Since last year we've been speculating about the possibility of Creative Assembly following up its Total War: Warhammer series with a take on the endless science-fantasy grimness factory that is Warhammer 40,000. And what do you know, at The Game Awards we finally got to see it, as announced by David Harbour, who will also be in it.

The big question about Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is how it's going to handle scale. Will there be multiple planets to conquer, and realtime space battles to fight? Will units line up in regimented, well, regiments or will they fight in looser squads like they do on the tabletop? Will there be titans?

The trailer sure makes it look like we'll be fighting over at least seven planets as the Ultramarines, orks, and Astra Militarum. And yep, that's an ork gargant, so we're definitely expecting titans to play a part. The scale seems massive, with orbital strikes being called down from voidships, and a huge number of troops on screen. Multiple space marine chapters are shown as well, so whether we're stuck as Ultramarines in the campaign or not, at least in multiplayer I expect we'll be able to repaint our little guys.

History and fantasy enjoyers aren't being left out. Just last week, Creative Assembly took the opportunity of Total War's 25th anniversary to announce Total War: Medieval 3 is in pre-production and Total War: Warhammer 3 is getting more DLC, with the next add-on being Lords of the End Times.

When it comes to developer Remedy, you should always expect the unexpected. So we probably shouldn't be surprised to discover that its new Control sequel, announced at The Game Awards tonight, swerves on pretty much everything you'd think would carry over from the first game. To break it down:

• It's not a third-person shooter—it's a melee-focused "action-RPG".
• It's not set in the Oldest House, but instead an open world New York.
• It doesn't star Jesse Faden—you play as her brother, Dylan, who was the first game's villain.

Perhaps appropriate, then, that it's not called Control 2—it's Control Resonant—though it does seem to follow on from the events of the first game. Dylan, seemingly now free of the influence of the Hiss, has been deployed by the FBC to combat a new supernatural disaster—namely, reality-warping forces that have spilled out of the Oldest House and into the outside world, twisting an entire city into new forms.

Where Jesse wielded the Service Weapon, able to transform into a variety of different guns, Dylan instead has the Aberrant, an artifact that frankly looks like a cursed crowbar. It too can shapeshift, but into a selection of melee weapons, including an enormous hammer and a pair of swords.

What it's most reminiscent of isn't any previous Remedy game, it's Devil May Cry. I don't just say that because it's a melee action game—it seems to be a key touchstone across the board. The Aberrant's exaggerated forms (that is one seriously big hammer) are much more like Dante's weapons than Jesse's more subtle arsenal, and the fast, explosive combat looks equally familiar. Enemies are more surreal and twisted, and though the city has more than a touch of Inception about it, it also looks a lot like the weird dreamscapes of Ninja Theory's DmC.

It definitely feels far removed from the claustrophobic, bureaucratic horror of Control, and I wouldn't be surprised if fans are hesitant about so big a shift. I've got some misgivings myself for sure.

Will it be able to maintain that wonderful atmosphere and sense of humour of the first game in such a different environment? Will the more outlandish visual design clash with the series' established tone? And is an entire open world city a step too ambitious for Remedy, even carved up into metroidvania-style chunks?

But on the whole, I'm excited. When Firebreak came out, I found myself disappointed by the idea that Control's narrative would still be trapped entirely within the Oldest House, and it made me realise I did want a proper sequel to break into a different setting—even if I didn't expect quite so dramatic a shift.

And frankly, Remedy's drive to try new and surprising things with each of its games is exactly the thing that's made it one of my favourite developers over the years. It's always taking risks, it's always reaching a little beyond its means, and in my book the results are almost always fun, interesting, and unique despite any flaws.

Hopefully, we shouldn't have too long to wait before we can try Control Resonant for ourselves, either—it's currently planned for a 2026 release date. Remedy hasn't gotten any more specific than that yet, though I'd imagine "a date as far away as possible from GTA 6" would be a safe assumption to start speculating from.