Cronos: The New Dawn [Xbox Series X] | REVIEW

Bloober Team have rightfully earned a reputation as masters of horror, and with Cronos: The New Dawn, they’ve proven that they can deliver an original survival-horror experience every bit as compelling as the big names of the genre (including their own Silent Hill 2 Remake). Drawing inspiration from genre titans such as Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Dead Space, this is a game that feels familiar yet fresh, with mechanics and atmosphere that keep you constantly on the edge of your seat in fear.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Players step into the heavy boots of The Traveller, an enigmatic agent of a mysterious Collective. Clad in a bulky exosuit that recalls both deep-sea divers and space explorers (and even something a bit rude if you squint a little when looking at the helmet), you awaken in a devastated future Poland after a catastrophic event known simply as The Change. Your mission? To recover the ‘essence’ of key figures from before the collapse, diving back into the past to uncover their stories and, perhaps, a way to halt the nightmare. This time-hopping narrative isn’t just a gimmick: it weaves together betrayal, grief, and the chilling resonance of a pandemic, with an abundance of environmental clues and collectibles giving the tale a personal, human weight. It’s hard not to draw similarities to COVID-19 within a lot of the world building, and in many ways, it makes everything all the more unsettling.

The world you explore is equal parts bleak and beautiful, with ruined cityscapes overrun with a pulsing and grotesque biomass that has enveloped the world. It can be gross, but there’s also something very believable about the collapsed world that makes it feel like you’re actually exploring what was once a normal society. This is emphasised in the calmer time-shifting excursions to pre-Change New Dawn, which helps create moments of haunting contrast where things feel like they are on the cusp of falling apart. It makes for a tantalising world to be a part of, whilst the lighting and sound design are superbly utilised to ensure everything is constantly atmospheric and unnerving. You never quite know what you might see next, and when paired with the storytelling, it’s hard not to feel spooked.

“Cronos: The New Dawn combines a gripping pandemic-tinged narrative, nerve-wracking combat, and smart environmental puzzles into a nightmare that absolutely demands your full attention.”

What adds to this continual tension is the combat, which feels deliberate, intense, and like every shot you take matters. Your core weapon begins as a simple pistol capable of charged shots, but you gradually unlock additional forms to give it added punch – whether that’s as an automatic weapon where you can spray bullets into foes or when blasting them away with a classic survival-horror shotgun. Each upgrade gives players a new way to deal with each grotesque foe, but with limited inventory space, players face difficult choices about which ammunition or tools to carry. Of course, you have melee strikes, but these exist mostly as a last resort. Its can make for a tough experience, but the gunplay is rewarding enough to ensure each encounter is exhilarating – and, of course, rewarding IF you survive.

One neat feature that reminded me of the Resident Evil Remake is that you can burn corpses when you defeat them. However, this isn’t to stop them from reanimating, but rather to prevent other enemies from absorbing them and becoming more powerful adversaries. It adds another tactical edge to combat encounters, and with the torches you use to burn enemies limited, you’ll often find yourself either intentionally trying to keep living enemies away from fallen foes or rushing to kill them before they have a chance to get stronger. Again, it plays into the strategic elements of Cronos: The New Dawn, but it also gives players an extra thing to worry about.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Of course, resource management is central to the combat, and it deserves special mention. Ammunition and healing items are scarce, and with enemies hitting hard and often arriving in groups, it’s easy to find yourself low on ammo with nothing but a weak swing to fend off a charging mutant, and believe me, that tension can be very overwhelming. This toughness can feel like a flaw at times and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some players put off, but it’s also where Cronos: The New Dawn shines. The dread of stepping into another dark corridor is sharpened when you’re worried that you simply don’t have enough resources to survive the next encounter, and careful planning – deciding when to fight, when to flee, and how best to use environmental hazards like explosive barrels – is essential. The pressure NEVER lets up, and whilst it can be absolutely overwhelming, it also gives Cronos: The New Dawn the sort of bite that I haven’t seen in the genre for a while.

Beyond combat, exploration offers rewarding variety, with your typical survival horror environmental puzzles and key item collecting complemented by moments where you manipulate time-space anomalies to altering structures and open pathways. You’ll unlock additional tools to help with traversal as you progress too, whilst optional areas you’re able to explore bring with them plenty of goodies. Cronos: The New Dawn has plenty of little tricks up its sleeve to keep the experience engaging throughout, and whilst there’s typically a clear path to follow, those who take their time to really soak in its world and mechanics are certainly rewarded – especially when it results in additional upgrades to weapons and suit abilities. It all comes together to make for a tantalising survival-horror experience that I simply loved being a part of.

Developer: Bloober Team
Publisher: Bloober Team
Platform(s): Xbox Series X|S (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
Website: https://cronosnewdawn.com/