The New Daybreak Function Expertly Merges Story and Gameplay

Cronos: The New Daybreak is Bloober Crew’s newest third-person psychological survival horror title. Coming off its success in remaking one of the vital beloved video games within the style final yr, Silent Hill 2, the studio proved that it additionally nonetheless had ambitions to create its personal distinctive worlds and characters. Cronos: The New Dawn sends followers to a imaginative and prescient of a ravaged future the place humanity has been all however eradicated by a grotesque illness that eternally altered its very nature, altering individuals into near-mindless abominations who search to “merge” with different biomasses, be they residing or lifeless.

Cronos: The New Daybreak places gamers within the function of The Traveler, a time-traveling agent of an inscrutable group known as The Collective. The Traveler is tasked with going again to the previous to retrieve particular individuals who have been designated as “Essences.” These Essences could maintain the solutions to reversing or curing The Change that wracked humanity and left civilization in ruins to be haunted by the twisted creatures often called Orphans. All through the journey, The Traveler will meet sure Essences as a part of the primary mission and may come throughout others as properly. And although this appears largely story-related at first, the way in which these Essences are then built-in as a mechanic is one in all Cronos‘ standout features.

Cronos: The New Daybreak Incorporates Its ‘Essences’ Well into Each Plot and Gameplay

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Cronos: The New Daybreak’s Essences Are Extra Than Initially Meets the Eye

The primary aim that The Traveler is given upon being woke up in Cronos: The New Dawn‘s apocalyptic future is to discover a time portal to the previous that may make them the primary Essence, and harvest it. It is closely implied that this course of will consequence within the loss of life of the individuals in query, and that their minds will someway be preserved and interrogated by The Collective in order that it could discover a method to cease The Change. Total, although, it is a pretty simple setup, at the least by way of online game quests, primarily equating to “discover this goal at this location and produce them to us.” However as soon as gamers purchase this Essence, it is revealed that they’re excess of simply plot units.

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How Cronos: The New Daybreak’s Essences Add Even Extra Layers to its Prime-Notch Survival Horror Design

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As quickly as gamers have the primary Essence in hand, they are going to uncover that additionally they operate as equippable upgrades, with every Essence granting a singular bonus. A number of examples of the buffs that these Essences impart are:

Gathering extra power (the in-game foreign money required to buy upgrades and provides)
Melee and stomp assaults dealing elevated injury
Lowering the price of sources wanted for crafting objects

A few of these could be extremely useful when combating Cronos: The New Dawn‘s enemies, relying on participant choice and method to encounters. Nevertheless, one other wrinkle is launched after amassing three Essences and trying to put in one other. The sport will inform gamers that solely three of them could be lively at a time. What’s extra, in the event that they select to activate the brand new one, they have to additionally delete one of many present ones, and will probably be gone for good afterward. Whereas a number of Essences are technically non-compulsory, gamers who discover totally in the hunt for them (or bump into one) should make a tactical selection about which to maintain or discard.

cronos new dawn screenshot deleting lidia essence

On high of how this nearly hidden mechanic impacts gameplay, one other glorious contact is that it ties again into the narrative as properly. The Traveler will periodically expertise intense flashbacks, listening to voices and seeing visions of the actual Essences’ recollections that they’re carrying at any given level. Each shows their very own distinct character and dialogue, and this provides to the depth and tone as a complete. Cronos: The New Dawn is a great modern survival horror title in numerous methods, and the style by which it weaves the thought of Essences into the story and gameplay is clever and extremely efficient.