''Chronos'' is a 2016

action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...

developed and published by

Gunfire Games Gunfire Games, LLC is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The studio was founded by David Adams (video game designer), David Adams in July 2014, bringing with him the core team of Crytek USA just before that studio's closure. ...

for the

Oculus Rift Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a division of Meta Platforms, released on March 28, 2016. In 2012 Oculus initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Rift's development, af ...

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

(VR) headset. The game received generally positive reviews upon release. An overhauled version of the game, titled ''Chronos: Before the Ashes'' was released for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

and

Stadia Stadia may refer to: * One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums" * The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes''). * Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey * Stadi ...

on December 1, 2020.

Gameplay

Chronos is an

viewed from a

third-person perspective Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...

, though the game only has a fixed camera similar to the early ''

Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...

'' games. In the game, the player assumes control of a customizable protagonist, who is on a quest to kill a dragon inside a

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

. The game's combat mainly involves slashing enemies with melee weapons while fending off hostile attacks with a shield. Should the player die when they are exploring, they can only reenter the labyrinth one in-game year later, and the player character will age, which alters the character's attributes. As the player progresses in the game, they will solve puzzles, acquire new weapons and unlock magical powers. As the player earns

experience Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...

, they will

level up Level Up may refer to: Film and TV *Level Up (2016 film), a British thriller film * ''Level Up'' (American TV series), a Cartoon Network live action series ** ''Level Up'' (2011 film), the movie pilot for the Cartoon Network series * ''Level Up' ...

which allows them to improve the player character's attributes including strength, agility, arcane, and vitality.

Development

The game was the first title released by

, which was founded by David Adams, the founder of

Vigil Games Vigil Games was an American game development company owned by THQ. It was formed by comic artist Joe Madureira and David Adams (video game designer), David Adams in 2005. History Vigil Games was founded in 2005 by Joe Madureira, David Adams, Mar ...

who have created the ''

Darksiders ''Darksiders'' is a hack and slash action-adventure video game franchise created by Vigil Games, now developed by Gunfire Games, which consists of some of the original members of Vigil. The series is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, where mank ...

'' series. The game was announced on June 11, 2015, during a press conference held by the

Oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American ...

. It was among the first titles unveiled for the Oculus Rift VR headset and it became the headset's

launch game This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...

when it was released on March 28, 2016. In September 2020,

THQ Nordic THQ Nordic GmbH (formerly Nordic Games GmbH) is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were re ...

announced an overhauled version of the game named ''Chronos: Before the Ashes''. This version of the game removes the VR requirement, and serves as the prequel to Gunfire's '' Remnant: From the Ashes''. The game was released for Microsoft Windows,

and

on December 1, 2020.

Reception

The game received generally positive reviews according to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. Critics compared the game to ''

The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...

'' and ''

Dark Souls is a series of action role-playing games created by Hidetaka Miyazaki of FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The series began with the release of ''Dark Souls'' (2011) and has seen two sequels, ''Dark Souls II'' (2014) a ...

'' series. Some critics noted that gameplay-wise, the game was traditional but the incorporation of VR elevated the experience.

References

Official website

* {{Official website, https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/929508627125435 2016 video games Role-playing video games Video games developed in the United States Oculus Rift games Virtual reality games Windows games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games Stadia games Xbox One games THQ Nordic games Soulslike video games Single-player video games