Time travel meets horror in ‘Cronos: The New Dawn’

New details for Cronos: The New Dawn, an upcoming survival horror game, have been revealed. It features tactical combat, time travel, and a dystopian world shaped by brutalism and retro-futurist design.

The story follows a Traveler employed by a secretive organisation known as the Collective. Their mission is to locate time rifts in the post-apocalyptic wastelands and travel back to 1980s-era Poland. This period leads up to an event known as The Change, a cataclysm that fractured reality and gave rise to grotesque creatures and distorted timelines.

“We want to create a combat experience set in a survival-driven atmosphere, with a strong emphasis on tactical gameplay.” said Shamil Yanbukhtin, lead combat designer, in a recent YouTube video titled Deep Dive into The Combat.

Jack Zieba, game co-director, said: “One needs to stay cautious and calm all the time because our enemies can merge with each other. When you kill an enemy, it creates fuel for other enemies to be absorbed and become stronger. It’s tactical gameplay, but during the fight, you need to think very fast.”

This mechanic underpins the game’s high-stakes combat system, where quick thinking is just as important as preparation. Players must manage scarce resources, scavenge for supplies, and manipulate temporal anomalies to stay ahead. The enemies, known as Abominations, are relentless, and if their bodies aren’t dealt with swiftly, they can initiate the grotesque Merging process – absorbing corpses to evolve into stronger threats.

Yanbukhtin said the team is handcrafting each encounter in the game, resulting in environments that can either give players an advantage or put them at a disadvantage. In some areas, players can use explosive canisters, lure enemies into traps, or opt for melee combat.

Zieba said: “There’s not one solution to clear out areas. It depends on your playstyle. It depends on your loadout, how you want to approach it, and your resources.”

A key mechanic involves the Harvester, a device that allows players to extract the Essences of significant figures from the past. These spirits enhance combat capabilities but come with psychological consequences. As more essences are collected, players’ suits become increasingly haunted, introducing hallucinations and whispers that blur the line between power and instability.

With a narrative that spans two timelines and mechanics that emphasise preparation and adaptation, Cronos: The New Dawn aims to offers a tense, atmospheric experience. It combines traditional horror elements with a layered science-fiction premise, where survival depends not just on firepower, but on mastering the past to reshape the future.

Where to play Cronos: The New Dawn?

Cronos: The New Dawn will be available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC (Steam and Epic Games) later this year (2025).

* Visit the ‘Cronos: The New Dawn’ website here.