Control Resonant: New Game Plus & What Carries Over
Control’s New Game Plus (NG+) mode lets you replay the main story with your endgame character, keeping nearly everything you earned, while adding exclusive missions and gear. This article explains exactly how it works, what carries over, what resets, and how to make the most of your second playthrough.
What Is New Game Plus in Control?
New Game Plus (NG+) is an unlockable mode in Control that becomes available after you complete the main campaign. It is designed for players who want to experience the story again with their fully upgraded Director, rather than starting from scratch. The mode is accessed from the main menu by selecting “New Game+� after your first playthrough is finished.
In NG+, you replay the entire campaign from the beginning, but with most of your progress intact. This includes your character level, ability points, weapon upgrades, and most collectibles. The enemies are also tougher, and there are exclusive missions that only appear in NG+, giving you new content to explore even if you’ve already seen the ending.
What Carries Over to New Game Plus
Here is the complete list of what transfers from your first playthrough to NG+:
- Abilities and Ability Points – All of Jesse’s unlocked abilities (Launch, Shield, Evade, etc.) and any unspent ability points carry over.
- Weapon Forms and Upgrades – All weapon forms (Grip, Shatter, Spin, etc.) and their upgrade levels are retained.
- Weapon Mods and Personal Mods – Every mod you’ve collected stays in your inventory, and the mod slots on your weapons remain.
- Outfits and Costumes – All unlocked outfits, including pre-order bonuses and DLC costumes, are available from the start.
- Collectibles – All documents, recordings, and other collectibles you found carry over. This means you don’t need to re-collect them for trophies/achievements.
- Skill Tree Progress – Your entire skill tree remains unlocked, so you keep every upgrade you purchased.
- Side Missions and Faction Progression – Any side missions you completed remain completed, and your standing with the FBC (Federal Bureau of Control) carries over.
What Does NOT Carry Over
While most of your progress carries over, a few things are intentionally reset to keep the challenge meaningful:
- Main Story Progress – The main campaign resets, so you start from the very beginning of the story. All story-related items, such as the Hotline calls and main mission objectives, are cleared.
- Mission-Specific Items – Items that are tied to the main story, like the Floppy Disk or the Camera, are removed and must be reacquired as you progress through the missions.
- Enemy Difficulty – Enemies are scaled up in NG+. They have more health and deal more damage, so even with your maxed-out character, you’ll face a real challenge.
- Exclusive NG+ Missions – The new missions added for NG+ (such as “Dr. Yoshimi’s Quest� and “The Foundation� if you own the DLC) are only available in this mode, and they reset each time you start a new NG+ cycle.
How to Unlock and Start New Game Plus
To unlock NG+, you must first complete the main story of Control. This means finishing the final mission and seeing the credits. Once you’ve done that, the “New Game+� option will appear on the main menu. Select it, and you’ll be asked to choose a save file to base your NG+ on. You can only have one NG+ playthrough at a time, but you can start a new one after finishing the previous NG+.
When you start NG+, you’ll be placed at the very beginning of the game, in the Federal Bureau of Control’s lobby. Your character will have all the abilities and upgrades you had at the end of your first playthrough, but the story will start fresh. You’ll need to redo the early missions, but since you’re so powerful, they’ll be much easier (though the enemy scaling helps mitigate that).
Exclusive New Game Plus Content
NG+ isn’t just a replay with your old gear—it also adds new content that you can’t get in a normal playthrough. Here’s what’s exclusive:
- New Missions – Two new missions are added: “Dr. Yoshimi’s Quest� and “The Foundation� (the latter is part of the second DLC). These missions have unique rewards, including new mods and outfits.
- New Mods – NG+ introduces a set of “Eternal� mods that are only obtainable in this mode. These mods have higher stat ranges than regular mods, making them very desirable for min-maxing.
- New Outfit – Completing the NG+ exclusive content unlocks the “Eternal� outfit, which is a gold-and-black version of Jesse’s Director outfit.
Tips for Playing New Game Plus
Even with a maxed-out character, NG+ can be tough. Here are some tips to make your second playthrough smoother:
- Max Out Your Abilities First – Before starting NG+, make sure you’ve purchased every ability upgrade you want. You’ll have plenty of ability points at the end of the first playthrough, but if you haven’t spent them, you’ll have a harder time.
- Equip Your Best Mods – Since mods carry over, equip your highest-tier mods before starting NG+. You can change them later, but starting with a good loadout helps.
- Don’t Skip Side Missions – While side missions are already completed, you can still replay them in NG+ if you want. They now drop higher-level mods, so it’s worth doing them again.
- Use the Shield – With tougher enemies, the Shield ability becomes more valuable. Use it to block incoming fire and to create breathing room.
- Focus on the New Missions – The exclusive NG+ missions are the main reason to play this mode. Prioritize them to get the unique rewards.
Common Misconceptions About New Game Plus
There are a few things players often get wrong about Control’s NG+:
- Myth: You lose all your progress. – This is false. As detailed above, almost everything carries over. Only the main story and mission-specific items reset.
- Myth: NG+ is just a harder replay with no new content. – This is also false. The exclusive missions and mods make it a distinct experience.
- Myth: You can’t go back to your original save. – You can. Your original save file remains intact, and you can load it anytime from the main menu. NG+ creates a separate save slot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to own the DLC to access all NG+ content?
No. The base game’s NG+ includes the “Dr. Yoshimi’s Quest� mission and the Eternal mods. However, “The Foundation� mission is part of the second DLC, so you’ll need to own that DLC to play it. The rest of NG+ works fine without any DLC.
Can I play NG+ multiple times?
Yes. After you finish an NG+ playthrough, you can start another NG+ from that completed save. This allows you to stack Eternal mods and replay the exclusive missions as many times as you want.
Do trophies/achievements carry over?
Yes. Any trophies you earned in your first playthrough remain unlocked. You don’t need to re-earn them. However, some trophies are tied to NG+ exclusive content, so you’ll need to play NG+ to get those.
What happens if I die in NG+?
You respawn at the last control point you activated, just like in the normal game. You don’t lose any progress or items. The game autosaves frequently, so you’ll rarely lose much ground.
Can I change the difficulty in NG+?
Control does not have difficulty settings. The game’s difficulty is fixed, but NG+ enemies are scaled up compared to the first playthrough. You can’t adjust it, but you can use mods and abilities to make it easier.
Is NG+ worth playing?
If you enjoyed Control and want a reason to replay it, yes. The exclusive missions and mods add meaningful content, and playing with a fully upgraded Jesse is a different power fantasy. It’s especially rewarding if you’re a completionist.
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