Cronos: The New Dawn review for PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch 2, PC

Cronos: The New Dawn was a game I hoped to go into with as little info as possible. It was a title that shared a similar visual style to Dead Space which most stated early on. For me, knowing we weren’t getting a new Dead Space, this could be a good thing. Or it could be like Calisto Protocol…

This proved to be a good thing as Cronos is a game that on its surface may look familiar and even share some inspiration from games like Dead Space and Resident Evil but is strong enough to stand on its own. The dark and eerie take on a post-apocalyptic and retro past Poland is an enigmatic canvas of gloom and gore.

Cronos’ story is mysterious and keeps you guessing throughout its 12–13-hour campaign. My playthrough was closer to 20 hours from dying an awful lot. You play as Traveler ND-3576 recently awoken from hibernation set on a journey to find your predecessor who has perished. Your goal is to find their remains and continue the mission to save humans from the “Change”.

The mechanics are very reminiscent of Dead Space and Resident Evil 4. I know many are sharing the same comparisons and this is honestly not a bad thing. Both games are peak survival horror games in their own rights and if you can take proper inspiration, I commend the developers for doing so. The atmosphere is dreaded and the score by composer Arkadiusz Reikowski is truly otherworldly and fits the world perfectly.

The world is fairly linear with some areas you can revisit outside of points in the story where time travel is used. There is a little metroidvania peppered in with revisiting areas once you have items to access. As you make your way through each area, you will find safe rooms that will be a key element to your survival. Item and weapon management is one of the most important mechanics in the game.

Ammo and health items are as scarce as I’ve ever remembered in recent years. Almost every boss fight left me at the brink of death with no health. The skin of my teeth is saying it lightly. There was a fight where health was in red and no ammo and I just kept melee attacking and somehow made it through. I haven’t had a win like that since the ’90s with my only knife run in the original Resident Evil.

Yet, despite the challenge and frustration, I found myself eager to drive on and hope the next battle would be a little more forgiving. Nope. This is intentional and made to truly feel like survival horror at its best. There are 4 different weapon types in the form of a handgun, shotgun, automatic rifle and a launcher. With the variety of weapons and items you collect, initially inventory is limited but like in Dead Space, you can upgrade the Travelers Rig for health, item capacity and resource capacity. Outside of finding ammo and healing items, you also have the ability to craft these items with materials found throughout.

You will find yourself needing to pick and choose what you pick up even later in the game to not get stuck with full inventory and unable to pick up something needed. This can make you spend lengthy time traversing back to the closest safe room which also has a storage option like Resident Evil. One word of advice if you read this before playing. Keep the bolt cutters with you as I cannot count how many times I put it back in the storage only to need it 5 minutes later.

The most challenging and frustrating portion of my time with Cronos was getting to a scripted fight where you are locked in an area with either a wave of enemies or a boss. You have to be really strategic and prepare to die a lot. It’s not Souls difficult; it’s more about the strategy you need to take to use your environment along with your limited ammo.

With the enemies, the main motto is “Don’t let them merge”. Just when you think you killed one of the grotesque monsters, another comes and sucks him right up. This makes them stronger, creating armor and an overall bigger pain in the ass. Early on you find a tool that lets you burn the bastards, but this is also in limited supply.

Scattered throughout the areas are flammable items like barrels and oil canisters that can help when you do not have access. Your weapons also have some secondary mechanics that help with puzzle solving and, in some cases, time rewind previously exploded canisters to use again. This mechanic is one of the most important elements of the gameplay and can also be the hardest to use strategically in the heat of the moment. (No Pun intended).

The difficulties I experienced came down to ammo and environmental management. Dying became a regular part of the experience but learned after a death or two which helped progress just slowly. Run and gun is not welcome, at least in the first playthrough.

The story slowly builds up with some great voice acting between The Traveler and a mysterious ally The Warden. This keeps your interest despite the challenging combat.

Overall, Cronos: The New Dawn feels like a proper spiritual successor to Dead Space in many ways, but the narrative and environment stand tall on their own to create a truly memorable experience in survival horror. It gives “The Thing” body horror vibes which is a bonus.

Bloober Team provided us with a Cronos: The New Dawn PS5 code for review purposes.