This is one of those moderate/lukewarm recommendations. I'm only 5 hours in so take this "review" with a grain of salt. A couple other things important to mention is that I generally enjoy horror games. Alien: Isolation is my all time favorite in the genre, with the first two Dead Space games right there behind it. Going into Cronos, I was kind of hoping for a more atmospheric Dead Space kind of game, and what is here is genuinely scary. They have absolutely nailed the atmosphere with this game. Everything is just awesome to just look at as you're walking around. However, the movement is a bit clunky. There are far too many times where I've died not because I didn't make the right decision, but because I left my self scolding the monitor as I've died for the upteenth time, "that's not what I pressed!" or "that's not what I was trying to do!". I'm putting this game on pause and moving on. I might come back to it. I know there are big fans of this game, and I understand why. The atmosphere and story might just be enough to draw you in and keep you, but it's the gameplay that kills this game for me. Plus, you are punished far too much for wasting resources of any kind. If you walk into an area, for example, and you get rushed by multiple monsters, the game has a way of "training" you into solving those areas in only one way. If you don't figure out the one way the developers have set up the area for you to pass, you will struggle. In action/horror games that I enjoy, the game gives you multiple ways to handle areas, and here, it becomes more and more obvious as you move along that the game only wants you to play a certain way while giving you the illusion of choice. I'm fine with linear games, and in fact I prefer them, but don't present me a game giving me options in order to give me the impression there are multiple ways to handle something, when in fact the game punishes me for not picking the one way that you should take through. With all of that negative out of the way, there are positives that make it a recommendation. It ran great on my PC, and it is possible to play on the Steam Deck if you turn everything to low settings, and even then the game still looks pretty good. Again, the atmosphere and story are really good. The weapons, when they work how they're supposed to, are fun as well. There is a charge mechanic that you had better master soon, because it's the only way you'll get through. When it works, it's satisfying and fun. When it doesn't, it is very frustrating. If you see it go on sale and you're curious and you like survival horror action games go ahead and give this a shot as you might like it. Maybe it isn't for me at the end of the day. I can certainly understand why the challenge of perfecting your shots, perfectly scavenging the areas for materials all the while managing your inventory, and being immersed into this creepy environment would be awesome for some.
