What a surprise this game was. When Bloober renounced all their games they have done up until the Silent Hill 2 Remake, apart of me was wondering if they were capable of following up on what they said. In a shocking turn of events, they not only followed up on that but have a made a game that surpassed their SH2 Remake and it's inspirations like Resident Evil, Dead Space and The Evil Within in a number of ways.
I'll briefly describe the story and it's solid. While not the star of the show, the cutscenes did engage me while they were playing in between the gameplay. The arc the Traveler goes through as well as her interactions with the Warden were intriguing. Their discussions on "ascending" and the Warden's obessesion with the old world did keep my mind wondering especially how he contrasts with The Traveler.The only big issue is the ending which is just way to anticlimatic and abrupt. It doesn't feel like an open up to intrepertation ending as it wraps up super fast and not letting the player ponder on anything.
Cronos' gameplay is borrows from many places like the aforementioned franchises. It manages combine them all and do it in a way that those said franchises lacked in.
While not as intricate, the disemberment system from the Dead Space games are here as well as it's inventory system and zero gravity sections. Fire also plays a key part in combat like the first Evil Within. It also combines Dead Space's suit upgrades with Resident Evil 4's gun upgrades. There's also currency you get upon from killing enemies like in both. You also got the backtracking, interconnected levels, save rooms, item boxes of the older Resident Evil games prior to 4. The inventory system combines both classic RE and Dead Space. Crafting ammo from the original RE3 and the REmakes are also here.
This might all paint the game as very derivative but the way it combines all of these aspects together gives it such a unique identity all it's own. It also manages to a number of the ideas presented in those games better than the games themselves.
The first Evil Within has the matches as a way to creatively burn corpses to conserve ammo due to scare ammo. Cronos improves upon this by fire not only burning corpses but it can also be a way to counter enemies and can even be used a reliable way to damage enemies when low on ammo or crafting materials. You plant mines as well instead just using matches. Burning enemies is also very highly encouraged due to the mutation system. Fire can also be used for exploration to find extra resources, healing items or upgrade kits throughout the levels.
Older Resident Evil games did encourage you to run away but more often than not, in the PS1 games especially, you'd be rolling in so much ammo that the only challenge is the inventory system not letting you carry everything. In Cronos, during the sections where you need to get to the next level objective and not during the mandatory enemy waves it's easier to run past enemies due to scare ammo and resources and how much damage an average enemy while you taking little damage by comparison. It's often better to save the fire, healing and ammo for the enemy waves. Some parts are designed to be so overwhelming that it's objectively better to run away.
Cronos' lighter version of the Dead Space dismemberment system by blasting enemies' legs is a good way to save ammo and have them lumped together for a good burst of fire. Melee attacks like the punch and stomp are more useful here since it helps save ammo and they tend to flinch when trying to finish them off with a headshot. The hint system in Cronos is also not as on the nose and intrusive as Dead Space can be. You still have the "holy crap" moments when levels loop back on themselves or when they lead to save rooms.
The crafting also adds a layer of strategy and choice to moment to moment gameplay. "Should I craft fire ignitions or mines to burn enemies or should I craft some medkits to damage when I get hit or maybe craft some ammo?"
Then there is ideas Cronos has to itself like be able to reconstruct already destroyed explosive barrels.
When you combine all of this together Cronos combines the best of action horror and survival horror in a way that is very compelling. It is certainly one of those games where it can checkpoint a infrequently and enemy waves can last long. When I do get a game over especially during the mandatory enemy waves I'm like, "I need to use my resources better and more efficiently". It makes getting through them all the more satisfying.
The bosses are also pretty decent too. They use the barrel reconstruction mechanic well and the final boss is Jack Norman from RE Revelations which caught me off guard.
Some issues are that the inventory using multiple weapons even when maxed out can be small. The audio cues for the wall corpses could be better handled. Not as good as Dead Space there.
Overall, I'm looking forward to anything Bloober Team does next.
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