Diving into Cronos: The New Dawn’s combat system and unique merge mechanic

In the gameplay reveal trailer for Cronos: The New Dawn, a mysterious voice warned the Traveler to “Stay focused, stay cautious”. 

More than just a bit of lore, this was meant to communicate that in our game, remaining vigilant is of the utmost importance.

That’s because, in addition to careful resource management, you also have to deal with enemies that can merge with each other during battle. This radically alters the dynamic of every encounter, with each Merge exponentially increasing its difficulty in real-time.

To that end, we made a short dev diary that details how the combat system in Cronos works in practice, while also addressing several key questions from our community:

Escalating threats: How merging transforms your enemies

In Cronos, enemies known as Orphans can absorb dead bodies to evolve into even stronger and more resilient foes, complete with new attack patterns. 

This adds another layer of complexity to combat, because by killing Orphans you’re effectively providing fuel for other nearby enemies to evolve and become more powerful in the process. 

Having the Merge as a fully integrated gameplay system fundamentally shifts the balance of combat, especially in a game where ammo is scarce and crafting opportunities are limited.

Most enemies in Cronos are capable of merging with each other. Your goal is to stop them at all costs, or deal with the consequences.

Arena Control: Turning the odds in your favor

The best way to counteract the Merge is by preventing it from happening in the first place. Often, combat in Cronos requires navigating handcrafted arenas filled with multiple enemies.

Since merging requires dead bodies to absorb, spatial awareness is critical. Space out your kills, lure foes away from fallen bodies, and be ready to interrupt merging attempts mid-fight.

When it comes to your gear, you’ll have an entire arsenal at your disposal for every situation. Weapons like the Javelin, with its rapid-fire capacity, are perfect for crowd control. Others, like the Hammer, deal heavy damage at close range – ideal for finishing off tough enemies before they can merge.

Rapidly switching between weapons according to their range and effectiveness in each situation is key to gaining the upper hand in combat.

Enemy Roles: Tips and tricks to defeat them

When it comes to enemy design, we wanted the Orphans to challenge players in distinct ways by featuring different attack patterns and fulfilling specific roles in combat. To take them down efficiently, it’s crucial to observe their behavior and adapt your strategy to counter their moves.

One enemy type you’ll encounter often is the Doppelganger. Scattered throughout New Dawn, not all Doppelgangers look or act alike. Instead, they can be grouped into different categories based on their combat style.

Some are runners, rushing towards the player to inflict melee damage. Others have ranged attacks, forcing players to approach them instead. Then there are the bruisers, heavy-hitting, durable foes who can soak up damage and are best dealt with using close-range shotgun blasts. And, of course, they all can merge with each other, gaining new abilities and attack patterns with each evolution.

Additionally, there are special enemies that only appear in select locations, but we will be revealing more about them in future updates.

That concludes our quick overview of how to approach combat in Cronos: The New Dawn. Through incorporating the Merge as a central combat mechanic, we aim to ensure that every encounter in the game feels both memorable and unpredictable.

This approach also reflects our commitment towards evolving the survival horror formula itself, by constantly pushing its boundaries and transforming what the genre can offer.

Cronos: The New Dawn will be available on PlayStation 5 in 2025.