The new gameplay trailer for Cronos: The New Dawn, released this Wednesday by Bloober Team, showcases intense gameplay in which the protagonist—a time traveler equipped with futuristic armor and a wide array of weapons—faces humanlike foes with grotesque, writhing tendrils. During the Game Developers Conference in March, I had the opportunity to meet with Jacek Zięba and Wojciech Piejko, the game’s co-directors, to explore more of the game. One thing is clear: this game is challenging.
Although I didn’t get hands-on with Cronos, I observed Zięba play a segment while Piejko explained the time-travel narrative. The game transitions between at least two eras—the present, plagued by a mutating pandemic that has turned many humans into monsters, and the early stages of the pandemic when its severity was not yet comprehended. The developers chose not to reveal too much about the narrative to prevent spoilers; they want players to experience the story first-hand without prior influence. While Cronos is slated for a 2025 release, a specific date remains unannounced.
Throughout the demo, Zięba muttered under his breath as he narrowly overcame enemy after enemy, illustrating the game’s intended difficulty. Generally, developers can breeze through their games during previews, regardless of who is watching. However, Cronos is intentionally designed to be a challenging survival experience, and the team intends to maintain that.
When asked about an easy mode, both developers shook their heads. “It’s hard mode, in the old-school way," Zięba said. There’s only one mode, with a harder difficulty accessible once the game is completed.
Discussions included comparisons with FromSoftware’s games, but Zięba and Piejko stated that Cronos focuses more on storytelling, complemented with cutscenes and audio logs to enrich the world. They also mentioned influences like Resident Evil, Returnal, and time-travel stories such as 12 Monkeys and Netflix’s Dark.
Set in Poland, the developers noted the game starts in 1980, a period marked by martial law—a mirrored element in the game’s alternate 1980s timeline due to a disease, with authorities assuring that "everything is alright." As players go back in time, they will unravel how the pandemic unfolded.
Players are tasked with methodically confronting threats, with a crucial gameplay hint being “Don’t let them merge.” This points to enemies combining into more formidable creatures, escalating challenges while ammunition stays scarce.
“The basic enemies, we call them doppelgangers,” Zięba explained. These look more human but can coalesce into stronger entities, a mechanic foundational to the game’s evolving pandemic story where people feel an urge to merge.
Cronos: The New Dawn is an original IP and a single-player focused title. Zięba passionately expressed weariness with live service games, advocating instead for creating a great standalone experience.
Expected to launch in 2025 on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, Bloober Team’s Cronos: The New Dawn aims to deliver a compelling and demanding narrative adventure.
