Cronos: The New Dawn

“It's a sci-fi homage to the greats and yet still holds its own with a very captivating story and fun gameplay.”

“Cronos: the new dawn stands as one of Bloober Team’s most ambitious original projects, combining retro-futuristic sci-fi aesthetics with grounded survival horror mechanics. Gameplay is built around classic survival horror principles: limited resources, careful inventory management, and deliberate pacing. A distinctive mechanic known as the merge system adds a unique layer of tension. This mechanic compels players to manage combat aftermath strategically, often requiring them to burn corpses to prevent escalation. While the shooting mechanics are serviceable and tense, some players may find them less refined than those in more action-oriented survival horror titles. Many players praise its oppressive world-building, unique merge mechanic, and thoughtful narrative design. By blending traditional survival mechanics with an innovative enemy fusion system and a richly constructed setting, it delivers a tense and reflective journey. While not without mechanical imperfections, its atmospheric depth and narrative ambition establish it as a memorable entry in modern survival horror, appealing to players who value mood, strategy, and psychological weight over relentless action spectacle.”

“Well Bloober, you did it, you made an actual game this time and not make suicide the preferred ending. This fills the Dead Space-Resident Evil thirsts and hunger that Callisto Protocol failed on. It's not perfect but I have to say very good. Silent Hill 2 was a major stepping stone for this. The world is very intriguing and vibes are just so great. The merging enemy mechanic makes this stand out from many inspired by Dead Space. The inventory is a little annoying but it is manageable. It actually led to a very intense moment for me when I fought a boss and had no ammo left with low health. I used a flaming barrel by stomping it to stun the boss and punched him to death as a last resort and I somehow won, it was actually quite epic. So yeah, I like this game. I did not expect this from Bloober but I actually hope to see them do more games like this and not like Blair Witch. I don't mean exact gameplay but intriguing worlds with actual gameplay mechanics and endings where killing yourself isn't the "best ending".”

“The locations are extremely dark (and full of secrets), the lighting is minimal (thankfully you have a flashlight), and the sound design, jump scares, cutscenes, audio logs, notes, documents, NPC encounters, and — above all — the brilliant enemies and even better story all combine into an incredible atmosphere.”

“From the moment you step into its world, the game’s atmosphere is palpable, a thick blanket of melancholic dread.”

“Bloober team has knocked it out of the park with this one, a stunningly detailed world with insane character design, some refreshing lore, a well written story and just some of the craziest atmosphere & sound design you've ever heard!”

“Technical performance and ongoing patches have further improved stability and quality-of-life aspects post-launch.”

“• optimization & stability: 10/10 – zero issues on Ryzen 9900x3d and RTX 5070ti 16GB.”

“The PC performance was solid for me; I personally had no issues.”

“The graphics and story are superb, and the atmosphere is intense from start to finish.”

“The graphics and audio are as good as any top tier game release this year and as a fan of survival horror I have no hesitation to recommend.”

“The visuals are stunning, featuring sleek, futuristic designs and dark, haunting environments.”

“The sound design in this game is absolutely stellar, with a creepy 80s style synth soundtrack and fantastic ambient audio that gives off a classic John Carpenter vibe reminiscent of 'The Thing.'”

“The soundtrack is phenomenal, pulling you into a grim, eerie world that feels straight out of a horror movie, filled with eerie leitmotifs and the occasional mournful choir singing an elegy for humanity.”

“The gameplay, the story, the mystery, the graphics, the atmosphere, and the music—ahh man, the music in this game is beyond perfection!”

“With awesome monster designs, unique gameplay aspects, a very satisfying rhythm to arsenal progression, simple puzzles and collectibles that won't force you to look at a wiki, a beautiful soundtrack, strong and heavy sound design, a fun to put together story and replayability for at minimum three whole runs to get all achievements and endings, this game offered me an experience that I didn't know I wanted as much as I apparently did, judging from how much I enjoyed it of course.”

“You're looking at a good 15 to 20 hours your first run and there's replay value with new game plus and extra endings.”

“New game plus is amazing and adds a ton of replay value.”

“Wow man this game is amazing and it works no bugs, no glitches, no crashes and plays perfect optimized to perfection.”

“I was also happy that it was bug free for me, a rarity for modern games.”

“It looks great, runs great (even on the Steam Deck with a native Linux build).”

“Cronos tells enough to make a coherent and emotionally strong story, while withholding enough to make you guess and wonder about the bigger implications of everything that is happening and the world of the game.”

“Themes of memory, transformation, and the consequences of technological ambition permeate the experience, lending emotional depth beyond standard post-apocalyptic survival tropes.”

“The actors’ performances are nothing short of exceptional: professional, immersive, and emotionally resonant.”

“Funny enough, the meme 'kill it with fire' is literally a core feature of the game.”

“The animations of the human NPCs are ridiculously over-the-top and involuntarily funny, with stupid facial expressions and wild gesticulation that no real person does.”

“The levels get so dark towards the end that the flashlight is almost literally useless, on top of its hilariously short and unrealistic range already.”

“It may take a few playthroughs to fully piece together all its mysteries, but it’s a very rewarding plotline to follow that delivers in big ways during the rare moments of narrative or character development.”

“The character design is awesome, the monster's look grotesque and dangerous and the traveler has such a unique design that I didn't really like at first but have come to absolutely love. The inspiration from old school diving suits is most definitely there and I dig it.”

“Character design for me is 10/10, really interesting characters.”