It keeps giving us eager information, and if you ever feared the usual enemies in everyday horror games, this is for you: instead of attacking, these enemies merge : they combine with each other, either to fight or to form a fearsome new creature. That’s the kind of unexpected nightmare fodder we never knew we needed.
The PlayStation twitter post gave a quick view of the horrors, and the players lost it; the game was called a “Dead Space knockoff” (Fair, it means more or less aesthetic), while others cried out in outrage to the unfairness of enemies evolving mid-fight. One player joked, “This ain’t Pokémon, it’s pure panic,” and I honestly agree with that stance.
But some instances of really defending the game have come up as comparisons to Dead Space and The Callisto Protocol are thrown around by others. Alex Townley mentioned how we start not knowing the whole story, so calling it a copy may at least in that way be premature. Meanwhile, TastyFreeze said something about the blatant unoriginality in the industry but said, “Well, it looks good, right?”
But the kicker is: really, no one knows when this game is going to arrive; at all. Gamers are begging developers in the replies for a release date, with one in all caps demanding, “WHEN IS IT GOING TO BE ON PREORDER” (relatable). Others are just done with all the marketing hype with no substance to support it, like B_Clemethy, who sarcastically said, “Oh look, more marketing without an actual release date.” Ouch.
Chaos ensues with merging enemies. Imagine fighting one creepy thing as it briefly—the very act of merging!—becomes a much bigger problem. The devs even shared a link about how to survive the encounters, but really: no tips are going to prepare you for that level of terror. Player CamoteQ8614 said it best: “Who needs a health bar when you can just get devoured.”
Some had off-topic requests (as always); Spikeyfied demanded a Bloodborne remaster (valid), and Damian insists that Jedi Survivor be the free monthly game (also valid). But most of the chatter just has gamers riding a roller coaster of hype and outright panic. Lucas#TheDarkAges called it a “horror masterpiece incoming,” while others are already trying to crown it as better than The Callisto Protocol.
So far, depending on whom you ask, Cronos: The New Dawn is shaping up to be either a brutally innovative horror, or just a gorgeous clone. Either way, those merging enemies are one wild curveball, and we’re both very excited and terrified to see what the rest of the ingredients will do. Now, someone at Sony needs to show a little mercy and just announce a release date.
Till then, sleep tight. Don’t let the merging horrors bite.
