Having been thoroughly impressed by Bloober Team’s masterful Silent Hill 2 remake, I’m now more than willing to trust them with their future horror projects. Their upcoming venture, Cronos: The New Dawn, looks absolutely stunning and seems to capture that visceral, eerie atmosphere akin to Dead Space.
In a recent showcase, Cronos: The New Dawn co-directors Wojciech Piejko and Jacek Zięba openly discussed their creative influences for this sci-fi survival horror game. They drew inspiration from a diverse mix: John Carpenter’s classic, The Thing, the enigmatic German series Dark, and Terry Gilliam’s mind-bending film, 12 Monkeys. On the gaming front, you can see hints of Dead Space and Dark Souls. The game echoes some familiar aspects, notably terrifying human mutations, an immersive over-the-shoulder shooting angle, and a strategic limb-severing feature. However, as Piejko highlighted, Bloober Team plans to introduce a unique twist to the dismemberment mechanic, setting it apart from Visceral Games’ approach.
Following the cinematic trailer reveal of Cronos: The New Dawn last October, the team recently shared fresh gameplay footage through a developer diary released on Thursday. In this diary, Piejko and Zięba elaborate on the role of the protagonist, known as the Traveller. They describe him as similar to a deep-sea diver venturing into the depths of time, tasked with rescuing survivors from the ruins of a shattered human civilization. In this alternate reality, Cronos presents a world devastated by an event referred to as the Change, which, according to the game’s narrative, upended our world back in the 1980s.
Having previously contributed to Bloober Team’s titles like Observer and The Medium, Piejko and Zięba bring a wealth of experience in the realms of sci-fi and psychological horror. Cronos: The New Dawn is an exciting new addition to Bloober’s portfolio, and the team is already gearing up for a subsequent collaboration with Konami.
