Control Resonant is not your typical action-adventure game. It’s not even a typical Remedy game. It is absolutely bonkers in the best way, with some of the best visuals and art style of 2026. It also pivots the Control franchise in another direction compared to the first, and that extends to the bosses in the game. If you’re here, you’re struggling to beat The Artist, but by the end of this guide, we’ll have walked you through everything you could possibly need to know, and you’ll have figured out exactly how to beat The Artist in Control Resonant/
How to Beat the Artist in Control Resonant
There’s not many games you can say you’ve seen a giant floating head with no mouth attacking you, but here we are. The Artist is the first boss introduced in Control Resonant, without warning, and without much lead up. You’ll have been following an entity since your meeting with Zoe earlier, and then once you end up in Downtown 1, you’ll notice a rhythmic thumping that, you guessed it, turns out to be The Artist.
You’ll be shown a cutscene of The Artist and then thrust straight into battle against him. Her. It? The circular arena is a warped representation of a New York street, and now you’ve found The Artist, you’ll have an idea why and how it managed to wipe out The Hiss earlier on.
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It may not seem like much, but it does pack a wallop in its attacks. It’s also early on, but you should know my build to see how it matches up with yours:
- Primary Form: Strike – A fast attack with a high Critical Chance.
- Secondary Form: Drill – A quick attack. Charge to continuously drill the target.
The aim of the game is to be quick and always on the move here. The Artist will start out by throwing taxis through the air at you. You don’t have a considerable amount of health and can’t tank these hits. If you get in close to attack, you’ll also have to contend with a sort of arm like attack that protrude from the sides, and either swipe, or slam down on you. Again, you’re going to want to use plenty of dodges, as Control Resonant doesn’t have a parry mechanic.
Be prepared for you to get hit a little, but it’s important you make use of the elevate skill, which allows you to float, and as mentioned, dodge. Don’t forget you can dodge in midair too! The first phase will have The Artist using those lampposts/arms to swipe and slam, as mentioned, but both of those attacks can be avoided by elevating in place (while making sure to attack using Primary and Secondary Forms), and dodging if needed. It seems simple, but it only is once you understand.
Do enough damage, and you’ll see The Artist float up into the air, high above you. This is a new beginning of the fight, with The Artist summoning giant floating platforms of New York Street to surround it in a circle, before sending them plummeting to the ground to hit you. Again, dodge is important here, but also the direction of it as well. Don’t try to dodge forwards or backwards, but make sure it’s to the side of the oncoming chunk of street.
After that, The Artist falls back to the floor, returning to its former method of attacks. If you’re too far away, get ready for little bits of street to be picked up and shot at you from ground level. Jump and dodge those. Then get in close once again and use both attacks. Pummel The Artist and don’t let up.
Once The Artist drops below a third health, it will then start moving quicker. It won’t stay in the same place for long, and when you get too close, you may get a couple of hits in before it runs off again. Be careful not to follow directly in its path, as it rains down mortar-like chunks of concrete at you. Instead, step to the side and run on that way. Another tip, expect it to either send some smaller chunks of concrete at you (from the ones surrounding its head), at great speed than the others, or it’ll return to its lamppost attacks.
Once you get it down to zero health, you’ll see it falter and fall back. You’ll then be able to approach it, and with pushing the Left stick in, perform an eyeball-stabbing finisher on it to end the fight. Dylan will then jump down from the dead head, stating “It’s over”, and you’ll get your rewards, and complete the quest ‘Orientation’:
- A Talent Point
- 1 x Living Shard
- 1 x Reset Item
- 2000 x Source
- Untapped Badge 11-60
And that’s how you beat The Artist in Control Resonant. There’s plenty more bosses to fight, puzzles to solve and collectibles to find, so don’t go anywhere!
For your next read, don’t miss our review of Control Resonant, or our top tips for making the game far easier.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
