“A whole new breed of survival horror emerges with Cronos: The New Dawn. Survive the brutal wastelands of the future, fight nightmarish merging creatures and jump back in time to harvest souls as you seek to uncover the origins of the apocalypse that wiped out humanity.” – Steam Synopsis
I don’t know how fair it is to say that in the survival horror-shaped void left by middling Resident Evil games and the complete absence of Silent Hill and Dead Space, Bloober Team tried their hardest to fill it. To mixed reception overall. So much mixed reception that even after defying the mass skepticism and releasing their amazing remake of Silent Hill 2, and fully solidifying the return of the genre, there were and are still question marks around them. For all intents and purposes, Cronos was their chance to cement themselves as real mainstays in this genre, and for my money, they did just that.
There are so many little things that go into making a survival horror game effective. I think this game nails all of it. The atmosphere and level design are really top notch. While the Oprhans (this game’s zombies) had their moments of being scary, just the vibes of every level chilled me to my bones more than anything, and I loved that. The story is there, and I think it’s the more wobbly part of this package. I personally enjoyed it on both of my playthroughs. I think the revelations are interesting, and it’s way more of a personal journey than it first gives off. Though I find myself still confused about some aspects, and overall more interested in the lore than the actual characters themselves. Which I think is fine. That means I’m open for a sequel following this same traveler or another. The foundation set is great.
Without spoiling, The Traveler is really the only character in this game for most of it. We meet a handful of people, but the real character outside of her is the world itself. For her, though, I enjoyed playing as her and watching her become less robotic/soldier-y, and more of an actual person as the story progresses to the wild ending reveals. It was paced pretty well, and it works. There are other characters that are more optional to learn about, or we don’t really get more of until the end, but what crumbs we do get are interesting enough to keep the game moving.
Visually, this is the most UE5 looking game ever, but it looks really good. I wish it ran better, and I randomly got some weird glitches towards the end of the game, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. The soundscape of this game is just a chef’s kiss. Everything is so clear and crisp. From the footsteps to the guns. Just walking around felt so intense, which I credit a lot to the sound.
The gameplay is fun as hell. When it clicks, it clicks. It may take a few upgrades or finding the right weapon for you, but making sure your bullets and materials count for each encounter is a fun challenge that’s always rewarding. Inventory space is a bit tight at first, but it was the first thing I upgraded. You can really get into a flow state with this game. Repositioning and training the orphans to line up a charge shot that hits multiple. Tactically laying out mines or just making sure to use your flamethrower to burn both corpses and live orphans to prevent them from merging (definitely make sure you do that) and becoming stronger, and also for solid damage and a nice stun. And the game never becomes too easy because resources are paced out pretty well. For my money, the gameplay loop was perfect, and I knew I really loved it when I went into ng+ and with all the upgrades I had, I turned the traveler into Leon basically. Fun ass game.
So yeah, I genuinely hope Cronos turns into a franchise. The true ending left the door open, so there’s hope. In a world where the big two survival horror franchises have been revived with both remakes and new games releasing, and when Dead Space is just dead now, we need Cronos. Bloober Team has officially solidified themselves in the genre with this one, and I hope they keep going strong.
Cronos: The New Dawn – 9/10
