Cronos: The New Dawn Is Heavily Influenced by Silent Hill 2 and FromSoftware Games

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In the forthcoming terror titled “Cronos: The New Dawn“, developed by Bloober Team, a striking resemblance to the horror classic, “Dead Space“, is noticeable with its heavily armored protagonist navigating through a decaying facility. However, its inspirations extend beyond surface-level visual comparisons. As revealed by the developers, this fall 2025 scheduled sci-fi horror shooter draws upon diverse sources such as “Silent Hill 2“, numerous titles from FromSoftware, and other significant influences.

While some aspects of “Silent Hill 2” served as lessons of what not to do, the team behind Bloober’s upcoming project drew insights from analyzing the remake. Grzegorz Like, the lead writer, mentioned during a recent event that they decided against replicating the same approach for their next game. Instead, this new mystery project aims to venture into different narrative territories and address themes beyond a single individual’s psyche.

When creating “Silent Hill 2”, Like stated that they aimed to present an engaging and thought-provoking experience. Instead of delving into James’ psychology as in “Silent Hill 2”, for our new project, “Cronos”, we wanted to explore deeper philosophical questions. Given the sci-fi setting and time travel, we saw this as a chance to ponder on humanity and the cosmic significance of human existence.

Certain aspects of this game delve into Poland’s historical connections with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, sparking discussions on unity versus individualism. These concepts were evident in the game mechanics, where enemies could absorb other entities to acquire additional abilities. This initial gameplay hook developed into a broader narrative that questioned unity and cohesion, inspiring the development team to create a more intricate game with numerous interwoven storylines.

Like pointed out, ‘Silent Hill 2’ excels in its layered meanings and central themes. Similarly, for our game ‘Cronos’, we aimed to incorporate a similar depth that would encourage players to delve deeper into the game. When faced with questions — trust us, there are plenty in this game — you will find clues and engage in discussions on platforms like Reddit, feeling as if you’ve unraveled all the mysteries!

In Cronos, some questions might arise due to its narrative style being subtler compared to recent games by Bloober Team. The developers drew inspiration from titles like those of FromSoftware and Returnal, developed by Housemarque for PS5. These games challenge players to think critically, explore, and piece together their own interpretation of the truth. Game director Jacek Zięba mentioned these influences and hinted that players might need to work together to unravel the mysteries in Cronos.

Zięba stated that the philosophical themes in “Silent Hill 2” are echoed across many modern horror games, such as “Layers of Fear” and “The Medium”. However, with “Cronos”, we delved a bit into the style of FromSoftware games, so it has a deep narrative that can be uncovered if you look for it. Players will likely develop theories about the game’s story, and we hope they share their ideas and eventually discover the correct ones.

As players revisit the stories in these types of games, they find previously overlooked details gaining new significance upon repeated examination. For instance, Silent Hill 2 remains a topic of ongoing discussion even decades later, with Bloober’s remake adding to the conversation. The additional lore and context have inspired players to delve deeper, and similarly, the creators of Cronos aim for players to revisit it multiple times as they believe the writers have meticulously crafted a game rich in content that rewards repeated playthroughs.

If you decide to play the game again (since it’s not overly lengthy and you might feel compelled to do so), you’ll notice that characters and details in cutscenes will appear in a new, refreshed perspective.

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2025-07-28 16:11