Cronos: The New Dawn – Game Review

Gameplay will deliver a true survival horror experience with Sci-Fi elements and terrifying locations to explore. While some of the mechanics involved and even settings are familiar, Cronos: The New Dawn distinguishes itself just fine via an interesting story and a few nice choice-based mechanics.

The core gameplay basics include elements of Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Dead Space, and the usual survival type games. If you liked those franchises, this will probably feel okay, too, but thankfully there are some unique things Cronos: The New Dawn does also. Let’s begin.

Your character’s movement is slow. This enhances the tension, and adds importance to player movement and choice. If you are cornered, there is only so much you can do. You do get a melee attack, but it’s more of a last resort, as damage is minimal. If you are out of ammo though, you only have so much choice.

Guns are heavy duty and usually do damage, but your enemies are also tough. These mutated humans come in various types and include overpowered super-bosses. You want to shoot usual weak spots like the face and head, if possible, but ammo is also limited, so basically don’t miss.

There are multiple gun types, however inventory space is limited, which will be covered later. Anyway, get used to your favorite, and consider leveling it up for even more damage. Some guns will be found during regular gameplay, but some guns and upgrades are hidden behind exploratory secrets. A few upgrades are absolutely crucial for survival.

While exploring can be rewarding, it can also be deadly. If at all possible, consider running or dodging enemies to conserve ammo, otherwise you may blow through all of your health items before you hit a truly tough spot or a boss. Some map areas only yield so many spots to run however, and the game does force you into grueling positions quite often.

On top of guns and health pickups to keep you alive, your suit is armed with a few other helpful aspects. There is a one-time use flamethrower type explosion you can give off also. This can also be replenished either via pickups, or anytime you hit a safe room/save computer zone, there is also a free refill. You can also abuse this by running out and using it quickly, then coming back for a fast refill.

Why is this flamethrower so useful? Well, it also burns mutated bodies on the ground. If they are burnt, they are gone and cannot get back up. If not though, there are chances they can animate, or re-animate multiple times. Yeah, get used to not being sure what is really and truly dead!

Inventory management helps you deal with health items, ammo, trinkets to sell, mines/grenades and any key items needed to progress in the story. Too bad space is quite limited, and will present you with another challenge when it comes to packing only the necessary items. There is a chest you can dump extra goods, and they will move with you throughout the game as you find new save spots.

There are some cool powers added on top of the guns, some even resulting in devastating damage abilities. A bit of time manipulation can allow for re-creating explosive barrels repeatedly for use against enemies, and other fun techniques. These powers are also used to interact with surroundings to proceed to new areas, or find hidden secrets.

Upgrades are offered for virtually everything and are based on ‘points’ collected. You find certain items which can be turned in for points, so assuming you have inventory space you can grab these must-have trinkets to sell. This allows for boosts to gun damage, gun abilities, suit abilities, health points, flamethrower uses, inventory space, and more.

As the story progresses as well, there is another element to enhance your gameplay and ‘power up’ a bit more. These are tied to a few characters you come across, and choices you make. You can get some permanent bonuses, however they are limited in number, so you will have to choose which to take, or replace, etc., when you come across new ones. This does affect a bit of gameplay, so it does add a touch of replay value.

Typically, I play most games on hard for first playthrough, but did this one on medium and found it challenging enough. I don’t remember if hard was available right of the bat, but it probably was. Pick your poison and give it a try. The game is definitely a challenge, but it will get your heart racing.

While there are a few spikes of difficulty increase, despite all of that, the end boss is yet another level of insanity. It is way harder than the rest of the game, which was itself a good challenge. I enjoyed my time with it, even if not all of it felt ‘brand new.’