Gaming Guide

Control Resonant: The Evangelion Nerv Reference Hidden in Manhattan

A distant "Verconn" skyscraper in Remedy's sequel borrows the look of Evangelion's Nerv logo.

A distant “Verconn” skyscraper in Remedy’s sequel borrows the look of Evangelion’s Nerv logo.

Image: Remedy Entertainment

Control Resonant drops Dylan Faden into a warped version of Manhattan, and one building in the skyline has already become a talking point. A concrete high-rise in the distance wears a logo reading “Verconn” that lines up almost perfectly with the insignia used by Nerv, the shadowy organization at the heart of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Quick answer: The Nerv nod is a concrete skyscraper in Resonant’s distorted Manhattan topped with a Verconn logo whose font and layout closely mirror Evangelion’s Nerv emblem.

Image credit: Remedy Entertainment

Where to spot the Verconn skyscraper

The building sits in the background of the open city rather than on the critical path, so you spot it by looking outward across the skyline instead of walking up to it. It is a plain concrete tower, and the giveaway is the logo mounted above it. Resonant moves the series out of the Oldest House and into a much larger, distorted New York, and those bigger Zones leave plenty of empty middle-distance where a single sign can stand out.

The word on the tower reads Verconn, which appears to fold Nerv into Control’s own vocabulary rather than copying the anime directly. The lettering, spacing, and overall shape are the tell.

Image credit: Remedy Entertainment

Why it points to Evangelion

The resemblance is not an accident of design language. Creative director Mikael Kasurinen has openly named Neon Genesis Evangelion as a major influence on the sequel, alongside other touchstones like David Lynch’s Twin Peaks and Attack on Titan. Once you know the game is drawing from that well, the Verconn tower reads less like coincidence and more like a deliberate wink.

Because its wording differs from Nerv’s, it cannot be verified as a direct callback. Remedy has given no public statement clarifying the building or its purpose. Even so, the typography, arrangement, and letter shapes are similar enough for most players to read it as a deliberate homage.

Image credit: Remedy Entertainment

Other references sitting nearby

The Verconn logo is not the only nod players have picked out. Resonant is packed with tributes to the works that shaped it, and two more are easy to point to.

  • Twin Peaks: The 2017 cinema marquee displays “FIX YOUR HEART OR DIE,” a line originating in Twin Peaks: The Return.
  • Alan Wake: an in-world TV segment titled “The Master of Many Worlds,” tying Resonant back into Remedy’s Connected Universe.

Given how openly the game wears its inspirations, expect more of these to surface as players comb through the larger Manhattan Zones. The Verconn tower just happens to be the one you can catch from a distance without going out of your way.