Bloober Team Talks Cronos: The New Dawn, Horror Games and Working on Multiple Projects
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Bloober Team has struck gold with the Silent Hill 2 remake, and in doing so, the studio now have more eyeballs on it for any new project they’re developing. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait long, as Cronos: The New Dawn has been announced for release next year. This time around, Bloober is working on an entirely new IP for their new horror game.
While that might be the case, the expectations are still there. Fortunately for us, we managed to have a chat with the studio about its in-gestation project, and even ask about some stuff about Silent Hill 2.
Answering the questions is Wojciech Piejko, Game Director of Cronos: The New Dawn.
Bloober Talks About Cronos: The New Dawn and Developing Horror Games With MP1st
MP1st: Often, I’ll play survival horror games with the avoidance of using guns because I feel they can come off as more of a distraction and work better when as a last resort thing. I think that’s sort of a common belief that having a gun sort of lessens the scariness of a game because of the safe distance and power they give a player, though there are some examples out (Dead Space) that prove otherwise. What are the team’s thoughts about guns in survival horror, and how are they approaching them with Cronos?
W: I totally agree that it’s easier to get scared while feeling vulnerable because of a lack of means to deal with monsters but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible – the game “just” needs a different design. You need to know how to control the tension and understand that when the monsters appear on the screen and the combat starts, the player feels relief. The player no longer thinks about what is lurking in the shadows, and the survival instinct takes over. The key to success in this case is to create a great atmosphere and build-ups before combat encounters, or even trick the player into thinking that they will be attacked and not do it. Example scenario: Imagine you are looking for a key. You enter a new area and hear the rhythmic sound of something hitting the wall. Finally, you see a monster banging its head against the wall. It doesn’t see you; you have already fought this type of monster, and it’s strong and challenging, so you sneak behind its back. You search the rooms and find the key—now it’s time to go back and pass the monster again. On your way back, you hear the banging again, but it suddenly stops. You check the corridor, and the monster is gone. Where is it? Will it jump out at you from another room? It’s only an example but games with combat may also be really scary if you play your cards right.
Overall, combat in Cronos is leaning towards RE and Dead Space areas but we are still storytellers at heart, so please also expect a strong emphasis on story and atmospheric exploration. The Traveler relies on suit, weapons and abilities, but is still very vulnerable to the monstrosities lurking in the ruins of an old world. You will be outnumbered, and you need to be careful to stay alive. Resources are limited and the monsters hit hard. We’ve also prepared something special to spice up and increase the tension of combat. I can’t reveal much right now but in Dead Space you need to cut-off Necromorphs limbs, in Alan Wake you need to use a flashlight on enemies and in Cronos you will need to.. wait to see it ;]
MP1st: We’d imagine working on Silent Hill 2 Remake was such a massive learning experience that undoubtedly will have some reflection on the development of Cronos. Though if there’s one thing we could pick that could be “carried over,” I think it would have to be the incredible sound work that was done on the Silent Hill 2 remake. With Cronos being more in the sci-fi genre, the sound team is probably getting all kinds of creative with the different types of noises we’ll hear in the game. Anything you can tell us or tease us about with that?
W: Sound is one of the most important ingredients of horror and we are super privileged to have an amazing Artists and Composer here at Bloober Team to take care of it. I’m really proud of what the audio team accomplished in SH2 Remake and I can confirm that the same team is now working on Cronos and we can’t wait to share more about the sound of Cronos in the future.
MP1st: Speaking of getting creative with the sounds, one thing I don’t see a lot of other outlets and people point out is the haptics utilization with the DualSense controller in the Silent Hill 2 remake. If you really listen closely to the controller, it’s doing quite a lot. An instance that stands out is the prison section, where you can flip a switch for some lights to momentarily turn on. The controller will emulate a low buzz, like electricity coursing through the lines to power those lights, and you can feel it fade as the lights die out. Lots of cool little things that get enhanced with the DualSense, can we expect the same with Cronos?
W: Nothing to reveal yet.
MP1st: VR is still rather new, and though we’ve made great technical advancements, the technology still has a bit of a way to go. That being said, many recent horror games have been jumping to VR, Like Metro, Resident Evil, Phasmophobia, and a few others. I know on the team/publishing side there is experience with VR with some past releases like Blair Witch and Layers of Fear, but looking forward, do you see the format of play being a part of Bloober Team’s future? What are your general thoughts about VR gaming, where it is now, and maybe what you hope to see from it in the future that may get the team to revisit it?
W: Our aim as a studio is to become a global leader in horror, encompassing the entire genre. We aspire to achieve the position of the “horror house.” In practice, this also means expanding beyond the realm of “classic” video games by diversifying our portfolio to include other areas of entertainment, such as VR games, film production, television, and board game creation. If you ask me, I would like to work on an on-site horror VR experience someday.
MP1st: Recently, players managed to solve the mysterious photo puzzle. We’re suckers for secrets like these, and though this one was more on the obvious (not the solving part) side of things, in a sense that these pictures clearly were for something, we’re curious if the Silent Hill 2 remake has any more major secrets that haven’t been found yet to the studio’s knowledge? If so, any hints?
W: I’ll quote George Orwell here: “If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.”
MP1st: There are a lot of aspects that make Silent Hill 2 such a great remake, though, for us and many, it’s how terrifyingly haunting the atmosphere can be. Even without having a monster on the screen, there’s just this sense of fear that we can’t shake every time we step into the world. From a studio perspective, and being a remake, you probably go in knowing that you must nail certain aspects down; otherwise, it might all fall apart. What was the biggest part of the remake that the studio knew they had to get perfect? Was there any section in the game that the team felt they struggled with and maybe went through several revisions before settling on what they did?
W: I was not directly involved in the SH2 development so I can’t truly answer this question. The only thing I know is that from the very beginning we knew that SH2 is a holy grail of horror games and we shouldn’t change any crucial elements and stay true to the original as much as possible. I can’t express enough how happy I’m for the team who delivered this amazing game.
MP1st: Has the Silent Hill 2 remake recouped its budget? If specific numbers can’t be discussed, is Konami happy with its commercial performance so far?
W: I can’t comment on this.
MP1st: Cutting straight to it: Has Konami asked Bloober to develop more Silent Hill remakes or even a proper new sequel?
Can’t answer this question.
MP1st: Bloober has been working on both Silent Hill 2 and Cronos simultaneously. Now that Silent Hill 2 is out, is the studio working on two projects at the same time again?
W: Within the Bloober Team, we have two production teams. Both teams operate independently, however the whole team is sharing the experience of working on previous projects like Medium, Observer, Layers of Fear, Silent Hill 2, Blair Witch etc. And all I can say today is that after the completion of work on Silent Hill 2, the team will conduct the pre-production work on a new project.
MP1st: Cronos seems to be about sci-fi horror, right? Why go that route instead of your more traditional haunted house, creepy town vibe? Isn’t it harder to make things scary because of the technology and whatnot available at your disposal?
W: When we came up with the first concept of Cronos, we already knew that our second development team will be working on the SH2 remake, so we didn’t want to overlap with them and create a similar game. From the get-go we wanted to create our first survival horror game on our own IP. We have already shown our love for a unique blend of sci-fi and horror with our previous title The Observer and we want to do it again – this time with combat, resource management and more advanced gameplay mechanics while not forgetting about our storytellers’ roots.
MP1st: It’s early days, but in terms of length, is Cronos closer to Resident Evil games or Silent Hill 2 remake?
W: I’m sorry but I can’t reveal any details about the length of the game yet.
MP1st: Is Cronos being built/developed as a franchise? Or is Bloober thinking of it more of a one-off thing before moving on to another project?
W: All I can say today is that we love the world of Cronos, and we would love to expand it in the future, for now, let’s focus on the game.
MP1st: With Silent Hill 2, the expectations for Bloober has risen significantly, how does the dev team handle that and do you think it’ll affect review scores when Cronos is released?
W: Releasing SH2 was a huge milestone for our company, and we are super thrilled about the reception of the game. Nominations for various game awards are really making us blush and we will do everything we can to create the best horror games possible. On the other hand, it creates a pressure – like in sports where you need to “defend the title” each season but we are pros, we will handle it.
MP1st: What recent horror games has the dev team played that inspired them or left a huge impression on the devs?
W: Here is my list of my fav horror games in random order: Silent Hill series, Resident Evil 2 & 4, SOMA, Eternal Darkness, Alien Isolation, Dead Space, Signalis, Condemned: Criminal Origins, P.T., Amnesia, Forbidden Siren series and Kuon – I think all those games left a mark on me.
MP1st: Bloober has recently mentioned that they don’t want to release shitty games anymore; what will change in terms of development?
W: We were talking about pre-horror game era. Let me rephrase this: we are here to scare the shit out of you and we will do it with our upcoming games again and again and again.
MP1st: What does the studio think of console exclusive releases? Is this something we can see the studio move away from? We gather, Konami is the one in charge of that for Silent Hill 2, but The Medium also saw that treatment before.
W: Everything has its pros and cons, and there’s nothing wrong with doing any of the above if it helps you release your game. If a great opportunity arises, you take it—and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Cronos: The New Dawn is set for release sometime in 2025 for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
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