Cronos: The New Dawn

Cronos: The New Dawn — Review After 100% Completion + *Story *Immersive atmosphere and setting *Satisfying exploration *Interesting boss fights - *Few enemy variations *Slow pace, prolonged sections, occasional backtracking, and a limited inventory — pretty sure this was intentional by the developer to better sell the product to investors as a 13–15 hour game *Cutscene bugs even a year after release (particularly the terminal cutscenes) *An arsenal of guns that feels like it is there just to check a box *A horror game that doesn’t even try to be scary *Many reported technical issues on budget setups. I had to Google how to enable DLSS, it is not intuitive. *NG+ on Hard Mode feels like an easy mode At the beginning, the atmosphere is mystical. The storytelling initially reminded me of Dark Souls - you are simply thrown into a world with no clue what is going on and what happened there. All of that was intriguing. As you progress, the game starts giving you small pieces of information through notes, voice messages, writings on walls exc. Eventually, it starts engaging with you more directly through mission objectives, protagonist comments and other characters. I usually completely skip reading notes or NPC dialogue in other games, but here I found myself reading the notes, listening to the voice logs, and watching all the cutscenes with an interest. Story and atmosphere are where Cronos shines. The game feels like it wanted to be a mix of Dead Space and Resident Evil, but there is no point in directly comparing them because Cronos simply cannot hold its own against either. As you slowly progress through the story, looking for alternative paths and hidden collectibles, you encounter arenas with enemies. Doors get blocked, you defeat the enemies, progress further, explore, pick up collectibles, enter another arena, and so on. This is essentially the gameplay loop you should expect. It is a survival game, and resources are relatively scarce. Because of this, it makes sense to use the starting weapon with its charged shots and invest in upgrading it. The second weapon you encounter is a shotgun with the same chargeshot mechanics. After that point, the weapons you find simply lose their purpose. There is little reason to waste your resources upgrading newly acquired weapons or crafting ammunition for it because they are not upgraded making them weaker and simply aren't as effective as guns with charged shot mechanics. So, the large arsenal is somewhat of an illusion. Since you have a limited inventory, you need to make the most of the items you carry. As a result, the weapons with charged shot mechanics are the ones you are most likely to upgrade, and by the time you find other weapons, your existing ones are already way more effective and efficient in terms of ammo spent per enemy. Aim for a head, or you might find yourself short on ammo regardless. It is interesting to see that enemies can become more dangerous as they consume bodies of their fallen comrades, progressing/merging into more dangerous foe. You can burn the bodies or shoot an enemy that has started the process to stop it. It is an interesting mechanic, but I was a bit confused when I realised that the enemies have only a few attack animations and don't have a grab attack. Once you remember their attack patterns — and there aren't many to remember they pretty much do the same thing— they no longer represent much of a threat. And how are you supposed to be scared of enemies like that? The main character is slow, and the enemies are slow. What creates tension in survival horror games? Enemy lethality, unpredictability, and the possibility of being grabbed or immobilised while other enemies close in on you. Here, the enemies are slow and predictable, and on top of that, they lack a grab attack.The only real tension comes from scarce ammunition, but if you use weapons with charged shots to reduce your ammo spending during encounters, even that stops being much of an issue. Especially if you explore well and buy ammo/materials from a shop for energy credits. Eventually, you simply get used to everything, and the game isn't difficult nor scary at all. The game then tries to create psychological tension through red gamma cutscenes and occasional animation pop-ups, but to me, these came across more as a joke than something genuinely frightening. The developers call it a horror game, but it feels like they don't even try to make it scary. If you're familiar with titles like Dead Space, Resident Evil, or Alien: Isolation, don't expect much from Cronos. Cronos clearly had a much smaller budget and less time invested in it. In absolute terms, it is a strong game within its genre and budget. In relative terms, however, once you start comparing it to other strong titles, it falls too far behind. That said, if you enjoy games with an immersive atmosphere, like to explore, search for collectibles, and appreciate a good story, this is a game for you. If you enjoy action, challenging combat, and expect a horror game to get under your skin, you can confidently pass on this one — or try it at a discount. My rating Story: 8/10 Atmosphere: 10/10 Gameplay: 7/10 Combat-related aspects: 5/10 Sound design: 10/10 Level design: 8/10 Replayability: 4/10