KILL IT WITH FIRE

CRONOS has some moments of charm, but they aren't enough to outweigh the lows

- By Elie Gould

I love a good horror game, even if my frayed nerves really don’t. And not just any old jumpscare-filled adventure, but a properly terrifying experience that'll send shivers down my spine and keep me awake at night for weeks to come. So I was looking forward to jumping headfirst into Bloober Team’s new survival horror game Cronos: The New Dawn and seeking out its grotesque zombie-like oddities named Orphans, vile medical horrors, and some confusing and tension-filled time-travel horror.

Unfortunately, I often find that survival horror delivers weaker frights. Monsters just don’t seem that scary when I'm piled high with guns, ammo, and every single explosive I can get my hands on. So, in this respect, I want the survival horror games I play to excel in different areas, like having a solid crafting system, engaging fights, and a gripping story. And while the crafting system in Cronos was good, its fights felt repetitive, and its story didn’t get to the point fast enough.