As the gaming industry faces mounting criticism over heavy-handed navigation mechanics, Control Resonant director Mikael Kasurinen has confirmed that his team deliberately chose not to rely on the ubiquitous yellow paint system that has become a staple of modern open-world design. The revelation, delivered on the Dropped Frames podcast, underscores a deliberate design philosophy centered on player autonomy and trust, setting Remedy Entertainment’s sprawling sequel apart from its contemporaries in an era when players are increasingly rejecting being told exactly where to go next.
The director’s comments arrive at a pivotal moment for the industry, as several high-profile titles have drawn backlash for their reliance on painted directional markers. By resisting this trend, Control Resonant is positioning itself as one of the few modern open-world games that does not always point players toward their next objective, instead granting them the space to navigate and interpret the world independently.
A Deliberate Design Philosophy
“It was a conscious decision, obviously,” Kasurinen explained during the podcast appearance, according to coverage by Kotaku. The director went on to articulate why he believes player autonomy ranks among the most critical elements of a well-crafted game, arguing that the sense of personal agency is what transforms a mere playthrough into a meaningful experience.
“It’s not like the game is telling me what to do and I just go and do it. I feel like I’m the one making the decisions in the game,” he said. “It’s so important that the players feel like they’re the ones figuring it out.” This philosophy represents a fundamental approach to level design, one that prioritizes exploration and discovery over guided instruction.
The Yellow Paint Backlash
Yellow and white paint has become the subject of widespread ridicule in recent years. By covering ledges, climbable walls, and other traversable surfaces with luminous pigment, developers attempt to grab players’ attention and guide them toward objectives, ensuring they never become lost in vast digital landscapes. However, this approach has grown increasingly unpopular as the technique has been applied with diminishing subtlety.
The frustration seemingly reached a boiling point with Marvel’s Wolverine, another major release from the same period as Control Resonant. Players derided the game’s blue scent trails—which serve as a constant reminder of the intended path—as “fart trails,” a nickname that spread rapidly through online communities. Developer Insomniac Games eventually added a toggle to disable the markers in most situations, but the negative reception had already taken hold.
Beyond the colored trails, Wolverine also employed white paint to indicate ledges that enhance the player’s jump height, as well as walls suitable for climbing. These visual cues, while effective at navigation, contributed to the broader conversation about over-reliance on such mechanics in AAA titles.
A Notable Departure
Remedy’s decision to avoid similar tricks carries particular weight given the expanded scope of Control Resonant. The game features a significantly larger map than the original Control, which was largely confined to an office building and depended primarily on diegetic signage within the world to orient players. The transition to a more open environment could have tempted developers toward conventional navigation aids, making their restraint all the more noteworthy.
That said, Control Resonant does utilize the color yellow with certain world objects, though the industrial design of these surfaces renders them far more organic than typical directional markers. Rather than appearing as arbitrary paint splashes, these elements resemble what players might encounter in a shipping yard or factory floor, integrating naturally into the game’s aesthetic while still providing subtle guidance.
“You have to find the right balance between ‘here’s the world’ and ‘here are the different themes and elements that you have to pay attention to.’ But it has to feel like it’s on you to make a decision on what to do with those elements that you see within the world.”
Mikael Kasurinen, Control Resonant Director
Kasurinen indicated that he is not entirely opposed to the practice, provided it fits thematically within the game’s world. He emphasized the importance of preserving player agency, warning against mechanics that remove the element of choice from navigation.
“If it feels like, ‘go here,’ it’s not anymore a decision for the player. Somebody has already decided for you,” he added. This perspective resonates with a growing movement within the community, in which many have called on developers to afford players greater trust and to return to the days when levels were guided through framing, lighting, and other subtle visual cues rather than overt directional indicators.
Looking Ahead
Despite the praise for its design philosophy, Control Resonant has not been without criticism. In the Eurogamer review, Alexis Ong argued that the game’s larger, more open-world setting causes it to lose some of the magic that defined the original Control. This divergence in opinion highlights the inherent tensions involved in expanding a tightly designed experience into a broader canvas.
As the industry continues to grapple with the balance between accessibility and player autonomy, Control Resonant’s approach offers a compelling case study in alternative design. Whether Remedy’s philosophy proves influential remains to be seen, but the conversation it has sparked about navigation mechanics is likely to persist as developers seek new ways to engage and trust their audiences.
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