Cronos: New Dawn Linear With "Freedom Moments"

According to the developers, Cronos: The New Dawn will feature a linear structure punctuated by moments of freedom. Continue reading to understand how this design choice will impact the player experience.

Cronos: The New Dawn Delivers a Linear Experience

Player Exploration and Backtracking Within Levels

The developer Bloober Team recently confirmed that the upcoming sci-fi horror title, Cronos: The New Dawn, will offer a primarily linear gameplay experience, while providing opportunities to freely explore within each level. The game will feature multiple story endings and a New Game Plus mode, inviting players to discover additional secrets in the ruined world of Cronos.

Set in a retro-futuristic world scarred by time-space rifts leading to 1980s Poland, a central gameplay mechanic involves finding and collecting the lingering souls of those lost in the apocalypse. As the Traveler harvests each soul, she receives a boon to aid in combat, but at a cost: the soul's whispers gradually impact her sanity, pushing her closer to madness.

When MP1st inquired about the game's overall structure and potential open-world elements, Game Director Jacek Zięba responded, "It’s hard to answer because we have a time travel story."

He elaborated, "Structurally, the game is linear but includes moments of freedom, such as backtracking and resolving all objectives within a level. However, the narrative maintains a deliberate pace as we aim to convey a very specific story."

A More Accessible Framework for Horror

Lead Writer Grzegorz Like explained that after experimentation, the team decided a linear structure would best serve the horror narrative, guiding players steadily from one level to the next to foster a more engaging environment for the story.

"We still wanted to give players a sense of agency, which is why we incorporated dialogue choices. Your decisions influence what you encounter in the game and which souls you collect."

Player Choices Have Consequences in Cronos: The New Dawn

Multiple Endings and New Game Plus Enhance Replayability

Despite its linear progression, Bloober Team stresses that player choices will result in meaningful, nuanced consequences. The game features multiple endings designed to be sophisticated and thought-provoking, rather than simple binary outcomes. "Everything needs to be more nuanced and provoke deeper thought," Like clarified in an interview last July.

To motivate multiple playthroughs, Bloober Team has confirmed that Cronos: The New Dawn will include a New Game Plus mode. This allows players to revisit the game with increased difficulty, make different choices, and unlock alternative endings.

The Evolution of Bloober Team

Bloober Team has stated they have found their creative home in the horror genre, describing Cronos: The New Dawn as the product of an evolution that started with their work on the Silent Hill 2 Remake. This new project marks a significant departure from their previous horror titles, such as Layers of Fear, in terms of scale, narrative, and gameplay.

While Cronos is emerging as a distinctive survival horror experience, Zięba acknowledges the foundation laid by their previous work: "The basis for Cronos was established thanks to the Silent Hill team."

Cronos: The New Dawn is scheduled for release on September 5, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. For the latest updates on Bloober Team's new title, be sure to read our article below.