Horror fans have had it good the past decade, with even the remakes of beloved titles hitting the mark more often than not. The Dead Space remake was a great recreation of the soul of the original and the Resident Evil 4 remake was just fantastic. Enter Cronos The New Dawn, which came out this week. Is it any good, you ask?
Well, critics are praising the game’s unsettling atmosphere, the eerie world design and the creative take on a proven horror-formula. While the game is being called “good” by many, critics and players alike weren’t exactly being shy about calling out the weak spot of this horror title; the combat system.
This is a shame, since Cronos The New Dawn hits all the right notes when it comes to the creepy atmosphere and the claustrophobic environments, as well as the overall feeling of the game.
The minute something is actually attacking you, the cracks start to show. The combat system has been labelled ‘serviceable’, which isn’t exactly comforting. The question remains – is Cronos worth playing, despite the obvious flaws in the combat system?
Creepy Atmosphere Hits All the Right Notes
Upon testing the first few minutes of the horror game, one thing really stood out to us, and that is how much attention to detail Bloober Team has given to the setting. It’s positively dripping with tension, what with its derelict labs, alien temples and long corridors, where flickering lights are almost obligatory.
This experience thrives more on building fear and suspense, rather than jump scares around every corner, which made us feel slightly uneasy; exactly what you want from a horror game like this. Luckily, Cronos The New Dawn seems to deliver the goods and invites you to explore more of this dystopian world.
Cronos The New Dawn Gameplay Leaves a Lot to Desired
Similar to its space-faring cousin The Callisto Protocol, the achilles-heel of Cronos is its lackluster combat. True, the controls are responsive enough, but we can’t help but feel that the combat is a little uninspired.
Encounters often boil down to the same dodge-and-attack loop we’ve seen a million times before, and there’s no saving grace in thinking that enemy variety keeps that loop fresh – that just isn’t the case here.
For a game that gets its setting, atmosphere and creep-factor so right, this criticism stings indeed. Horror games live off of the vulnerability you feel when engaging monsters or other abominations, and Cronos just doesn’t deliver here, since combat never feels threatening enough.
Even just a few hours in, encounters felt like a chore and that is a stark reminder, that a spooky atmosphere can only carry a game so far, if the gameplay doesn’t feel weighty and deliberate.
Cronos The New Dawn Review
Play Cronos The New Dawn if you prefer a thick and creepy atmosphere and aren’t too fussed about a half-baked combat system, or even engaging action setpieces alá Resident Evil 4.
Think of Cronos more as an atmosphere piece with the odd combat encounter you have to slog through, rather than a complete survival horror experience. For PC players desperately craving something fresh in the horror game genre, you can definitely spend your hard-earned money a lot worse.
