Cronos: The New Dawn

Bloober Team, a Polish studio specialising in horror games, is back with a new third-person survival horror game: Cronos: The New Dawn. This new release excels above all else thanks to its intense atmosphere.

Cronos: The New Dawn is set in the dark ruins of the eponymous district, an abstract interpretation of the real-life Nowa Huta district in Krakow, Poland. The game's storyline spans two different timelines. Players witness a world in the throes of the cataclysmic event known as the Change in the past, which evokes memories of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, they explore the ravaged wastelands of the future. Players take on the role of a Traveller working for the Collective. They are tasked with scouring the wastelands of the future in search of time rifts that will transport them to 1980s Poland. Locating key people from the past who perished in the ensuing apocalypse is the mission. By using the Harvester, players can extract their essences and bring them into the future.

It is precisely the world-building, the almost suffocating atmosphere and the mysterious, rather cryptic story that set Cronos: The New Dawn apart. The world is as dark as it is fascinating and creative, especially in the later levels, where players use gadgets to determine which enemies are dead and manipulate time. Gravity-defying gimmicks also come into play, allowing players to walk on the ceiling. While some elements may be familiar from other games, the experience remains motivating and engaging.

As the game is reminiscent of modern Resident Evil or Dead Space games, there is a lot of fighting, mostly against creatures (the remains of humans) with the merge mechanic. This means they can combine with other dead creatures to become stronger. This creates constant pressure and requires a strategic approach, as killing an enemy can potentially lead to even more powerful mutations. The only antidote is fire. While this sounds good in theory, it is not as unique a selling point as the limb-severing method in Dead Space. This adds a tactical element to the game, as the player must examine the potential battlefield several times to prevent merging. However, ammunition for the flamethrower is limited, which requires backtracking through the level. Also, the main character, in his heavy suit, is not the most agile.

However, the scarcity of resources is an important and suspenseful element of the game. Ammunition and healing items are scarce, encouraging tactical thinking. In this context, Cronos: The New Dawn is a challenging game, and in some places it's really difficult – especially if players don't thoroughly investigate and explore their surroundings, because the game often rewards such actions with important resources (look out for cats). By the way: there is only one difficulty level. Progress is also motivating. Players can upgrade their basic abilities, such as armour and inventory size, in safe rooms. Additionally, dialogue choices, essences and exploration influence the possible endings. After the first playthrough, a New Game Plus mode is unlocked in which players retain their weapons and upgrades. Nevertheless, the game could benefit from better optimisation of the Unreal Engine 5, as well as improved animations and hit feedback. But that's just nitpicking at a high level.

Bloober Team, established in 2008, is behind the game. The Polish studio now employs over 250 people from all over the world, and is best known for its horror games, including Blair Witch, the Layers of Fear franchise, Observer: System Redux and The Medium. In 2024, Bloober Team collaborated with Konami to release a remake of Silent Hill 2, and the partnership is set to continue with a remake of Silent Hill. Incidentally: In an interview with PAP Biznes (via bankier.pl), Peter Babieno, President of Bloober Team, revealed that the production budget for Cronos: The New Dawn was below 100 million zlotys (around €23.5 million).

Cronos: The New Dawn was released on 5 September 2025 for PC via the Steam and Epic Games stores, as well as for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. The fact that Cronos: The New Dawn was released at all is remarkable, given that the game was originally scheduled to be published by Private Division (Take-Two Interactive). However, the deal was cancelled in May 2024, leaving the project, known as 'Project C', in limbo. Then, in October 2024, Bloober Team announced that they would publish the game themselves - and that Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe would market and distribute the physical editions for PC, PS5 and Switch 2 in Europe, the Middle East and Australia.

Conclusion

With Cronos: The New Dawn, Bloober Team once again demonstrates its expertise in the survival horror genre, especially when it comes to atmosphere. Overall, it is Bloober Team's best game to date.