Control Resonant: How to unlock SHUM arcade cabinets

After booting up Control Resonant, it won't take long to find a SHÜM III cabinet. If you've played the original Control, you'll no doubt remember these otherworldly arcade machines. While you may expect them to offer a pixel-heavy arcade mini-game, that's not what you're going to get. Instead, it's a wave-based arena mode where you'll face off against the Hiss. The quicker you eliminate them all, the higher your score.

In each Zone of Control Resonant, there's an arcade machine to find, located by a simple joystick symbol on your map. Each Zone will have a different arena to fight in. But unlocking the SHUM arcade cabinets isn't as easy as just rocking up with a pocket full of quarters ready to play. Here's how to unlock SHÜM arcade cabinets in Control Resonant.

How to unlock SHUM arcade cabinets

To unlock the SHUM arcade cabinets, you need to level up the corresponding Zone where the cabinet is situated to Level 6. You can do this in several ways: completing Zone-specific missions, fighting enemies in the Zone, completing side missions, and eliminating Corrupted Hiss. Each activity you do in a Zone will earn you XP to reach Level 6 (and beyond).

Once you've reached Level 6 in the specific Zone, you can approach the SHUM arcade cabinet to play. There is only one game mode that'll see you surviving swathes of enemies (as opposed to the multiple options in 2019's Control). You'll need to make it through a particularly long and challenging encounter with powerful enemies and random events to win. The quicker you are, the higher your score.

Each arcade cabinet also has a local leaderboard to compete against. The higher you rank on the leaderboard, the better rewards you'll receive in return for your efforts. Namely, you'll receive Power Upgrade Points. It's also a great way to practice your skills if you fancy something a little more challenging than testing them out in the Gap.

So, that's how you get into the SHUM arcade cabinets in Control Resonant. Before you go, why not check out our guide on the best Talents to get early or which Aberrant forms you should choose? Not quite what you're looking for? You can always find our full list Control guides here.