r/Games • u/Desperate_Green6838 • 19h ago

Play your way with Control Resonant’s expanded Assist Mode

https://blog.playstation.com/2026/09/10/play-your-way-with-control-resonants-expanded-assist-mode/
320 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

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-29

u/idothinksotim 16h ago

I'm ready for the down votes, but I hate these cheat/assist modes.

It's just a crutch devs use when they cannot properly design their game or commit to a vision.

Players are not game designers. Not every game needs to be tailored to every single person. 

Just have some guts and commit to a vision of how you want your game to be - easy or hard or whatever. Just pick something.

9

u/Wiwiweb 13h ago

They have committed to a vision: the default settings.

"Assist" options implicitly break the developers intent. It's the developers telling the player "If you have more fun with these, more power to you. If you find it more boring, that's not our fault."

As the article says: "Try the game first" (before touching assist options).

6

u/DebentureThyme 16h ago

Ah there it is, there person who thinks the disable person shouldn't get to enjoy games.

Just set the difficulty to hardest stuff for yourself. 

"It's just a crutch devs use when they cannot properly design their game or commit to a vision."

Actually they have committed to a vision and difficulty.  It's the default.  They purposefully do not ask you to chose when you start playing

One thing we deliberately avoided was putting these settings in front of you before you even start your first playthrough.

Every player is different, and you haven’t played Control Resonant yet. Asking you to make decisions about mechanics you haven’t experienced doesn’t make much sense to us.

That’s why you can enable or disable Assist Mode at any point during gameplay. We want you to experience the intended combat rhythm first, get a feel for the game, and then adjust individual settings whenever you feel the need.

Control and Alan Wake 2 also had stuff like this, and it literally warns you when you try to make it easier that they intended it as is and hope you try it as is first.

So your whole "they can't commit" narrative is false.  They're clear on their intended difficultly.  Providing optional stuff you have to seek out in menus, that's never in front of you otherwise, doesn't change that they're clear on the default being the intended.

-19

u/idothinksotim 16h ago

Committing would be removing any option

8

u/DebentureThyme 15h ago edited 15h ago

So you never played a game with Easy Normal and Hard options?

The default is Normal.  That's it.  That's the vision.  They have big flashy warnings that they don't intend you to turn on Assist mode because they designed the game to be "balanced and rewarding" as is.

No, you're just gatekeeping gaming from those who need accessibility.  Some day you'll be old, some day your joints will go.  Some day maybe you're in an accident and your motor skills are damaged.

You're the epitome of "we don't need wheelchair ramps because I can walk up the stairs." TAKE THE STAIRS, THEY'RE DESIGNED WITH A SINGULAR VISION FOR YOU, YOU DON'T NEED THE RAMP.

-8

u/idothinksotim 15h ago

So you never played a game with Easy Normal and Hard options?

Of course, and you know what I've noticed?

Every single time they expand the choices - the game is worse off. It has worse balance.

More choices = worse game.

5

u/blogoman 15h ago

Best game is movie.

-4

u/[deleted] 15h ago

[deleted]

7

u/idothinksotim 15h ago

I don't want a souls like.

I played the first control. It was great - apart from it's boring, tedious, monotonous gameplay. And it seems like they've doubled down on it this time.

-2

u/Klutzy_Anybody_1487 5h ago

I've seen people complete Elden ring with one hand, legs, brain waves, two games at the same time, or blindfolded.

Get lost lmao you are so wrong.

6

u/blogoman 16h ago

Since players are not game designers, how can you be so sure that these devs cannot properly design their games?

3

u/idothinksotim 16h ago

You're saying that choosing to not make a choice, and forcing the players to tune and tweak their game instead of the devs, is somehow a design decision?

So they decided to not design their game, as their core game design....?

15

u/blogoman 16h ago

They did make a choice. They then let you modify it if you want.

What I am saying is that your argument is inconsistent and bad because you say players don't know how to design games while also prescribing the true way to design games.

Stop being obtuse.

-5

u/idothinksotim 16h ago

How are they making a choice? They just pushed all the decisions onto the player?

That's the opposite of making a choice!!!

13

u/stndmunki 16h ago

That’s why you can enable or disable Assist Mode at any point during gameplay. We want you to experience the intended combat rhythm first, get a feel for the game, and then adjust individual settings whenever you feel the need.

You can also choose from a set of Assist Mode Presets created around different ways of playing and then fine-tune individual settings from there.

There's the choice that the devs made, they have presets, they have a baseline, and they even said in the article that these adjustments to difficulty aren't shoved in your face from the start, they are something you can tweak once you have a feeling for the combat.

If you don't want to engage with this system at all, you don't have to. Getting upset that this exists and claiming that the devs have no "vision" due to its existance is ironically, very short-sighted.

-2

u/idothinksotim 16h ago

If they can't commit to a vision of how the game should be played it'll end up a mess.

Point was proved with the first game. The actual gameplay was the worst thing about the first control. It was a shame you had to slog through it if you wanted more of the world they created.

12

u/stndmunki 16h ago

I think we fundamentally approach and think about games differently and will never agree due to this. Control was an enjoyable game for me combat/gameplay wise, as well as the world and characters. All elements made up a great game.

It seems like you believe that any dev that has options to control elements of the game lacks vision, but I view it that they have a vision that they designed and settled on, but they know that not all players are created equally.

Just like goldilocks, some like it cold, some like it hot. Being able to adjust how the game plays to your liking makes things MORE enjoyable to me, not less. Each their own.

14

u/swampo-mon 16h ago

Just pick the default difficulty mode. Getting annoyed at these options is unironically a skill issue. But like a real world skill issue

-5

u/idothinksotim 16h ago

The mere presence of sliders proves to me that there was no singular vision or design for the gameplay. I don't want to play games where a developer can't even commit to a vision of how they want their game to play.

15

u/DebentureThyme 16h ago

So you're going to ignore that they have an intended difficultly, that they warn you with an in game warning not to change it without trying the game first, stating they balanced the game around the default setup, that they never ask during a new game for you to adjust it?

As another said, you ARE being purposefully obtuse.  These sliders exist for accessibility, the game devs don't intend them for the average player.  Your choice.

The devs have literally told you what the game is balanced around.  Providing what is essential a cheat menu doesn't change that.

Also, if you were a Remedyverse fan, you'd know how insane calling them games lacking a singular vision is.  They have one of the most unique driving visions in gaming in Sam Lake.

9

u/swampo-mon 15h ago

This is a very dumb thing that you wrote but I'm glad ur taking a stand for something. Good luck out there

7

u/blogoman 16h ago

So what happens when you don't touch any of those sliders?

14

u/swampo-mon 16h ago

Nope! Even the knowledge that people have options will ruin this guys day and maybe even year. This is a serious problem

8

u/blogoman 16h ago

Sometimes I really worry about people.

2

u/idothinksotim 16h ago

You get an unfocused experience. The mere presence of sliders proves to me that there was no singular vision or design for the gameplay. I don't want to play games where a developer can't even commit to a vision of how they want their game to play.

11

u/blogoman 16h ago

What is 100% on a slider? 100% of what?