Cronos: The New Dawn is the latest offering from horror specialists Bloober Team – and what an offering it is!
Cronos: The New Dawn, the latest title from Bloober Team, has been available since September last year. After delivering an almost perfect piece of work with Silent Hill 2, they now want to make headlines again with their own title – and they’ve succeeded. With 87% positive reviews on Steam alone, the survival horror title has been rated “Very Positive.” That speaks for itself. We also had the opportunity to dive into the adventure and share our impressions with you.
The Traveler
Unlike most games, where we know which character we are, what we look like, and what motivates us, in Cronos we know basically nothing about our main character. This is because the character, known as the Traveler, is encased in a space suit-like garment. This “Temporal Shell” is the standard equipment of the mysterious organization “The Collective,” of which we are an agent. The Collective sends its “employees” on time travel missions. The goal is either to eliminate injustice or to repair broken timelines. So imagine it as similar to the TVA from the Marvel universe.
We embark on such a journey through time and wake up as a traveler on Christmas Eve in 1980s Poland. In the fictional city of New Dawn, a disease called “The Change” is raging, which we are supposed to eliminate. Typical symptoms of the disease include fever or coughing, followed by blindness and paranoia. In the final stage of the disease, people become so-called “Orphans,” terrifying, mindless creatures that indiscriminately attack everything they see. They can also connect with the corpses of others to gain strength and lethality.
Text and audio logs
The mysterious nature of this fascinating story is told, as is almost customary nowadays, through codex entries and audio logs that can be found – rather than through the game itself. Those who are less interested in collecting these items will also get less out of the story. It simply depends on your own preferences whether you are receptive to this or not. We’re not big fans of piecing together the story with collectible text and audio logs.
Especially since there are a lot of proper names that sound quite similar. As the Traveler, we are part of “The Collective” and must fulfill “The Vocation.” In the timeline we’re traveling in, “The Change” is raging… This makes following the story unnecessarily complicated and confusing, especially in the first half of the game.
The predecessors
Although we only have a few basic details about the timeline in which we are traveling, for example in relation to the disease, we know exactly who we need to find. Because our goal is to track down Edward. While we are searching for him, we also encounter other travelers from time to time, who are referred to in the game as predecessors. They set out on the search before us, but obviously failed and lost their lives. When that happens, another traveler is awakened and takes their place.
If we find our target, our task is to extract their essence, a kind of soul. This enables them to undergo a process called “ascension,” which allows them to join the collective. What exactly does that mean and how does it work? We don’t know either. In any case, few are enthusiastic about the idea of joining a kind of swarm that robs them of their individuality.
A pandemic?
The residents of New Dawn were probably just as unhappy. As we explore the city, we repeatedly find clues as to what happened here. The inhabitants were presumably quarantined, forced to socially distance themselves and ration food. (Coronavirus pandemic, anyone?) People seemed to have complained about these and other measures, while outside the Orphans were wreaking havoc. It seems a little as if they were looking for something to complain about. After all, the Orphans are relentless and simply kill anyone who crosses their path.
The fact that Cronos: The New Dawn has a strong “Dead Space” vibe overall is also due to the Orphans, who repeatedly remind us of the Necromorphs. But the whole thing doesn’t come across as a cheap knock-off, but rather as if the developers took inspiration from one of the best sci-fi horror games ever and brought it into their own world. We can also see this in the weapon selection, which is initially limited to a handgun. As we progress, we expand our arsenal with two shotguns, a sniper rifle, and a carbine. To really complete the arsenal, it’s worth exploring the environment, as most of the weapons can be found in the world. These can then be upgraded in separate rooms.
Crafting
Combat is particularly difficult at the beginning of the game, as we have few options for using other weapons and first have to get used to the general feel of the game. This is especially true since we are very vulnerable and go down quickly. You should also be prepared for combat at all times. Although there is a crafting menu that can be accessed and used at any time, unlike in other games, Cronos does not pause during this process.
In addition, even dead enemies can still pose a threat. Remember how we mentioned at the beginning that Orphans can use the corpses of others to become stronger? Yep… To prevent this, we can burn the corpses. We should always do this when the opportunity arises. Stronger enemies pose a far greater threat than they already do.
Limited space
Inventory space is also very limited. Although it can be expanded during the course of the game, we were always faced with the question of what was more important to have with us. Is it the key to the next storage room, which we can use to craft important items, or should we pick up the materials in front of us now so we can use them in an emergency? This often presented us with difficult decisions.
Speaking of decisions, as travelers, we can make decisions that are supposed to influence the game’s plot. However, it is not always clear how much these decisions actually influence the game or what exactly that means. What definitely has an influence, however, is a decision made during the game’s final boss fight. With our decision, we choose one of two endings, neither of which is really “good” or “bad.” According to Bloober Team, there are even more endings, but we haven’t seen them.
Conclusion
“In Cronos: The New Dawn, just like in the Silent Hill 2 remake, you can see why Bloober Team is consistently and unreservedly dubbed the ‘masters of horror’. Instead of a dull horror survival game modeled on Dead Space, Cronos offers a great story. Although this is told through collectibles, if you get involved and put the puzzle pieces together, the quality becomes apparent. But the title is also convincing in terms of gameplay. You really notice how you get stronger and more options as the game progresses, even though the beginning sometimes seems impossible. Anyone who likes survival horror is definitely in the right place here and will experience a very, very enjoyable game for several hours.“
- Story/Atmosphere: 90/100
- Game Design: 80/100
- Scope: 70/100
- Balance: 70/100
- Presentation: 80/100
The review key for the PC was kindly provided to us by Bloober Team.
