REVIEW : CHRONOS: BEFORE THE ASHES (XBOX Series X)
Chronos before the ashes. The game belongs to the genre of Action role-playing game. The game was released in December 2020. And it has been receiving all sorts of reactions since the release of its first part in 2016. The game was developed by Gunfire Games and published by THQ Nordic, THQ. The game was released for different platforms like Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, Microsoft Windows. It is time to put the game under a test.
In 2016 the first Chronos game was released for the Virtual Reality (VR) experience. After the massive success of the sequel developers Gunfire Games has released another game Chronos Before the ashes, and this time it’s not a VR version this part of the game is more like taking players back to the roots of the series. The game straight away starts with the quest to kill the dragon which might not impress many players. The plot of the game develops into one massive quest that includes killing a few of the dragon’s henchmen before you get to fight the dragon. Throughout the quest, you will learn how much damage the dragon has caused this world. The opening of the game will present more questions than answers but all this works in the favour of the game. The story never gets irritating or anything as you read books and talk to different characters who aren’t trying to kill you. Throughout the quest, you will find dragon stones which will help you unlock various abilities which in end allows you to use much more powerful moves. The game can be brutally difficult compared to the games of the same genre out there. The game may be tough enough to challenge any player out there but the similarities can be seen in less significant systems of the game. What makes the game stand out from others is that the combat does not solely depend on the stamina meter which gets drained by using defensive abilities. This forces the players to predict how the enemy will attack you instead of keeping a count in your head of how many attacks moves you can perform before the stamina drains out. Other unique things about the adventure involve low impact exploration puzzles that demand you to be aware of your inventory items and be preceptive about the environment. The game is a classic adventure game with a maze-like world where you slowly collect items that are needed to move forward. The puzzles that the game offers are not very difficult and it does not require any backtracking. And some puzzles are hard and you will get stuck on them for a while.
The combat systems of the game are simply impressive and this is where the game shines. The combats are somewhat challenging. The game offers light and heavy attacks with block and perry and doge incorporates them with a variety of weapons makes the game amazing. The gameplay is just so tight here everything feels smooth and responsive and you can’t underestimate any opponent and make your way through the quest. The designers put you through tests by putting you against strong enemies in different locations and sometimes against two of them. What will grab the attention of players is how death is dealt with in this game. If your player dies he will age a year which will affect your various aspects too. Your player will grow weaker as he ages but the arcane abilities will get stronger and stronger. Many players will resent dying as it will make your character weaker due to old age but there are some benefits also.
Still, Chronos before the ashes is a decent game with decent environmental and enemy design. I think the game can use some improvements like the addition of ways to interact with the world, the weapon upgrade system is way too basic for a console game.
