Cronos: The New Dawn Review – Horror That Lingers Beyond the Screen

Cronos: The New Dawn is the latest project from Bloober Team, a studio well-known for its psychological horror catalog and its recent work on the Silent Hill 2 remake. The game positions itself as a contemporary horror experience, mixing sci-fi concepts with deeply unsettling body horror and challenging combat. It takes place in the ruined town of New Dawn, 1980s Poland, where a disease known as The Change has decimated the population and turned the dead into grotesque monsters called Orphans. The player assumes the role of The Traveler, an agent of a mysterious organization called The Collective, and is tasked with fixing broken timelines through missions that carry heavy consequences.

Claire Lewis at Polygon described the game as “contemporary horror at its very best,” praising the way it ties together gameplay systems with a strong thematic core. She noted her own skepticism going in, recalling that while The Medium had “a terribly botched ending,” Cronos avoids that mistake by delivering multiple outcomes that resonate long after the credits roll.

The core of Cronos is built around The Traveler’s exploration of New Dawn. Outfitted in a Temporal Shell, the protagonist is detached, faceless, and more of an instrument of purpose than a traditional hero. The Collective’s mission structure introduces players to targets whose “Essence” must be collected for a process known as Ascension. This abstract terminology, which Lewis referred to as a “proper noun problem,” can weigh down the pacing in the first half of the game, as players are asked to juggle concepts like Predecessors, The Vocation, and Ascension without much clarity. Still, as the narrative unfolds, the terminology begins to serve its purpose, creating an alien bureaucratic system that feels oppressive by design.

What does Cronos look like? At the end of July, the developers published 35 minutes of gameplay on YouTube. To immerse yourself in the horror atmosphere, you should see it.

The town of New Dawn itself sets the tone perfectly. Snow falls on Christmas Eve, flickering lights shine over streets marked with graffiti, and interiors are covered with rotting viscera. It’s unsettling without being overwhelming, a mix of loneliness and decay that reflects the despair of quarantine-era life. Citizens’ notes and complaints reveal their frustration at being locked down, echoing the fatigue many players may still remember from real-world events. Lewis highlighted this as one of the game’s strongest storytelling tools, describing how “mentally piecing a game’s story together using narrative breadcrumbs” made the world come alive for her.

Orphans are the most terrifying part of Cronos, enemies that bring immediate tension to every encounter. They merge with corpses to become stronger, sometimes lie in wait among piles of bodies, and even after death can reemerge if not properly burned with Torch Fuel. They draw comparisons to Necromorphs from Dead Space, though Cronos layers additional strategy on top by making resource management vital. Firearms are scarce, upgrades are limited, and crafting does not pause the game, forcing careful planning. This design choice amplifies the fear factor, as even menu interactions become risky moments where survival hangs by a thread.

Combat itself is punishing and deliberately restrictive. Inventory management constantly pressures the player to make tough decisions, and many weapons can be missed if the player does not explore thoroughly. Safe rooms, reminiscent of Resident Evil stashes, offer respite but not security, as enemies can still breach them. All of this builds a sense of constant tension. Lewis wrote that the game “is extremely punishing,” but this is part of its identity—survival feels earned, not given.

Cronos: The New Dawn is available on Steam.

Voice acting is another highlight. Kelly Burke delivers a performance as The Traveler that is both detached and subtly emotional, giving life to a character who never shows her face. Alan Turkington as The Warden provides a strong counterpart, a character whose resistance to The Collective’s ideology creates compelling philosophical clashes. The contrast between their worldviews—one clinical, the other humane—makes their interactions some of the most memorable sequences in the game. Lewis emphasized that “Cronos’ voice acting is the game’s greatest strength,” and it’s hard to disagree.

The game’s choice system is understated but impactful. Dialogue options appear throughout, though their weight is not always immediately visible. However, the ending hinges on a significant choice after the final boss. Neither outcome is cleanly positive or negative, and both endings contain post-credits cutscenes that shift the interpretation of what really happened. Lewis observed that the endings left her “struggling to fall asleep” because she could not shake the consequences of her choice. This sense of unease demonstrates Bloober Team’s success in creating horror that lingers, not through jump scares, but through psychological fallout.

Visually, Cronos makes strong use of Unreal Engine 5 to present environments that are richly detailed but oppressive. Buildings are overtaken by corruption, Christmas decorations offer eerie contrasts, and even small touches like stray cats immune to The Change provide both relief and mystery. These cats can be collected and placed in the safe room, prompting dry, almost humorous remarks from The Traveler, which briefly cut through the bleakness. It’s an example of the subtle balance Bloober Team strikes between despair and humanity.

If Cronos stumbles, it is in its complexity. The terminology-heavy storytelling can push some players away early on, and the difficulty curve may frustrate those unfamiliar with survival horror design. There are also moments where enemy mechanics, like encountering already merged Orphans, can feel unfair compared to the tools given to the player. Still, these frustrations do not outweigh the game’s achievements.

Cronos: The New Dawn demonstrates how Bloober Team has grown since The Medium, delivering a game that is not only mechanically sound but narratively engaging. The horror is not just in grotesque monsters or tight corridors but in moral ambiguity, the burden of choice, and the dread of uncertainty. Lewis put it best: “A plot twist isn’t good if you didn’t see it coming; it’s good if you should have seen it coming.” Cronos delivers precisely that type of payoff, making its narrative stick with players long after the game is over.

Ultimately, Cronos: The New Dawn is a standout example of modern horror done right. It is atmospheric, challenging, narratively layered, and backed by excellent performances. Its blend of time-travel science fiction, Eastern European setting, and psychological dread ensures it doesn’t feel derivative of other franchises, even while evoking their best qualities. While not flawless, it leaves a mark, and in a genre often filled with forgettable scares, Cronos manages to be unforgettable.

Cronos: The New Dawn is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Windows PC, and Nintendo Switch 2.