Cronos: The New Dawn review – The fear of change

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Long, endless corridors of cold concrete, rusted metal, and twisted biological matter stretch out, shrouded in darkness. A deep, throbbing sound seems to emanate from a nearby turn. A colossal, armored space traveler lurches forward, his footsteps thundering and reverberating as they don’t squish with every step but rather splash with internal fluids. A shrill scream, an electric jolt, and eventually a gunshot. The game “Cronos: The New Dawn” is dense with atmosphere and moments that pierce through the relative quiet. It makes an impressive debut, but regrettably, this tune can only play one note.

Cronos is a new survival horror game developed by Bloober Team, known for their successful remake of Silent Hill 2 in 2024. Essentially, they aim to apply the tried-and-true survival horror formula they’ve honed with previous projects, and integrate it into a fresh intellectual property that could potentially become their main franchise. At first glance, it looks impressive and well-crafted, but critics have noted a shortage of original concepts.

Examining the Silent Hill 2 remake against its original version reveals traces of contemporary survival horror games, and much like many third-person shooters, Resident Evil 4 serves as a significant source of inspiration. This influential game has shaped subsequent survival horrors such as Dead Space, The Evil Within, and Alan Wake, and the impact of Resident Evil 4 on the genre is palpable in the Silent Hill 2 remake, as well as more recent titles like Cronos.

RE4’s impact is seen in several aspects within Cronos: a third-person view, enemies reacting to shots on specific body parts, upgradeable weapons, items for sale, and predominantly linear levels with occasional side paths for hidden treasures and resources. Although Cronos takes more inspiration from the remake of the original Resident Evil game, it still embodies these essential elements. In REmake, stronger Crimson Head zombies can spawn from dead zombies if you don’t set their bodies on fire.

In the game Cronos, there’s an impressive mechanic that makes seasoned players pause and ponder their strategies regarding routes and resources. This feature is evident in the form of mutated zombie creatures, which can absorb and amalgamate with the remains of other creatures they come across. This unique ability results in a powerful transformation, making them significantly stronger by boosting their health, speed, and attack power. This aspect of the game is both predictable, in terms of its occurrence, and intimidating due to the enhanced capabilities of these creatures.

To offset this situation, you’ll be provided with Torch Fuel that serves to consume and eliminate physical barriers like bodies and flesh obstructions. You can create this Torch Fuel yourself or acquire it from specific resource dispensers, provided you’ve already used up your previous supplies. This suggests that the resource allocation aspect of burning bodies is less critical, except when navigating those extended, winding corridors.

The New Dawn” lacks diversity and is resistant to change, which can lead to feelings of confusion due to its lack of a map. The game’s linear design is more extreme than typical survival horror games, yet a map would still be beneficial. Moreover, once you choose a path, it often becomes difficult to backtrack, and the addition of gravity boots midway through the game doesn’t guarantee that you can easily return to your starting point after reaching certain gravity pads.

Navigating the game world can become unnecessarily challenging due to the absence of a map, but it’s not the only inconvenience. Save points aren’t plentiful, so auto-saves before enemy encounters are useful. However, you won’t get an auto-save when crossing that boundary a second time – if you go back to gather resources, you’ll need to do so each time you restart. Additionally, there are no auto-saves after significant battles like boss fights, leaving you potentially stranded in a situation requiring several minutes of gameplay before reaching the next save point. I suppose I was naive to think the game wouldn’t make me fight a boss again when I paused for the night following a tense battle. I also dislike how enemies attack from blind corners, necessitating damage and death to figure out the correct response, and the extended gameplay required to return to that spot.

Upon locating and rescuing your objective as society disintegrates, you’ll almost instantly be thrust into a maze of interconnected corridors made of concrete, steel, and grotesquely altered tissue. During this time, you come across The Warden – an enigmatic traveler who seems to know far more than he reveals. However, the Travellers converse like digital assistants that pause between each word, making their conversations slow and lengthy. Although I found their insights intriguing, I chose not to engage in extended discussions due to the time it took for them to complete their dialogues.

While I appreciate Cronos: The New Dawn, the small irritations combined with the monotony can become tiresome over time. It’s a game that is well-made and functions smoothly, yet the repeated task of shooting zombie mutants and searching containers for batteries loses its appeal. As a moderately atmospheric horror title suitable for Halloween, it falls short of being the new Bloober Team era I had anticipated.

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2025-09-03 17:19