TL;DR
- Urban Survival is a side quest in the Evacuation Zone. Start it by reading the Investigation Order note outside the parking garage.
- Find the Survivalist by crossing the garage, going south, and using the wall intercom.
- Retrieve Olivia (a potted plant) from Pulse Fitness gym on Main Street.
- Retrieve Granny (an urn of ashes) from the Survivalist’s apartment — door code is 8521.
- Place both on the green-lit table beside the bunker door.
- Pick up the Car Keyfob from the side room, use it near the Subway Fault to locate the car, and get the apartment key from inside.
- Head to the brother’s apartment. He has turned Hiss — pick up the framed photo instead.
- Return the photo to the Survivalist to complete the quest.
- Rewards: Plate Carrier M1 outfit and Untapped Heart Monitor Artifact Recipe.
Urban Survival is one of the longest side quests in Control Resonant. What starts as a simple investigation into who is planting mines around a parking garage in the Evacuation Zone quickly turns into a multi-part errand run for a paranoid survivalist who refuses to leave his bunker. There are a lot of moving parts, and the game does not always make it obvious where to go next.
This guide walks through every objective in order so you can finish it without backtracking more than you need to.
Urban Survival Quest – Overview
- Location: Evacuation Zone
- Requirement: Reach the Evacuation Zone (main story progress)
- Rewards: Plate Carrier M1 (outfit), Untapped Heart Monitor (Artifact Recipe)
- Quest Description: Traps have been laid around a parking garage in the Evacuation Zone, but it wasn’t the FBC…
Quick tip before you start: Unlock the fast travel points at Main Street Station and Survivalist’s Bunker as soon as they appear. You will be crossing the Evacuation Zone several times during this quest, and having both active cuts the travel time significantly.
How to Start Urban Survival in Control Resonant
Head into the Evacuation Zone and look for an underground parking garage marked by a large yellow parking sign. There is a hot dog stall outside the entrance. Just beyond the entrance to the garage, on the ground, is the Investigation Order document.
Pick it up and read it. That is all it takes to start Urban Survival — the quest immediately appears in your log with the first objective.
Objective 1 – Find the Person Setting Up the Traps
Now you need to find who is planting all these mines. Head into the parking garage. It is full of tripwire mines and Hiss enemies.
The mines reset after a short time, so blowing them all up to clear a path is not worth it. The faster approach is to dash through the dangerous sections. You can also use the mines to your advantage — lure Hiss enemies into the blast zones to take them out without spending ammo.
Work your way through the garage to the exit on the opposite side from where you entered. Once out the far end, go south to a building surrounded by another cluster of mines. Go inside and find the wall intercom near the door.
Interact with the intercom. A man inside — the Survivalist — mistakes Dylan for a government agent and refuses to open the door.
Objective 2 – Defeat the Hiss
Almost immediately after the intercom conversation, a wave of Hiss attacks. You need to clear them all before you can talk to the Survivalist again. This is a straightforward fight — deal with the Hiss Clusters first, since they heal nearby enemies. Once the area is clear, go back to the intercom.
Objective 3 – Talk to the Survivalist
With the Hiss gone, interact with the intercom again. The Survivalist is still not coming out, but he is now willing to work with you. He explains that two of his “family members” are still out in the Evacuation Zone and asks Dylan to bring them back. Their names are Olivia and Granny.
Both markers go on your map. You can do them in either order, but starting with Olivia at Pulse Fitness on Main Street is quicker since it is closer.
Objective 4 – Save Olivia from the Gym (Pulse Fitness, Main Street)
Head to Pulse Fitness gym on Main Street. Enemies are waiting outside the entrance and blocking the door. Clear the group outside first — the door only opens once the enemies are dealt with.
Go inside and head through the first door on your left. This is the gym office. Check the desk. Here is the twist: Olivia is not a person. She is a potted plant. Pick her up and head out.
It is easy to walk past the right door inside the gym. It is the very first one on the left as soon as you enter — do not go further into the gym looking for a person.
Objective 5 – Retrieve Granny from the Survivalist’s Home
Follow the second marker to the Survivalist’s apartment building in the northeast corner of the Evacuation Zone. You can reach it by entering through the rooftop door or using the main entrance below depending on your route.
Take the elevator up to the Survivalist’s floor. The apartment door has a keypad — enter code 8521 to get inside. Head into the room on the left and search around. At the back of the apartment, behind some shelving, there is a green urn sitting on a table. That is Granny — her ashes, to be specific.
Pick up the urn and head back to the Survivalist’s bunker.
Objective 6 – Return Olivia and Granny to the Survivalist
Back at the bunker, interact with the intercom to let the Survivalist know you are back. Then place both Olivia and Granny on the green-lit supply table beside the intercom door. Interact with the intercom again once both are placed.
The Survivalist is grateful. Then he immediately has another request.
Objective 7 – Get the Survivalist’s Car Keys
The Survivalist wants Dylan to find his estranged brother. But to get into the brother’s apartment, you need the apartment key — and that key is locked inside the Survivalist’s car, somewhere in the Evacuation Zone.
Before you leave the bunker, go into the side chamber adjacent to the bunker. On the metal shelf inside, pick up the Survivalist’s Car Keyfob. While you are in there, grab the Survivalist’s Log collectible from the desk as well.
Objective 8 – Get the Apartment Key (Use the Car Fob)
Head to the far north of the Evacuation Zone, near the Railway Street Station and the entrance to The Subway Fault. This is where the car is hidden. The area is thick with blue mold walls, and the car is not visible from the road — it is buried in a crevice of blue mold on the eastern side.
Do not waste time searching every car visually. Instead, activate the Car Keyfob once and immediately check your minimap. The car that responds will be briefly marked. Follow the horn sound to track it down. Go to the car and interact with it to retrieve the apartment key. Mold enemies may ambush you right after you take the key, so be ready.
Objective 9 – Find the Survivalist’s Brother
With the apartment key in hand, head to the brother’s apartment building to the west, at the end of the road. Go inside, take the elevator up, and use the key to enter the apartment. Follow the path inside to the living room.
The brother has been turned Hiss. You cannot bring him back. Dylan cannot reunite them the way the Survivalist hoped.
Objective 10 – Find a Memento and Take It Back to the Survivalist
Since you cannot bring the brother himself, look for something meaningful instead. On the ground in the apartment, you will find a framed photo. Pick it up.
Head back to the Survivalist’s bunker one final time. Interact with the intercom and tell him what you found. Dylan suffers a brief Hiss corruption pulse during this conversation. After it passes, place the framed photo on the supply table beside Granny and Olivia.
The quest log confirms: Urban Survival is complete.
Before you leave, check the side room near the bunker one more time. There is extra Source and an Aberrant Shard sitting in there that are easy to miss.
Urban Survival Quest Rewards
Completing Urban Survival gives you two rewards:
- Plate Carrier M1 – An outfit for Dylan.
- Untapped Heart Monitor – An Artifact Recipe. Artifact Recipes are used to craft passive bonuses that improve Dylan’s combat performance.
Urban Survival – Tips and Things Not to Miss
- Olivia and Granny are not people. Olivia is a potted plant in the gym office. Granny is an urn of ashes in the back of the Survivalist’s apartment. Do not spend time looking for NPCs.
- Granny’s apartment code is 8521. You do not need to find it written down anywhere — it is in this guide.
- Use the keyfob, not your eyes, to find the car. The car is hidden in blue mold and cannot be spotted visually. Activate the fob and follow the horn on the minimap.
- Activate fast travel early. You will cross the Evacuation Zone four or five times. Fast travel at Main Street and Survivalist’s Bunker saves a lot of time.
- Kill Hiss Clusters first in every combat encounter. They heal everything nearby and fights take much longer if you leave them.
- Check the side room after finishing the quest for extra Source and an Aberrant Shard.
- Mines hurt enemies too. In the parking garage section, lure Hiss into the blast radius instead of wasting resources on direct combat.
More Evacuation Zone Guides
While you are in the Evacuation Zone, it is worth grabbing the Control Resonant Level 2 Keycard if you have not already — it opens Clearance 02 doors scattered across every zone you have visited. The Evac Building alone has several locked rooms worth clearing out.
The Evacuation Zone also has its own Secret Hideout. If you have not found it yet, check out our full guide to all Atlantis Cafe puzzles and Downtown appliance puzzle walkthrough for the complete picture on secret rooms.
For help with other quests in the area, our Crossing the Threshold walkthrough and Panopticon Service Request guide cover two of the other major story beats you will encounter around this time.
Where to Get Control Resonant
Not sure if Control Resonant is for you? Read our Control Resonant review first. PC players should check the best PC settings guide before launching. And if the combat is hitting too hard during any part of Urban Survival, the Assist Mode settings let you adjust difficulty without touching story progress. New players will also benefit from our Control Resonant beginner tips.
Related Guides
- Control Resonant: Central Checkpoint power puzzle
- Control Resonant: Konstig painting puzzle solution
- Control Resonant: SR Keycard Clearance Level guide
- Control Resonant: Clearance Level 6 Keycard location
- Control Resonant: Skin codes
- Control Resonant: Preorder and Deluxe Edition bonuses
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you start the Urban Survival quest in Control Resonant?
Find the Investigation Order document on the ground just outside the entrance to the parking garage in the Evacuation Zone. Look for the large yellow parking sign and the hot dog stall outside — the note is right there at the garage entrance. Reading it starts the quest.
Where is Olivia in the Urban Survival quest?
Olivia is at Pulse Fitness gym on Main Street in the Evacuation Zone. Clear the enemies outside the gym first, then go inside and through the first door on your left. Olivia is a potted plant on the desk in the office — not a person.
Where is Granny in the Urban Survival quest?
Granny is at the Survivalist’s apartment in the northeast corner of the Evacuation Zone. The door code is 8521. Once inside, go to the room on the left and check behind the shelving at the back — Granny is a green urn of ashes on a table.
How do you find the car in the Urban Survival quest?
Go to the far north of the Evacuation Zone near the Railway Street Station. The car is hidden inside a crevice of blue mold and cannot be seen from the road. Activate the Car Keyfob and watch your minimap — the car that responds will be briefly marked. Follow the horn to find it.
What are the Urban Survival quest rewards in Control Resonant?
Completing Urban Survival gives you the Plate Carrier M1 outfit and the Untapped Heart Monitor Artifact Recipe. You can also grab extra Source and an Aberrant Shard from the side room near the bunker after finishing the quest.
Can you miss the Urban Survival quest in Control Resonant?
Urban Survival is an optional side quest and is not required to complete the main story. However, it is available as soon as you reach the Evacuation Zone during the main campaign, and nothing locks you out of it later. The Plate Carrier M1 outfit and Artifact Recipe rewards make it worth doing.
