Cronos: The New Dawn Review – Lingering Memories

Let me paint you a picture. I guide my Traveller, labelled ND-3576, down a cramped hallway with mutated biomass hanging off the walls. I’m low on bullets for my weapons, with only one precious healing stim, called a Shell Patch, and the tension is high. I just know there’s going to be an Orphan waiting in ambush around the place.

Spoiler alert: there is. A grotesque monstrosity hangs off the wall like a morbid decoration, its two heads roaring a challenge that would terrify even the most seasoned warriors. I charge up a shot from my handgun and shoot it square in the head. Well, one of them, at least.

Even as it slumps down defeated, I worry that the three bullets I have left might not be enough to tackle whatever else The Bloober Team has in store for me before I reach the next Traveller’s outpost, and a precious save point. Spoiler alert, again: I was right.

That sums up most of my time spent in the studio’s take on 1980s Poland, a land ravaged by a cataclysmic event called the Change, which wiped out most of humanity, leaving the survivors mutated beyond recognition and hungry for the Traveller’s blood. Or flesh. It’s hard to tell.

ND-3576 starts off in search of their fallen comrade, acting on behalf of The Collective, a mysterious group with murky motivations. Her search is part of The Vocation, a vow that the Travellers have undertaken to remedy the mistakes of the past. If you take a shot for every time somebody says “Such is our calling”, you’re probably going to have an easier time dealing with Poland’s many threats and processing the minute yet impactful revelations that accompany the journey.

As you retrace the steps of ND-3570, your predecessor, you gradually learn more about the Change and the events leading up to it. It isn’t anything that hasn’t been done before, but the manner in which those events are presented to you is part of why Cronos: The New Dawn shines as bright as it does despite its desolate hallways and dark, cramped spaces.

The story in Cronos isn’t about redemption. The Travellers know quite a bit about the mistakes that placed humanity in the position they find themselves in. ND-3576 has a clear goal in mind and will not stop at anything to get there. While there are moments that present you with opportunities for empathy, the situations they are presented in are so bleak that even the more cruel option seems like a mercy.

"While there are moments that present you with opportunities for empathy, the situations they are presented in are so bleak that even the more cruel option seems like a mercy."

Your predecessors have faced similar situations, too. It’s a tale that explores the effects of propaganda, resistance, greed, empathy, love, hate, hope, and despair, juggling all of these themes through a slow-burning gameplay loop that had me on edge from the minute I picked up my controller.

That’s because ND-3576 isn’t the most agile of protagonists. Her Temporal Shell makes anything beyond a slow jog impossible, and it’s often better to just walk carefully, your eyes peeled for threats or resources as you make your way to your next objective. The Orphans soon make themselves known to you, and dealing with them, given your limited supplies, is no walk in the park.

I found myself staring at a death screen more often than I’d like to admit. The best part about Cronos is that it wasn’t a skill issue on my part. It’s a testament to how suffocating the game’s atmosphere is, the tension being an almost tangible component of the world that The Bloober Team has created. You line up the perfect shot, going straight for an Orphan’s head, only to find your aim off by a hair thanks to your own panic setting in.

It doesn’t help that the game actively encourages you to conserve your supplies and be very prudent in their use. Every stray bullet could mean the difference between making it to the next safe point or being torn to shreds on the way there. Upgrades are given to you at a steady pace, making the adventure a tad easier as a result. However, only the most diligent of Travellers will find them in time, as the game’s levels cleverly secret them away in obscure corners.

"The Orphans soon make themselves known to you, and dealing with them, given your limited supplies, is no walk in the park."

Cores for your Temporal Shell and Flamethrower join Energy, gained through Energy Banks, Cameras, and the like, as your upgrade currencies, allowing you to improve either your Shell’s health and inventory slots or the capabilities of your firearms, respectively. You will need to be quite picky about every upgrade, carefully considering your own playstyle and how you would like to approach the game.

For my part, I found that prioritizing inventory slots and improved clips for my weapons was the way to go, allowing me to hold more items in my Shell’s limited storage, while not having to reload too often in a fight was an absolute lifesaver. The Orphans are a nasty bunch that hit hard and fast, and get progressively more terrifying and deadly as the adventure continues.

The Merge mechanic is among Cronos’ best features, forcing you to think very carefully about where and how you take on the Orphans in your way, and of how you dispose of them. I found myself luring Orphans to points where I felt safer taking them on, interrupting their attempts to get stronger by feeding on the corpses that were strewn about with my weapons. 

I then used my flamethrower to get rid of their corpses in one fell swoop before taking on the bigger, badder ones, secure in the knowledge that things could not get any worse. Boy, was I wrong! That’s because I was left facing the more dangerous Orphans with only a few bullets and no fuel for my flamethrower, considering you can only carry one of two charges for it at a time.

"The Orphans are a nasty bunch that hit hard and fast, and get progressively more terrifying and deadly as the adventure continues."

Between avoiding their attacks and desperately looking out for more ammo, taking the Orphans on was a harrowing experience. But, strangely enough, I found myself relishing the challenge. It’s a testament to The Bloober Team’s world-building, as you feel like both the hunter and the hunted at every turn in Cronos: The New Dawn. It’s a gameplay loop that’s tough but fair, and every death is just a lesson to be learned as you approach the reason for your demise from another angle, hoping that you can get an edge with a revised strategy.

As far as its gameplay and story go, Cronos: The New Dawn is a work of art within the survival horror genre. It’s made even better by a soundtrack that’s so subtle it’s barely there, but does the job of sustaining the tension at key points, while adding a melancholic touch to the game’s quiet moments.

Cronos also performs quite well on the base PS5, with a smooth framerate and no stutter or pop-in at any point. However, I did notice a slight drop in framerates during more intense moments, but it wasn’t immersion-breaking in the slightest. It’s a polished, well-crafted experience that works well with the visuals, story, and gameplay to present an experience that had me sleeping with the lights on while staring at the ceiling, pondering questions both existential and material.

Were the people in the past right in breaking quarantine every time the chance presented itself? Was the old lady behind that door actually there, or was she a time-travel-induced hallucination caused by ND-3576’s temporal jumps? Did my own isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic shape my perceptions around this story? These are all questions that haunted me long after I powered down my console and called it a day. And that’s Cronos: The New Dawn’s biggest strength.

"Cronos also performs quite well on the base PS5, with a smooth framerate and no stutter or pop-in at any point."

It’s a game that assumes intelligence in its players. It assumes that, like the Travellers, they are not going to back down, even in the face of an armageddon that’s come and gone. It’s a work of art that even the most faint-hearted will want to see through from start to finish. And, like many things in the real world, it’s the journey that matters more than the destination.

Cronos: The New Dawn is an experience that I’d recommend, even insist that most players see for themselves. It even took me past my general apprehension about horror titles, presenting me with a narrative and gameplay loop that were so compelling I quickly forgot my fears and decided to give it my best. And for that, I’m both astounded and delighted.

Such is our calling.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.