值；再击杀更多弱小敌人以获取掉落的生命补给；如此循环，直到强敌尽数倒下。如果你不想死，最好全程保持移动。
The loop reminded me of 2016’s Doom, in that you have to kill to keep killing until there’s nothing left to kill, but with a melee-focused, PlatinumGames flair. Combat in the original Control wasn’t slow, but it didn’t feel like this. Jesse uses a gun, and she has a confidence in herself that Dylan doesn’t yet have. As Dylan, I felt scrappy. 这种循环让我想起了 2016 年的《毁灭战士》（Doom），即通过杀戮来维持杀戮，直到没有敌人为止，但它又带有一种白金工作室（PlatinumGames）风格的近战特色。《Control》原作的战斗并不慢，但感觉完全不同。杰西使用枪械，她拥有一种迪伦尚未具备的自信。而作为迪伦，我感到自己是在拼命求生。
“The way I thought about it was like: Jesse has her strength and she had to find her ability. Dylan has his ability and he needs to find his strength,” said Sean Durrie, who plays Dylan. “我的理解是：杰西拥有她的力量，她必须去寻找自己的能力。而迪伦拥有他的能力，他需要去寻找自己的力量，”饰演迪伦的肖恩·杜里（Sean Durrie）说道。
And I did need to find my strength to survive as Dylan. I cycled through his many skill trees — different weapon styles, abilities, and perks — trying to find the build that would give me the best chance against the Hiss. I found lots of builds I liked, my favorite including a drill I could stab into enemies and charge up, and Dylan’s abilities felt powerful, but I didn’t succeed until I learned how to move and properly chain it all together. 作为迪伦，我确实需要找到自己的力量才能生存。我尝试了他众多的技能树——不同的武器风格、能力和特长——试图找到能让我对抗希斯时胜算最大的流派。我发现了很多喜欢的配置，其中最爱的是一把可以刺入敌人并蓄力的钻头。迪伦的能力感觉非常强大，但直到我学会如何移动并正确地将所有技能衔接起来，我才真正取得成功。
If I’d come into Resonant not knowing anything about the Hiss, or the Oldest House, or Jesse’s experience in this world, I wouldn’t even have had time to feel lost. Fighting and surviving are more pressing matters; explanations and lore can come later. You don’t need to talk at length about the mysteries of the Hiss when you’re up close and personal stabbing them with a big drill. And for those who do come to Resonant as a starting point? Well, they’ll have plenty to look forward to afterward. 如果我是在对希斯、太古屋或杰西的经历一无所知的情况下进入《Resonant》，我甚至没时间感到困惑。战斗和生存是更紧迫的事情；解释和背景设定可以稍后再说。当你近距离用大钻头刺向希斯时，你根本不需要长篇大论地讨论它们的奥秘。而对于那些将《Resonant》作为起点的人来说？好吧，他们之后还有很多值得期待的内容。
Control Resonant launches on September 24th on the PS5, Xbox, and PC. 《Control Resonant》将于 9 月 24 日登陆 PS5、Xbox 和 PC 平台。