Control Resonant’s Unsupervised Science side quest takes you deep beneath Manhattan to shut down six hidden FBC Testing Facilities. The locations can eventually appear on your map after you discover the coordinates during the quest, but there’s a catch: the map markers point toward underground laboratories, not their exact surface entrances. So, reaching the marker doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve found the facility.

Once inside, the experiments are built around two puzzle types. Three Testing Facilities use the Soda Dispenser state-change puzzle, while the other three use timed Power Core charge transfers. Complete all six and you’ll unlock a Threshold inside the final facility, where the quest takes another seriously weird turn.

Here’s the full Control Resonant Unsupervised Science guide, including every facility location, puzzle solution, reward, and the final Threshold route.

How Unsupervised Science works in Control Resonant

Unsupervised Science sends you across several Manhattan regions in search of six underground Testing Facilities.

The biggest thing to remember is that the map marker and the entrance are not the same thing. Once you obtain the relevant coordinates, the Testing Facilities can be marked on your map, but the actual entrance still has to be located manually around that area.

Here’s the complete facility lineup:

Area	Entrance	Experiment	Main Reward
Downtown	Testing Facility Reade construction building	Soda Dispenser	Power Upgrade
Central	Construction site east of Patterned Factory	Power Core transfer	Power Upgrade
Evacuation Zone	Near Survivalist’s Bunker Fast Travel point	Soda Dispenser	Power Upgrade
West Incursion Zone	South of House of Mirrors	Soda Dispenser	Power Upgrade
The Park	Northeastern sewer entrances	Power Core transfer	Emergency Hood
Unknown	Middle-west of the Fast Travel point	Power Core transfer	Firebreaker Goggles

The quest basically rotates between these two mechanics, so once you understand how each one works, the later facilities become much easier to handle.

Want to fine-tune how tough (or forgiving) Control Resonant plays before you head underground? The game gives you deep control over enemy behavior, camera assist, and more. Check our guide on Control Resonant Assist Mode Guide: How to Customize Every Part of Combat

Downtown Testing Facility: Soda Dispenser puzzle

Your first stop is the Testing Facility Reade building on the eastern side of Downtown.

The building is still under construction, and Hiss enemies are waiting inside. Clear them out and search the structure for the route underground.

Once you reach the laboratory, you’ll face the first Soda Dispenser experiment.

A note beside the terminal explains that the required final state is the Soda Dispenser. Several objects around the room can be picked up and carried to the box in the center, but they need to be transformed into the correct state before you place them there.

The trick is the network of yellow lines running through the room.

Whenever you pass an object through a yellow line, its state changes. Keep moving the object across the boundaries until it eventually becomes the required Soda Dispenser.

There’s a whiteboard near the terminal that shows the state-change system, so check it when you need a reminder of how the transformations work.

There’s also a handy movement trick that can make this process less annoying. You don’t necessarily have to drag an object through every yellow line in a simple sequence. Carry it through one line, then move yourself around to the opposite side. This lets you manipulate the transformation order more efficiently.

Once the required objects have been turned into Soda Dispensers, put them into the appropriate box to complete the shutdown.

Downtown rewards

Completing the experiment gives you:

• Power Upgrade
• A Note From Dr. Milbeck’s Cardiologist (File)

This Soda Dispenser mechanic returns later, so figuring it out here gives you a useful head start.

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Central Testing Facility: Power Core puzzle

Next, head to Central, specifically the construction site east of the Patterned Factory, the area associated with the Deserter Resonant encounter.

Search the construction site for the underground entrance.

This time, the experiment changes completely. Instead of transforming objects, you’ll be managing Power Cores during a timed shutdown sequence.

How to solve the Central Power Core puzzle

The room contains four Power Cores, with two of them initially charged.

Start the shutdown sequence and you’ll have 60 seconds to keep the power balanced.

The inactive Power Cores are the ones you need to watch. When the red light on an inactive core begins blinking, that means it needs to receive a charge.

Take the charge from one of the active Power Cores and transfer it to the blinking inactive core.

Then keep monitoring the room. Another inactive Power Core will signal when it needs power, and you’ll need to move the charge again.

The goal is to keep the electricity circulating between the four cores until the entire 60-second shutdown sequence finishes.

Successfully completing it opens the gate.

Central rewards

You’ll receive:

• Power Upgrade
• Notes From Dr. Puchalski (File)

This same Power Core mechanic appears again in The Park and Unknown, so get comfortable watching those blinking red indicators.

Evacuation Zone Testing Facility: Soda Dispenser returns

The next laboratory is in the Evacuation Zone, beside the Survivalist’s Bunker Fast Travel point in the southern part of the zone.

The facility is underground, so use the nearby Fast Travel landmark as your reference instead of expecting the map marker to point directly at the entrance.

Inside, you’re back to the Soda Dispenser state-change puzzle.

How to solve the Evacuation Zone experiment

Pick up the objects scattered around the testing room and move them across the yellow state-changing boundaries.

Each crossing changes an object’s state. Your objective is to transform the necessary objects into Soda Dispensers.

Once an object reaches the Soda Dispenser state, find the nearby box within that same section of yellow boundaries and place it there before moving it across another line. Otherwise, its state can change again.

Complete the required placements to shut down the experiment.

Evacuation Zone rewards

You receive:

• Power Upgrade
• Testing Facility Coordinates (File)

The coordinates are particularly important because they help reveal the locations of the remaining Testing Facilities on your map. Just remember that the coordinates do not automatically reveal the underground entrances themselves.

West Incursion Zone Testing Facility: The final Soda Dispenser experiment

The third Soda Dispenser laboratory is located in the West Incursion Zone, south of the House of Mirrors.

The entrance is around the second lane from the bottom of the map.

Once you make your way underground, you’ll find another version of the same state-change experiment.

How to solve the West Incursion Zone experiment

The process is familiar by now.

Pick up the available objects and move them across the yellow state-changing lines. Watch how their states change as you cross each boundary.

Your goal is to transform the necessary objects into Soda Dispensers, then place the correctly transformed objects into the required box.

Finish the placements and the experiment shuts down.

This is the third and final Testing Facility using the Soda Dispenser mechanic, so after this one, the quest is entirely about managing Power Cores.

West Incursion Zone rewards

Completing the facility gives you:

• Power Upgrade
• Notes From Dr. Janson (File)

The Park Testing Facility: Power Core puzzle

The Testing Facility in The Park is found in the northeastern section of the zone.

There are two sewer entrances that can lead you toward the underground laboratory.

The area also connects to the New Growth side content, so players who have progressed far enough into that quest may already have a reason to visit this part of The Park.

Inside the facility, it’s time for another Power Core shutdown.

How to solve The Park experiment

The basic system is the same as Central.

The shutdown sequence lasts 60 seconds, and you need to keep transferring power between the cores throughout the countdown.

Watch the inactive cores for their blinking red indicators.

When one starts signaling, transfer the available charge from an active Power Core into that inactive one.

Then keep watching the remaining cores. When another inactive core starts blinking, move the charge again.

Continue responding to each signal until the full 60-second shutdown sequence ends.

Once the shutdown is complete, the gate opens and you can collect your rewards.

The Park rewards

This facility gives you:

• Emergency Hood (Accessory)
• Notes From Dr. Roth (File)

Unlike the first four facilities, The Park gives you an accessory rather than a Power Upgrade.

Unknown Testing Facility: Five Power Cores

The final Testing Facility is in the Unknown region, around the middle-west side of the Fast Travel point.

This is another Power Core experiment, but there’s an important change: this room contains five Power Cores rather than four.

How to solve the Unknown experiment

Start the shutdown sequence and keep track of all five cores.

The same rule applies: an inactive core with a blinking red indicator is telling you that it needs a charge.

Transfer the available electrical charge between the cores as required, constantly watching for the next red signal.

Keep the power moving until the shutdown sequence is completely finished.

Once the experiment is complete, collect your reward. But don’t leave yet.

The Unknown facility is where the final and strangest part of Unsupervised Science begins.

Unknown rewards

You receive:

• Firebreaker Goggles (Accessory)
• Notes From Dr. Grant (File)

How to enter the Threshold after all six experiments

After shutting down all six Testing Facilities, a Threshold opens inside the Unknown facility, close to the room where you collected the Firebreaker Goggles.

This starts the final section of the Unsupervised Science quest.

Head inside and continue forward until you reach the strange area where names have been written on the floor.

You’ll see:

• Janson toward the left
• Puchalski straight ahead

This is where the Threshold starts messing with you.

Both obvious routes are wrong.

Take the left path, and Dylan transforms into a chair.

Take the straight path, and Dylan transforms into a telephone booth.

Neither route is the solution.

The correct Threshold route

The first move is the most important one:

Go right from the area with the Janson and Puchalski names.

From there:

1. Continue until you reach the board blocking the route.
2. Break through the board.
3. Take the left path beyond it.
4. Continue along the route until you reach the Power Core.
5. Take the electrical charge from the Power Core.
6. Return to the earlier area and take the straight route.
7. When the path splits, go left.
8. Use the electrical charge on the dead Power Core.
9. Enter the newly accessible room and collect the materials.
10. Return to the previous split.
11. This time, go straight.
12. Continue forward until you find a corpse you can interact with.
13. Interact with the corpse to complete the final section of Unsupervised Science.

The names written on the floor are useful landmarks when the Threshold’s shifting paths start becoming confusing. Most importantly, remember that the correct first move from the Janson/Puchalski area is right, not left or straight.

Unsupervised Science rewards and completion

Completing the six Testing Facilities gives you a collection of useful rewards, including Power Upgrades, the Emergency Hood, the Firebreaker Goggles, and multiple files.

Finishing the final Threshold section adds another set of rewards:

• Dr. Grant’s Final Report (File)
• Untapped Scrunchie (Artifact Recipe)
• Threshold Researcher Achievement/Trophy

The Threshold Researcher Achievement/Trophy is connected to completing the relevant Threshold side-story content, with Unsupervised Science serving as one of the three Threshold-related side stories.

Quick Unsupervised Science location guide

Need the locations without the full walkthrough? Here’s the fast version:

• Downtown: Testing Facility Reade building on the eastern side of Downtown.
• Central: Construction site east of the Patterned Factory.
• Evacuation Zone: Beside the Survivalist’s Bunker Fast Travel point in the south.
• West Incursion Zone: South of the House of Mirrors, around the second lane from the bottom.
• The Park: Northeastern section, accessible through two sewer entrances.
• Unknown: Middle-west of the Fast Travel point.

Remember, the map coordinates identify the general facility locations, but the actual laboratories are underground and their entrances still need to be found manually.

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Quick puzzle guide

For a final cheat sheet:

Downtown: Transform the objects into Soda Dispensers by moving them through the yellow state-changing lines, then place them in the box.

Central: Transfer power between four Power Cores for 60 seconds, following the blinking red indicators.

Evacuation Zone: Transform the objects into Soda Dispensers and place them into the appropriate boxes before their states change again.

West Incursion Zone: Complete another Soda Dispenser state-change experiment using the yellow lines.

The Park: Transfer power between the Power Cores for 60 seconds, responding to the blinking red indicators.

Unknown: Manage five Power Cores during the shutdown sequence, moving the charge whenever an inactive core signals.

Final Threshold: Go right at the Janson/Puchalski area, break through the board, take the left route to the Power Core, take its electrical charge, return and go straight, turn left at the split, power the dead Power Core, collect the materials, return to the split, then go straight until you reach the interactive corpse.

That’s the full Unsupervised Science route in Control Resonant. The quest starts as a hunt through six hidden underground laboratories, but the final Threshold turns it into something much stranger—and the correct path is easy to miss unless you know exactly where to turn.

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Featured Image Credit: Remedy Entertainment / Screenshot by All Things How