First look at Cronos: The New Dawn's Gameplay

Bloober Team, known for the Silent Hill 2 remake, has released the first full gameplay trailer for their new original survival horror game, Cronos: The New Dawn. 

The trailer introduces "THE MERGE," a unique gameplay mechanic that transforms enemy encounters into intense, psychological battles. The game is set in two timelines: a post-apocalyptic future and 1980s Poland, specifically in the decaying district of New Dawn, inspired by Nowa Huta.

Players take on the role of a Traveller, an agent from the future tasked with rescuing key individuals before an apocalypse. Throughout the game, players will face terrifying enemies called the Orphans, monstrous creatures born from humanity's nightmares.

Kill Them. Burn Them. Don’t Let Them Merge.

In this latest reveal, the tagline “Don’t Let Them Merge” points to one of the game’s core mechanics: downed enemies don’t stay dead for long! If you don’t burn their bodies, these fallen monsters can be absorbed by existing enemies. Through a grotesque process known as Merging, enemies evolve into faster, stronger, more resilient, and far more horrifying abominations, gaining additional abilities in battle.

Jacek Zięba, Co-Director and Producer at Bloober Team, warns: “Imagine this: a distorted mix of sci-fi, time travel, retro-futuristic dread, and body horror—all set against the gritty backdrop of 80s Poland. What a ride, right? And whatever you do… don’t let them merge.”

Wojciech Piejko, Co-Director and Designer at Bloober Team, adds: “How do you fight them? Fire! Burn the fallen before they merge with living creatures. The merge changes the game, adding a whole new layer of strategy to combat. Push your survival instincts to the max.”

A World Warped by Time and Terror

Alongside the newly revealed combat system, Cronos: The New Dawn shows many upcoming and exciting features. Players will get a sneak peek of the game’s ferocious weapons and terrifying new enemies, all set against the backdrop of Brutalist architecture falling apart, twisted by the anomalies that warp reality itself. There are also glimpses of enigmatic new characters, all with their own agendas and hidden secrets. Cronos: The New Dawn promises a story packed with cryptic secrets and a creeping sense of dread that doesn’t let up.

Adding to the tension is the game’s soundtrack, created by award-winning composer Arkadiusz Reikowski. The result of a collaboration between Arkadiusz and the Polish-Ukranian indie folk band Zazula, this track in particular features haunting traditional vocals, creating an ethereal soundscape that blends synth horror with surreal, avant-garde textures. The result is a score as eerie and immersive as the world you’ll explore.

Stay tuned to GamingTrend for more Cronos: The New Dawn news and info! The game is coming out in 2025 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.