Cronos: The New Dawn and Bloober Team’s Redemption Arc

I’ll admit, I never thought I’d be counting down the days for a new game from Bloober Team. As someone who heavily criticized their earlier works for lacking depth and polish, I was incredibly skeptical when they were announced to work alongside Konami as the developers for the Silent Hill 2 Remake. But when that game launched in 2024, it completely blew me away, becoming my favorite horror game of this generation. Now, with Cronos: The New Dawn on the horizon, Bloober Team has transformed from a studio I once dismissed as mediocre into a powerhouse in the horror genre—a journey marked by self-awareness, growth, and a newfound ability to deliver terrifying experiences that resonate deeply with fans.

A Rocky Start

Bloober Team entered the horror scene in 2016 with Layers of Fear, a first-person psychological horror game that showed promise with its eerie atmosphere and narrative focus on a troubled artist. While it earned praise for its visuals and unsettling tone, the gameplay experience is where it fell short. That kept it from reaching the heights of genre-defining titles like Silent Hill or Resident Evil.

Subsequent releases, like Layers of Fear 2 and The Medium, were met with mixed reviews. Their 2019 Blair Witch game offered a glimmer of hope, but they still struggled to maintain momentum. Many questioned whether Bloober could ever compete with the giants of horror gaming. At this point, they were seen as a studio with potential but lacking the polish and innovation needed to stand out in a crowded genre.

The Turning Point

The tide began to turn in 2024 with the release of the Silent Hill 2 Remake. Tasked with reimagining one of the most beloved survival horror games of all time, Bloober faced immense scrutiny from fans protective of the PS2 classic—myself included. Initial trailers sparked concern due to performance issues, a mediocre gameplay showing and off-putting character design choices. However, when the game launched, it defied expectations. The remake retained the haunting atmosphere of the original while introducing modernized over-the-shoulder combat inspired by modern Resident Evil games, enhanced graphics, chilling sound design, and expanded environments that brought Silent Hill to life in breathtaking detail.

Critics and fans alike lauded Bloober for their reverence to the source material while making bold updates that felt fresh yet respectful. For me, it was a revelation—a perfect blend of nostalgia and modern horror that solidified its place as the best horror game of this generation. Silent Hill 2 Remake became a commercial and critical success, cementing Bloober Team as a studio capable of handling high-stakes projects.

In a candid interview with GameSpot last year, Bloober Team admitted to their shortcomings, with game director Jacek Zieba stating, “We made some shitty games before, but we [can] evolve.” This self-awareness marked a turning point, as the studio sought to redefine itself and prove its critics wrong. In the same interview, Bloober Team emphasized that Silent Hill 2 Remake was not a fluke, with the studio expressing their intent to use it as a foundation for future projects. The game’s success gave them a blueprint for modern survival horror, blending atmospheric tension with refined combat mechanics—a formula they are now applying to their upcoming titles.

The Next Chapter — Cronos: The New Dawn

Hot on the heels of their Silent Hill 2 triumph, Bloober Team unveiled Cronos: The New Dawn at the Xbox Partner Preview in 2024, with a new gameplay trailer that dropped today. This original IP, set for release later in 2025 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5, has already generated buzz for its striking visuals and gameplay that echoes the visceral intensity of Dead Space.

Set in a post-apocalyptic future intertwined with 1980s Poland, Cronos: The New Dawn follows the Traveler, an agent navigating time rifts to harvest essences from the past in a world ravaged by a cataclysmic event called The Change. The game’s retro-futuristic aesthetic, complete with a bulky diving suit reminiscent of BioShock’s Big Daddy, pairs with mutated creatures called The Orphans and zero-gravity combat sections that evoke Dead Space’s tension.

Building on the Silent Hill 2 Remake’s framework, Cronos adopts a third-person perspective with a focus on gunplay, a clear evolution from Bloober’s earlier narrative-heavy games. Cronos feels like a culmination of the studio’s growth, blending their knack for atmosphere with refined mechanics honed through their Silent Hill experience. Even with heavy inspirations from other games and media, it still feels like a Bloober title.

A New Era for Bloober Team

Bloober Team’s glow-up is a testament to their willingness to evolve and demonstrate newfound confidence in the horror genre. By openly admitting their past mistakes, they’ve shown a rare humility that has fueled their redemption arc.

The Silent Hill 2 Remake proved they could handle a legendary IP with care, but provided a foundation for their future projects. Cronos: The New Dawn showcases how they build on that success to create original works that rival the genre’s best.

With additional projects under their new publishing label, Broken Mirror Games, and rumors of another Silent Hill remake in the works, Bloober Team could be shedding the title of the underdog—they’re becoming a juggernaut, hopefully poised to dominate survival horror for years to come.

For someone like me, who once doubted them at every turn, their turnaround is nothing short of incredible.