Cronos: The New Dawn Praised as Bloober Team's Best, But Early Reviews Highlight Flaws

Cronos: The New Dawn Receives Mixed But Promising Early Reviews

The embargo for reviews of Bloober Team's upcoming survival horror game, Cronos: The New Dawn, has lifted, coinciding with the start of early access for pre-order customers. Many critics have lauded the title as the best game from the Polish developer so far, though it still faces some notable criticisms that hinder the overall experience.

As of writing, the PlayStation 5 version of the game holds a respectable 79 on Metacritic, while OpenCritic shows an average score of 80, with 82% of critics recommending the game.

What Critics Loved

Journalists have highlighted several positive aspects of Cronos: The New Dawn. Many praised the game's impressive visual and auditory presentation, noting how these elements contribute significantly to the immersive atmosphere. The intriguing setting and pervasive sense of mystery were also frequently mentioned as strong points, drawing players deeper into its world. Reviewers also appreciated the clever gameplay mechanics and level design, finding them engaging. While the story was generally well-received, some noted it could occasionally leave players feeling confused or disoriented.

Areas for Improvement

Despite the praise, critics also pointed out several drawbacks. A recurring complaint centered on the overly restrictive inventory system, which many found cumbersome. Other issues included erratic enemy AI behavior, uninspired enemy designs, and a lack of clear difficulty settings. Some reviews specifically mentioned the presence of 'cheap' jumpscares and instances of unfairly balanced combat encounters. The initial few hours of Cronos were often described as slow, boring, and even frustrating for some players.

Technical performance also saw some criticism. While rare, reviewers reported occasional stutters during movement on both console and PC, which negatively impacted immersion. One review detailed performance on a system with an i7-13700F processor, RTX 4080 graphics card, and 32 GB of RAM, noting that at 4K resolution and high settings, the game averaged 55 frames per second even with NVIDIA DLSS (Balanced mode) enabled. Activating frame generation boosted the average to 80 fps. Disabling ray tracing, however, significantly improved performance, pushing frame rates up to 100 fps. Wccftech commented that while ray tracing adds a nice touch, Bloober Team did such an excellent job with the lighting that the game still looks fantastic without it.

Review Highlights

We've gathered insights from a few prominent reviews, representing a range of scores:

• Windows Central – 100/100: Jez Corden praised Cronos: The New Dawn as a masterful blend of great horror games, forging its own niche in psychological sci-fi horror. They highlighted the challenging combat, stunning environmental design, and disturbing body horror, calling it the best new horror franchise debut in a decade.
• Eurogamer – 80/100: Kelsey Raynor stated that Cronos: The New Dawn is Bloober Team's finest original game to date, offering a gripping journey through a suffocating atmosphere that turns out to be far more than it initially seems.
• IGN – 70/100: Tristan Ogilvie found the game's mystery and sci-fi hellscape intriguing but felt its generic combat system prevented it from truly rivaling genre titans like Dead Space or Resident Evil 4. While acknowledging the rich, oppressive environments and thrilling boss fights, Ogilvie noted a pervasive sense of sluggishness that hampered the story's pace.
• VGC – 60/100: Chris Scullion deemed Cronos a decent survival horror, with moments of stunning visuals and a captivating, albeit convoluted, plot. However, he concluded that it offered little new to the genre, and the combination of frustrating enemy AI and a lack of proper difficulty settings might make it uncomfortable for some players.

What This Means for Players

For fans of Bloober Team's previous work, or those seeking a new psychological sci-fi horror experience, Cronos: The New Dawn appears to be a compelling, if imperfect, offering. Its strong atmosphere, visuals, and narrative seem to be major draws, while potential players should be aware of the reported issues with combat, inventory, and occasional performance hiccups. The game aims to provide a distinct horror journey that, despite its flaws, manages to stand out in the crowded genre.

Cronos: The New Dawn is set for its full release on September 5th, arriving on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. It will include Russian subtitles.