Over the years, Bloober Team has been known as a studio with great potential in the horror genre, though until recently, they hadn’t delivered a truly memorable experience. That changed with the remake of Silent Hill 2, which proved they could handle a high-caliber project. Now, they’re back with something completely original: Cronos: The New Dawn.
From the very beginning, the game wears its Dead Space inspiration on its sleeve, evoking a similar atmosphere that blends nostalgia with deeply unsettling fear. The story takes us to Poland in the 1980s, in a world ravaged by a pandemic that wiped out humanity. You take control of Traveler, a time-traveling protagonist tasked with retrieving information from fallen comrades who didn’t survive their expeditions.
The premise is intriguing and keeps expanding as the narrative unfolds. But things become even more unsettling when time travel begins to take a toll on Traveler’s mind, causing episodes of psychosis that blur the line between reality and hallucination.
Throughout the journey, you’ll face the Orphans, grotesque mutant corpses with tentacle-like limbs and disturbing deformities. One standout mechanic is enemy fusion: if you don’t burn the corpse of a defeated enemy, another can merge with its remains to create a stronger beast. While this adds tension early on, it eventually loses impact once you’ve seen all the variations. Fortunately, boss battles are inventive and diverse, keeping you constantly on edge.
Gameplay is presented in third-person shooting, with deliberately slow and heavy movements due to the protagonist’s bulky suit. You wield a multifunctional firearm that offers regular and charged shots, but can also transform into a shotgun, rifle, or flamethrower. Level design leans toward linearity, with certain environments feeling repetitive, though venturing off the main path often rewards you with upgrades or deadly ambushes.
The atmosphere is claustrophobic and oppressive, amplified by excellent sound design that keeps tension high. Still, some design choices feel frustrating: for example, Traveler’s time-traveling powers are only usable in conversations with certain characters, never in combat limiting what could have been a highly creative mechanic.
Other drawbacks include the lack of difficulty options, which turns the experience into a true endurance test that only hardcore fans will appreciate. On top of that, constant ammo scarcity though effective at raising tension is undermined by technical issues, such as missed hit registrations that waste precious resources.
In conclusion, Cronos: The New Dawn is a horror title that successfully captures the essence of its inspirations while standing out as one of the most notable original horror games in recent years. However, its limited accessibility, technical flaws, and somewhat unrefined gameplay keep it from reaching true excellence.
Final Score: 4/5
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