"At Gamescom 2025, 'Cronos: The New Dawn', developed by Bloober, stood out as my top choice - potentially crafting a horror masterpiece for Xbox and PC platforms"
Cronos: The New Dawn, the latest horror game from Bloober Team, made a striking appearance at Gamescom 2025. Known for their work on Layers of Fear, The Medium, and the Silent Hill 2 Remake, Bloober Team has once again delivered a chilling experience that pays homage to classic horror games like Resident Evil and Dead Space.
Set in a quiet, Soviet post-apocalypse, Cronos: The New Dawn takes players on a journey through a bleak retro-futuristic atmosphere, with an Eastern European setting and brutalist USSR shadows. The game features Giger-esque retro-tech littered throughout apocalyptic Poland, creating a hauntingly beautiful world that is both familiar and alien.
The story of Cronos: The New Dawn is intriguing, with a relentless march of "WTF" moments and many unanswered questions. Players will encounter grotesque amalgamations of humanity, known as "The Change," which seem to have thoroughly broken the world. The flow of time is also broken in Cronos: The New Dawn, with the remaining population beginning to merge into these horrific amalgamations.
Combat in Cronos: The New Dawn is satisfying and tricky, with enemy merges potentially reaching unknown extremes. Burning enemy bodies forms a strategic tool in combat, preventing enemy merges and making each battle a tense and thrilling encounter. The gunplay borrows from The Evil Within, with aggressive weapon sway that can be improved over the course of play.
Cronos: The New Dawn features both combat-oriented and story-focused demos, allowing players to experience the game's terrifying world and intense combat system. Resources found in the game are scarce, encouraging exploration and resourcefulness. The game also boasts a uniquely Bloober sense of dreadful loneliness, leaving players feeling isolated and vulnerable in the face of the horrors they encounter.
Bloober Team seems to have found its groove after successfully retooling the combat of Silent Hill 2 Remake. With Cronos: The New Dawn, they have created a game that is both terrifying and engaging, offering a fresh take on the survival horror genre.
Cronos: The New Dawn is set to launch on Xbox PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC on September 5, 2025. Whether you're a fan of horror games or just looking for a new and exciting adventure, Cronos: The New Dawn promises to deliver a unique and unforgettable experience.
