From its stylish world to its unique leveling system, Chronos: Before the Ashes often works as an engaging third-person action game. However, the journey is over too short before any of its systems have the opportunity to truly flourish.
Despite being a remake of the VR game Chronos and a prequel to Remnant: From the Ashes, Chronos: Before the Ashes is surprisingly accessible. Having never played the original game on VR and only making it partway through Remnant, I never felt truly lost.
Chronos is a game that pieces together ideas from a variety of sources, attempting to mold itself into something more. Most will look at the game and identify it as another title trying to grab at the Souls chalice of glory. It’s not a third-person shooter like Remnant but will contain enough references to please those who enjoyed the world. Instead, Chronos takes place in a fantasy world besieged by a dragon that has spread its evil across the land–which, honestly, bonds itself to Dark Souls even closer.
This once-flourishing land can only be saved if the dragon is defeated at the center of the labyrinth it has hidden within. Players take control of a character on their eighteenth birthday, setting out for the labyrinth. As a promising young adult, players are strong and agile capable of swinging weapons and dodging with ease. But death is almost always a guarantee.
Upon death, the player ages one year and starts their task again as the labyrinth opens up once a year. In Chronos, the character slowly ages and with that age comes new skills and stats geared towards specific bonuses. The player’s younger years are characterized by raw damage output and more skill with weapons. As they age, expertise with magic and health become more important. After all, it would look pretty silly to have an 80-year-old rolling around with high dexterity.
Across their journey, players will earn experience points to funnel points into specific stats. Additionally, every decade will grant permanent boosts that will often defy the age of the character, such as eventual immortality or increased stamina despite advanced age. There is a kind of risk/reward with figuring out how to invest skill points because players may eventually grow past the benefits of one stat. Yet much of these benefits also rely on finding the right weapon for your playstyle and investing time into growing their efficiency.
While the aging mechanic of Chronos appears unique on paper, it doesn’t always live up to expectations. The idea of dying 30 times just to reach a specific age threshold doesn’t sound like much of a reward, especially when the idea is to kill the dragon and destroy the curse sooner rather than later. Players may find that their skills outpace the game’s difficulty. Obviously you are meant to die in Chronos as death comes with rewards but the game doesn’t feel long enough to really reap the benefit of advanced age.
Players will notice familiar elements in the combat and exploration. The lack of a map is curbed with locked doors and shortcuts that open up the world more. Combat is the typical hacking and slashing with the ability to hold up and shield to defend, dodge away from attacks, or block at the right moment to stun an enemy with a parry. Basic enemies and bosses are impressively designed but by no means have a complex amount of attack patterns. Careful players will absolutely live significantly longer but there are moments where mashing the attack button yields reward.
This is likely why players can choose the difficulty they would like to play at. If you’re new to these types of games, the easiest difficulty will present just enough challenge to not make combat and death meaningless. But those thirsting for a challenge should dial things up, making encounters with any number of enemies a threat.
Aesthetically, Chronos has a lot to offer even with its limited palette. It’s obvious in places that the game is rough around the edges, likely a result of being built up from a VR experience. That being said, I think the cleaner, less detailed visuals have a charm that matches with the fantasy setting. There is a cohesive vision for the world that doesn’t feel as if it is trying to sell itself on the success of Remnant.
Chronos: Before the Ashes has a moody, lovingly crafted world that I want to explore more. Unfortunately, players are not given ample time to really experience the vision of the game. Most of its systems are built on a great idea but have little to no room to grow. Players may be intrigued by the idea of a character’s age affecting gameplay but there’s not enough opportunity to explore varying builds. As a third-person action game, Chronos is fun and competent but could be more diverse in execution. Still, this universe seems to be ripe with stories and maybe in a future game built from the ground up, players will have another chance at something even grander.
