Bloober Team has released the first gameplay trailer for its upcoming survival horror title Cronos: The New Dawn. The new IP, which was announced back in October 2024, is expected to launch later this year for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Cronos: The New Dawn continues Bloober’s streak of atmospheric horror games, hot off the heels of the amazing Silent Hill 2. The new title is accompanied by the same unsettling world and a lot of Dead Space DNA as well. It will be a change of pace, going from pure survival horror to action horror, which isn’t something Bloober has done in the past, but by the looks of it, the game is headed in the right direction.
Set across two timelines, the game moves between a post-apocalyptic future and 1980s-era Poland. The newly released trailer highlights the gameโs key mechanics and setting, offering the first look at gameplay. In Cronos: The New Dawn, enemies can return after death unless the player burns them. If not dealt with, fallen enemies may merge with living ones, creating more powerful threats, kind of like John Carpenter’s The Thing, enemies are an amorphous group instead of separate individuals. This mechanic is a central part of the combat system and adds a layer of urgency and strategy. If you take your time, you’ll be left dealing with bigger enemies than when you started.
Jacek Ziฤba, who serves as both co-director and producer, described the game as a blend of sci-fi, retro-futurism, time travel, and body horrorโall set against the harsh reality of 1980s Poland. Co-director and designer Wojciech Piejko further emphasized the importance of fire in combat, warning players to burn enemies quickly to avoid them merging and evolving into more dangerous forms.
The approach is not entirely unique, as in older titles like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Batman: Vengeance, the player would have to subdue the enemy after defeating them or risk their return, which could make matters worse.
We still don’t know the exact release date for Cronos: The New Dawn, and we’re nearly halfway through the year already, so it’s a definite possibility that the game will be pushed into early 2026, especially with GTA 6 on the horizon.
