Cronos: The New Dawnis a new survival horror game from Bloober Team, the developer behind titles like theSilent Hill 2remakeandThe Medium. The sci-fi action adventure blends time travel and intense combat alongside the next-level scares fans have come to expect. Players will take on the role of the Traveler, a mysterious protagonist who’s been tasked with journeying back through time to collect the Essences of important people who perished amidst a disaster called The Change.
The Traveler will go between the future and a reimagining of 1980s Poland, which has been turned into a desolate wasteland full of deadly monsters. As the “don’t let them merge” tagline suggests,Cronosisall about fighting evolving creatures that can absorb their fallen brethren. With resource and inventory management reminiscent ofgames likeResident Evil, players must choose wisely when to spend limited flamethrower fuel to burn bodies before surviving enemies can use them to their advantage.
ScreenRantinterviewed game director Jacek Zięba and lead writer Grzegorz Like to discuss crafting a new type of horror, the game’s biggest inspirations, and taking risks Bloober Team never has before withCronos: The New Dawn.
Crafting The Lore Of Cronos: The New Dawn
“We Didn’t Want To Make Silent Hill Again”
Zięba describes the overall atmosphere this time around as “less psychological and more philosophical horror.” Like nods in agreement, adding that, “We didn’t want to make Silent Hill again. James is a character that is fragile and deeply introspective - we wanted to create something new, more action-oriented, and use the fact that this is more sci-fi, so going for questions more in a philosophical manner really supports the uniquity.”
Though the game is much more focused on action than previous Bloober titles, that doesn’t mean there’s any less narrative depth - crafting the story ofCronos: The New Dawnhas been one of the most intensive parts of the entire creative process. “For Cronos,” Zięba says, “there’s a very, very big lore: how all the things work, what happened, timelines, characters, everything.”
Though the title is jam-packed with backstory, some of it won’t be easy for players to decipher: “The game doesn’t feed you information,” Like says, “The first act of a game is very action-packed, but it’s very vague, and then things twist several times, and you end up with more questions than you have answers.” However, it isn’t writing checks that the lore can’t cash - the pair lament over media that offers no payoff for cryptic narrative hints, with Like adding, “Every question has an answer, but you really need to dig in.”
Taking A Risk With Cronos: The New Dawn’s Protagonist
“Make Her Cold & Profession, Then Break Her”
The team drew inspiration from a wide array of sources, includinggames such asDeath StrandingandControl,as well as shows like the Netflix seriesDark. Like cites “every piece of media that was about a character that starts very cold and blunt and evolves into this more warm, caring character” as playing a big role in the development process. The Traveler is quite an enigma, andthe team considered her one of their biggest gambles.
“We took the risk of not creating another character that’s comic relief or very talkative,” Like explains. Instead, they opted to “make her cold and professional and then break her, make her evolve in a fun way,” which can be a divisive choice. “There is no joke at the beginning,” Zięba says with a laugh, “How can I like this character?”
Why didn’t we make a survival horror 10 years ago? Because it would suck, and we want to make stuff that we believe is good.
Over time, though, she’ll go through an important evolution, and the pair are excited to see how players interpret it. When I ask if her changes are due to the absorption of Essences throughout the game, Zięba opts to answer my question with another question: “Does it happen because she meets some people, sees some people, sees what happened, or because she absorbs somebody? There are a lot of theories -we can’t wait for what people have in mind.”
Crafting The Creepy Combat Of Cronos
“When You Kill An Enemy, It’s Not Over”
When it comes to the game’s monsters, the biggest inspiration by far wasThe Thing. Zięba says that the same sort of DNA of “the organism being inside, changing the host, and tentacles and body horror” can all be found in the game’s creatures, and from myterrifying time spent withCronos,this absolutely rings true. The enemies’ ability to merge with fallen foes adds an element of puzzling to the action, offering a unique twist on survival.
“When you kill an enemy, it’s not over -it’s maybe even the beginning of the fight,” Zięba says. “It’s the whole puzzle of this combat: what should I do to prevent them from merging and becoming stronger?I think this is something that we put the most strength and time into: how to make this merge into the state it is now.”
When I ask them just how many monster combinations players could encounter, Like describes it as something hard to pin down precisely: “It really is a challenge to decipher that, because this is really a living system we created. I’ll try to count it like basic types: you have an armored guy, the big guy, a quick guy, a spitting guy, and all that. But if a quick guy eats a spitting one, it becomes a quick spitting guy, and then if the big one comes in - it’s just crazy.”
Cronos: The New Dawn Represents A Bloober Evolution
“The Whole Thing Feels More Complete”
These monsters are an integral part of the overall atmospheric aim ofCronos, which maintains the core horror elements Bloober Team is known for while adding in more action. “We still don’t overuse jump scares - we don’t like them,“Zięba says. “We’re still leaning into more atmosphere and tone and overall dread. What happens in your mind and the fear of the unknown is the most important. We give you more power as a character, but at the same time,we give you more pushback from the monsters and the very hostile world.”
This gameplay evolution has been a long time coming, and the pair say this finally felt like the right time to pursue it in earnest. “Sometimes making walking sims is a decision, and sometimes it’s not - it’s provoked by your limitations,” Like says. “Why didn’t we make a survival horror 10 years ago?” Zięba asks. “Because it would suck, and we want to make stuff that we believe is good.”
“Learn to walk before you run, and I think we did that,” Like continues, “We are still storytellers at heart, but now we balanced things with more action, so the whole thing feels more complete.” It seems as thoughCronos: The New Dawnaims to usher in a brand-new era for Bloober Team, and players will only have to wait a few more months to see the evolution for themselves.
Cronos: The New Dawnis slated for release sometime later this year.ScreenRantattended an event for the purpose of this preview.
