In 2016 bracht Gunfire Games Chronos out for the Oculus Rift. Now, four years later, the developer is bringing the game to conventional consoles and PC under the name Chronos: Before the Ashes. We dived into the adventure of this VR-less version and tell you all about it in this review.
Chronos is set in the same universe as the action RPG released last year Remnant: From the Ashes and is a prequel to the story of Remnant. The start of this adventure is rather messy and unclear. We end up in a strange setting, where people were tied to computers for 24 hours to collect data. These ‘dreamers’, as they are apparently called, did not survive, as evidenced by the lifeless bodies we find. After activating an artifact called ‘World Stones’, we end up in a mysterious labyrinth where we are tasked with killing a dragon to protect our people. It is all very vague and therefore not really interesting to follow.
Before we can challenge the dragon, we will have to take out some of its guards and solve various puzzles to get further into the labyrinth. Unfortunately, the whole adventure ends in a search for the right items to solve the puzzles. Unfortunately, there is no map of this mysterious world available, so soon we wander around hoping to find the right object. Unfortunately it is very boring and repetitive, which is reinforced by the vague story. At a few moments we bounce back from an interesting designed piece of level design. In a closed bookcase we see a miniature version of a portal with the solution incorporated in it from that same portal a bit further on. Once we have found the missing puzzle piece and can activate the portal, we end up in this bookcase. Only that bookcase has now become many times larger and the books tower far above us. It’s a welcome change from the otherwise boring walking tour of the labyrinth.
Of course, enemies are not missing in this adventure. Chronos: Before the Ashes is a Souls-like and the fights are quite challenging. Any enemy can kill you if you don’t pay attention. There are also some tough boss fights waiting for you. At the start of your adventure, you choose whether to wield a sword or an ax. With the sword you will be able to cut into your enemies a little faster, while your blows with the ax are a bit more powerful. You also have a shield to block or parry attacks and you can avoid attacks. Soon you will acquire your first magical power. Unfortunately there is no ‘loot’ available and you will only occasionally get a new weapon, shield or magical power. You will only earn experience points for killing enemies, which will eventually level up and improve some of your stats. You will also collect some ‘dragon hearts’ during your adventure. Using this item will completely replenish your health, but can only be used once per life. Only when you die, they are reactivated. So you will always have to have the utmost concentration in order not to die quickly.
–
Of course, dying is a theme in Souls likes and so is it Chronos. The developer comes up with an interesting trick to make this theme a bit more attractive. Every time you die you will age a year when you return. This will not only have consequences in terms of appearance, but your statistics will also change slightly. As a young hero you are fast and nimble, while your magical powers can develop as you get older. In addition, you will be able to choose a ‘trait’ every ten years from the age of twenty to, for example, become stronger or get more health. It’s a nice addition to the game in itself, but it takes a long time before you notice the difference between young and old. In addition, there are only four statistics to improve, one of which cannot be improved at all at the beginning. When you are very old, a few other statistics are dropped, so you always have very little choice.
–
And that’s actually the whole problem of it Chronos: Before the Ashes. Wandering through the labyrinth quickly starts to get boring and repetitive and the battles are challenging, but frustrating for anyone unrelated to Dark Souls and that type of games has. For this group of gamers, it will be difficult to keep the attention long enough to actually experience the entire aging process of your hero.
Chronos: Before the Ashes was played on the Xbox Series for this review. The game will also be available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.
–
