Bloober Team has plenty more planned for Cronos: The New Dawn, including its upcoming Lazarus expansion and a new book exploring the game’s universe. During a recent interview with my friend and fellow content creator Luke Lohr, also known as Insipid Ghost, on The Expansion Pass, Bloober Team Lead Writer and Narrative Designer Grzegorz Like shared several interesting details about the future of the survival horror franchise. These include the return of a familiar voice actress, new gameplay mechanics, and the mysteries players can expect from the upcoming expansion.
Kelly Burke Returns for Cronos: Lazarus
One of the more interesting revelations from the interview concerns the return of Kelly Burke, who previously voiced the Traveler in Cronos: The New Dawn. While discussing the upcoming expansion, Like confirmed that Burke would be involved in Lazarus, although he remained tight-lipped about her role.
“You have Kelly Burke,” Like confirmed before declining to elaborate further.”
Like also confirmed that Alan Turkington would return to reprise his role as the Pathfinder, the character at the center of the upcoming expansion.
While Burke’s involvement is certainly welcome news for fans of the original game, her exact role remains a mystery. Given the complicated narrative surrounding the Travelers and the Collective, it will be interesting to see how her involvement fits into the expansion’s story.
Lazarus Will Offer a More Action-Oriented Experience
Although Cronos: The New Dawn emphasized slower, methodical survival horror gameplay, Lazarus will take a somewhat different approach. Players will experience the story from the perspective of the Pathfinder, a considerably more powerful character than the Traveler encountered at the beginning of the original game. As explained, the team wanted the Pathfinder’s abilities to reflect his established strength without completely abandoning the gameplay philosophy of Cronos: The New Dawn.
The expansion introduces new abilities, including teleportation and decoys, which allow players to approach encounters more aggressively. For example, players can deploy a decoy to attract enemies before teleporting behind them and attacking. Weapons have also received some adjustments. As explained, players will have access to more ammunition and an automatic weapon with burst-fire capabilities. However, the weapon will no longer feature the same charging mechanic found in the original game.
To compensate for the player’s increased capabilities, enemy encounters will feature larger groups of monsters. The goal is to create a different combat experience while preserving the tension that made the original game memorable. Interestingly, Like also explained that the expansion wasn’t developed simply because players wanted a dodge mechanic. Instead, the team had already considered the Pathfinder’s story while developing the original game and wanted an opportunity to explore it further.
Lazarus Will Answer Questions While Creating New Mysteries
One of the defining characteristics of Cronos: The New Dawn is its mysterious narrative. Between the Travelers, the Collective, and the game’s ambiguous ending, there is plenty for players to speculate about. However, anyone expecting Lazarus to provide a complete explanation of everything that happened in the original game might want to temper those expectations.
During the interview, Like explained that he enjoys reading fan theories and discussions surrounding the game’s story, particularly on Reddit. However, he emphasized that the expansion isn’t intended to resolve every lingering mystery.
“We will answer things. Sure,” Like explained, before adding that the team’s approach is to “answer questions” and then “ask even more questions.”
Like pointed to Twin Peaks as an example of storytelling that embraces ambiguity. He explained that he continues to revisit the series despite not having all the answers, something he appreciates about its mysterious narrative. This approach appears to be an important part of Bloober Team’s philosophy for Cronos. Rather than explaining every aspect of the universe, the developers want players to continue questioning what they have experienced.
A Cronos: The New Dawn Book Is in Production
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises from the interview was confirmation that Bloober Team is expanding the Cronos universe beyond video games. When Luke asked whether there were more stories to tell following Lazarus, Like revealed that a book set within the universe is already in development. Like confirmed that a Cronos book is “in production right now” and explained that it will tell a different story involving other characters from the game’s universe.
Although he didn’t provide a release date, title, or additional details about the book, its existence suggests that Bloober Team is interested in exploring the setting through other forms of storytelling. He also expressed personal interest in continuing to develop the world of the Travelers. However, he stopped short of confirming whether another Cronos game would eventually happen.
For fans who have enjoyed uncovering the secrets of Cronos: The New Dawn, the upcoming book could provide another opportunity to learn more about its unusual world.
Why Bloober Team Introduced an Easier Difficulty
Another interesting topic from the interview involved the decision to introduce an easier difficulty setting for Cronos: The New Dawn. The original game’s challenging combat and limited resources became a point of discussion among players. However, Like explained that the decision to introduce an easier mode wasn’t simply a response to criticism.
Instead, Bloober Team recognized that some players wanted to experience the game’s world and story without facing the same level of difficulty. Like defended the original game’s balance, explaining that players who prepare properly and approach encounters strategically have the tools necessary to survive. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that not everyone enjoys the same level of challenge.
The team also wanted to ensure that introducing an easier mode wouldn’t undermine the survival horror experience. Simply giving players enormous amounts of ammunition or making enemies significantly weaker would have disrupted the game’s carefully designed balance. As a result, developing the additional difficulty setting required considerable adjustments to enemy encounters, ammunition placement, and other gameplay systems.
Like also noted that the possibility of an easier mode had been considered around the original game’s launch, but development schedules meant that not everything could be implemented immediately. Ultimately, the decision was about allowing more players to enjoy the story while maintaining the identity of Cronos: The New Dawn.
The Future of Cronos: The New Dawn
Beyond the upcoming expansion and book, Like also discussed the possibility of continuing to explore the Cronos universe. While he couldn’t confirm whether another game would eventually happen, he acknowledged that the original game’s ambiguous ending leaves plenty of room for additional storytelling.
The development of Lazarus also demonstrates how the team can approach different stories within the same universe. By shifting the focus to the Pathfinder, Bloober Team can introduce new gameplay mechanics and a different narrative perspective without abandoning the foundation established by the original game.
For now, Lazarus represents the next chapter in the Cronos: The New Dawn universe. Between Kelly Burke’s mysterious return, the expansion’s more action-oriented combat, and confirmation of an upcoming book, there is plenty for fans to look forward to. While the expansion promises to answer some lingering questions, it appears Bloober Team has no intention of revealing all its secrets just yet.
