Years ago, I first discovered the small Polish studio Bloober Team while playing Observer, a haunting cyberpunk horror game. Curious about its creators, I dug deeper and soon came across Layers of Fear and other titles that cemented Bloober Team as masters of psychological horror. To this day, I’ve followed every one of their games closely. But last year felt like a turning point. This once-small studio took on the ambitious challenge of remaking Silent Hill 2, and the result was so polished and respectful to the original that my expectations for their next project skyrocketed. That’s why the reveal of Cronos: The New Dawn had me so intrigued. At Gamescom 2025, I finally got my hands on the demo to find out whether Bloober was sticking to their roots or charting a new course.
I spent about 35 minutes playing through the entire demo, and right from the opening moments, I saw Bloober’s signature touch. Rather than relying on cheap jump scares, they leaned heavily into psychological horror, using phobias to build a creeping sense of dread. Early on, the game played with Sedatephobia—the fear of silence—so effectively that even “safe” areas without threats managed to crank up my anxiety.
The demo’s level design also immediately evoked memories of Resident Evil 4, thanks to its focus on resource management. Supplies are scarce, and mismanaging them will leave you in terrifying situations. One particularly clever mechanic involves weapon handling: to fire your gun effectively, you must charge it before pulling the trigger. Forget to do this during a panic attack, and your uncharged shots will not only do nothing but also waste precious ammo, a mistake that can quickly turn deadly.
Another standout feature is how enemies evolve. If you don’t destroy a defeated enemy’s body, subsequent enemies can merge with it, becoming stronger and more dangerous. The obvious solution is to burn the corpses, but here’s the catch: incendiary resources are rare, forcing you to either craft them or risk scavenging in the game’s oppressive environments. And it doesn’t stop there; Ammo, healing items, and many other essential resources are also crafted, adding another layer of tension.
Even puzzles, often used in horror games as a breather, become sources of stress here. Almost every solved puzzle triggers a new challenge, often in the form of an ambush by the game’s terrifying creatures—alien-like zombie monstrosities that are few in number but incredibly lethal. Every encounter had me juggling weapon charging mechanics, precision aiming, ammo tracking, and corpse disposal, all while navigating an atmosphere dripping with dread.
By the time the demo ended, I couldn’t help but admire Bloober Team’s latest creation. In a gaming landscape where too many horror games rely on predictable jump scares, Cronos: The New Dawn delivers a more grounded and genuinely unsettling experience, one rooted in survival mechanics and psychological terror. The oppressive atmosphere, tight resource management, and stellar sound design all combine to create something that feels like a love letter to classic survival horror while still carving out its own identity. This is a game I’m now counting down the days to play in full.
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