Cronos: The New Dawn Review

A Hardcore Horror That Hooks You In

There are some development teams that, in the eyes of certain gamers, are a bit hit and miss. 

Bloober are one of those; a development team that is currently riding high for the great job and work they did with the remake of Silent Hill 2. 

I am a big fan of theirs, especially in what was created in Observer and Layers of Fear. I even liked The Medium; a game that, in some people’s eyes, was a miss. 

Going into Cronos: The New Dawn, I didn’t know what to expect. It’s a totally new franchise and IP, but it is also a brutal horror survival game that borrows from previous works. 

There was a moment early on in Cronos in which I thought to myself, “I can’t do this, it’s too hard”. But there is equally something about the game that pushes you on; where you think about it, consider how you died, and how you could do things better, and then go again. It has that ‘Souls’ addictive hook to it, and it was that which I relished in the end. 

But be warned, Cronos: The New Dawn is as hard as nails, with limited resources, difficult-to-master gunplay, and no easing in difficulty levels to help your progress. It can be frustrating a lot of the time, but when you beat an enemy, or take down a specific section or boss, the feeling is so rewarding. 

A Narrative Enigma

But let me start from the beginning and tell you what Cronos: The New Dawn is all about. It’s a narrative that isn’t explained at all in the beginning, but you learn more as you play through the game. You are “The Traveller,” a being in a huge metal suit, coming across a bit like a mix of something from Dead Space and the Big Daddies in Bioshock. You begin by getting asked some psychological questions from a machine and looking at Rorschach drawings, telling the machine what you see represented. What is this for? It’s unclear but intriguing. 

It turns out you have travelled from the future, and you are investigating “The Change” where the world changed forever. Other travellers have come before you but have failed, and now it’s your chance to put things right. That’s all I am going to say about the narrative, as not to spoil anything. But your location is that of Poland before the Iron Curtain fell, deep in the grip of the USSR in terms of its design. The story and world building are excellent, told through audio logs and strange cut scenes. It’s a uniquely weird narrative that I loved. 

Anomalies and Ammunition

Gameplay puts you in first-person, working an over-the-shoulder view for the game. Your suit, like Isaac’s in Dead Space, is a tanky affair where your movement is not on the agile side. You can run a bit and jump up ledges, interact and push objects to get through to your destination. As you explore, you read audio tapes and see signs in Polish that are auto translated.

Then there are some special techniques you can use, like the ability to utilise anomalies in space, pointing your gun and distorting them, so they change the shape of the environment. Simply put, if you do this, the debris will go back in time, and a broken bridge becomes whole again. These small puzzle elements, plus the finding of keys and codes to doors and safes, are entertaining and a distraction from the battles ahead. 

Brutal Encounters and Nerves of Steel

Combat is tough. Have I told you that already? Well, it is. You first have a gun which has very limited bullets, as well as a special move when you charge up a shot to blast the enemies. Like Dead Space, you can aim for the legs to slow them down, and head shots are always the best. You can tell from the first encounter with a biomass being – one in which I died twice – that this is going to be a long ride. 

When you get more than one being around you at a time, it becomes very hard as they can reanimate bodies lying around to create more of them. You get a flame thrower early on, which helps with this, mostly as you can stop things by fire. But oh my, you will require nerves of steel to get through some encounters. But when you do get through a section, it feels like you will have climbed Mount Everest.

And be sure to learn from your deaths and go into each battle with a strategy in hand. For some, this might be too much, and I can see how it would be easy to hold up your hands and give up with what Cronos offers. 

Upgrades and Atmosphere

You get other weapons later, like shotguns, which can all be upgraded with energy points to do the usual things like improve stability, reload speeds, and shot power. Your suit can be upgraded as well, and along the way, you collect containers which can be crafted into health packs and more ammo if needed. And yes, you’ll need it. It’s all a familiar pattern from other games in this genre, but my advice would be to search every corner for resources, because you’ll be in a world of trouble if you don’t. 

Polish Architecture and Brooding Sounds

Visually, Cronos: The New Dawn is impressive and oppressive at the same time. Cramped, broken interiors will have been distorted with the space-time anomaly. The old Polish communist architecture is impressive and seeing how they have shaped this is impressive. Cut scenes are great, and the design of the traveller itself is wonderful. The enemies you come across are fine, but once you see one blobby enemy, you do get a bit less impressed. There is no doubt that boss battles are exciting and scary, with some good variations on design. And further to that? The lighting is excellent and super atmospheric. 

Sound design is also excellent, beautifully orchestrated with a brooding score and creepy effects around each corner. The squelching noises coming from the enemies are always frightening and repulsive and any voice work is solid with a distorted, emotionless feel to the traveller; something which reminds of the Terminator tone to begin with. 

A Cracking New IP for Hardcore Gamers

I was initially unsure of Cronos: The New Dawn, and after the first few enemy encounters, I had a feeling that we just weren’t going to get on. This is a hardcore game, and at times you’ll be left frustrated, annoyed, and want to cry. BUT when it clicks, when you beat an enemy or a boss, and when you make progress, Cronos delivers a brilliant feeling. And be sure, you will want to progress in order to find out what has happened in this world, who you are and why you are here. 

Cronos: The New Dawn is a cracking new IP from an excellent game developer.

Important Links

This Hardcore Horror Game Will Push You to Your Limits! Cronos: The New Dawn is NOW AVAILABLE – https://www.thexboxhub.com/this-hardcore-horror-game-will-push-you-to-your-limits-cronos-the-new-dawn-is-now-available/

Bloober Team Unveils Cronos: The New Dawn, a Sci-Fi Survival Horror Odyssey – https://www.thexboxhub.com/bloober-team-unveils-cronos-the-new-dawn-a-sci-fi-survival-horror-odyssey/

Buy Cronos: New Dawn from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/cronos-the-new-dawn/9p7tflq7ctxn