I'm blessed and privileged to have a few loves in my life. There's my partner who I wouldn't change a thing about. My family and family dog who I'm thousands of miles away from and miss every day. And then there's gaming. I've loved gaming for as long as I can remember, and I'm one of the lucky few who get to incorporate their love for something into their job.
As a reviews writer, I test the best gaming headsets, which gives me an excuse to skip social obligations and stay home to play my favorite games. It's for work, am I right? Over the years, I've curated a selection of video games I always play to test gaming cans. New titles get added to that list as and when they come out (if I like them, of course) — but there's one game I never skip, and its sequel is finally dropping in September.
Control Resonant, the sequel to the 2019 supernatural Control, drops on September 24, 2026. I've recently been playing a lot of Control, especially when testing gaming headsets, and it's the best test for bass, treble, directional audio, and spatial audio. It's also a game you shouldn't sleep on, and if you want to experience its stunning soundscapes it in all their glory, you need to grab a competent headset for yourself.
An unsettling, intense, eerie, incredible soundtrack
As someone who has played many, many video games, I believe Control has one of the most underrated soundtracks and background music. The background music isn't loud or bass-heavy; it's more ambient, subtle and otherworldly which makes it unsettling and eerie. Combine that with the supernatural Hiss spawning out of nowhere and you've got a winning (and terrifying) combination.
Speaking of music, if you're familiar with any of Remedy Entertainment's games, you'll know that the developer loves including songs by Old Gods of Asgard, or Poets of the Fall as they're known in real life (one of my favorite bands, by the way), in its games. Control is no exception to that rule, and 'Take Control' is one of the best video game songs I've listened to.
Ashtray Maze, the level the song soundtracks, is in itself one of the best video game missions I've ever played, and one of the reasons is 'Take Control.' That level, complete with the heavy rock/metal track, combat sounds, and the sounds of the warping landscape, make for a great stress test when I'm testing a headset's balance.
Control features excellent combat and battle sounds too, from Jesse Faden's parautilitarian abilities to the Hiss' distorted, high-pitched shrieks.
Jesse's Launch ability makes for a fantastic treble test, as grabbing objects with it makes a shrill suction-like sound that can easily overpower the rest of the soundstage. Throwing (or launching) those objects creates a loud, bass-first sound, and if they land with an oomph akin to a thud, the headset's done its job well.
All of these different elements — the chaotic combat, the otherworldly weapon effects, crumbling environmental sounds when objects are yanked of walls via telekinesis — come together to create a surreal yet highly satisfying soundscape. Because of how busy the soundscape can get, Control is a game I will never skip when testing gaming headsets (and I hope I'll feel the same way about Resonant, too).
The mark of a good set of cans
So, how can Control and its various sounds help me determine whether a gaming headset is worth the money? There are a few things I look out for, depending on the features a set of cans offers. For instance, to test imaging and directionality, I see if I can accurately tell if an enemy is shooting from above, behind or to my left or right.
Can I also hear the Hiss spawning around me, and can I pinpoint the exact direction where they've just spawned? If the answer to those question is yes, then the headset's got fantastic directional audio — like my trusty Razer BlackShark V3 Pro.
Control's superb for testing sound separation too. If a headset is competent, like the Alienware Pro Wireless, I'll be able to hear Jesse's Service Weapon firing and bullets whizzing through the air, even as the music swells and the Hiss bombers fly at me. If it all sounds like a messy wall of noise, then the headset isn't worth it. As I mentioned earlier, the combat helps me determine whether the treble is crisp and vibrant and if the bass is powerful with low-end impact, too.
Then there's dialogue clarity. Although Control isn't a dialogue-heavy game, like Baldur's Gate 3 or Detroit: Become Human, there's still plenty of human and supernatural spoken word to test a headset's mids and vocal clarity. The Hiss often whisper and speak in overlapping, surreal dialogue and a well-tuned headset, like the Asus ROG Pelta, should render the vocal layer crisp and intelligible while retaining its eeriness.
But it's not just the game's loudness that helps me test gaming headsets; it's also the quiet moments when I'm navigating the ever-shifting halls of the Oldest House.
The low droning of the fans in the Maintenance sector, the echoing chimes of nearby Control Points, Polaris' gentle, soothing and guiding hum — all of these add to the game's charm. Any headset worth its salt, like the Sony Inzone H6 Air, will make the game sound extremely immersive, spacious, and airy.
Everything I've mentioned up until now explains why I always play Control to test gaming headsets. Before we dive into my recommendations for the best cans, is there any game you think I should be playing to test gaming headsets? Tell me in the comments below!
