Chronos

 PC
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 20
  3. Negative: 2 out of 20

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  1. JohnWitten
    Feb 23, 2017
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Last year was a busy time for me- in fact, this year and every year for the past four or five have been incredibly busy. Therefore, it only makes sense that I approach the veritable heap of a backlog of reviews that I owe the universe. These are titles that I’ve played and already formulated opinions on, and yet for whatever reason I could not find the time to review in full. However, I will write some brief remarks regarding each game that I decide to do this for. Essentially, my goal is to provide ample detail- although avoiding spoilers to some degree, in regards to the overarching plot lines or major details of the games themselves.

    Chronos is an intriguing game in many ways. It was one of the headlining titles for the Oculus Rift and has received excellent reviews to date. It sits somewhere around an 80/85 percent out of one hundred. It isn’t your traditional virtual reality experience, and when I say this I mean you can actually see a playable character as with any traditional third-person role-playing game. While there are light role-playing mechanics present within the game, the experience is mostly atmospheric and not necessarily deep enough to rival anything like The Witcher or The Elder Scrolls in terms of questlines or overall narrative prowess.

    The story seems to draw on some ancient roots of Greek and Roman mythology and the title may even allude to such as well if you think about it- as well as the passing of time. You take control of a hero on a “lifelong quest” to purge their homeland of an almighty evil and to delve deeper and deeper into a mysterious labyrinth which is central to the plot. Another interesting thing in regard to time and the title itself is that said labyrinth only opens once a year and if you fail to delve deep enough to uncover its secrets you will be cast out until the next time it chooses to open. At its core, Chronos is an adventure game first and foremost and as such it offers plenty of thrills and gorgeous visuals.

    Leveling, as with most role-playing games, is an important part of your adventure. However, Chronos approaches this in a way that sort of reminds me of Fable and yet is totally original in its own right as well. Each adventure into the labyrinth ages your hero as they must wait to return another year should they fail in their quest. Obviously, things are not going to be easy enough for you to just run through in your first year- so coming back is completely in the question. As you age you start to lose stamina and agility and gain other attributes like magical prowess. It’s a neat and refreshing give or take system and it definitely changes the way you play as well.

    As with many of the Oculus Rift launch games and with virtual reality adventures in general, Chronos isn’t necessarily a very long game. That having been said, it is probably one of the lengthiest and best virtual reality projects I’ve yet to play in my own experience with the consoles with provide VR. Most people should clock in anywhere from twenty to thirty hours on it and could definitely see more than that if they make a goal of finding every single secret and scrap of lore within the adventure. The attention to detail, the solid mechanics, and the overall aesthetic experience have such a level of depth and attention to quality gaming that it really pleasantly surprised me.

    Gunfire Games deserves all of the praise they’ve been getting for Chronos and I definitely would recommend it to anyone interested in playing a few VR titles in the future. Once the price for VR headsets and equipment goes down a little bit and there are other quality titles to accompany this one in your collection, you should definitely make a point of at least attempting to play it whether adventure-RPGs are your “thing” or not. In my mind, it’s at least a solid 8 out of 10 and definitely worth the time and effort.    … Expand
  2. aalain
    Aug 27, 2016
    10
    Just finished Chronos on the Rift. Absolutely amazing game. Great story telling, fresh and breathtaking environments, fun puzzles, and challenging enemies. The fact that you age a year each time you die really gets to you. I played as a tank all the way through, using Strength based weapons and leveling my strength to 52, vitality to 52 then Magic all the way after that. I beat theJust finished Chronos on the Rift. Absolutely amazing game. Great story telling, fresh and breathtaking environments, fun puzzles, and challenging enemies. The fact that you age a year each time you die really gets to you. I played as a tank all the way through, using Strength based weapons and leveling my strength to 52, vitality to 52 then Magic all the way after that. I beat the game at age 60. Miss it already. I will be keeping an eye on GunFire Games from now on, what an amazing game.… Expand
  3. gorkah
    Nov 17, 2016
    10
    I don't see how you can give this game anything but a 10. Amazing puzzles, each scene feels like a character, deep engaging, you feel like you are in this world. Great story fun fights, challenging things, amazing
  4. petrovich_zfx
    Aug 26, 2019
    10
    Though it was a launch title back in 2016 I started Chronos in 2019 with streaming to Oculus Quest. It is one of those games when you realise it is great by itself without any VR. It is hard, tactical, very beautiful with unique lor and world, and very unforgiving. You will be punished for every sing mistake

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Vandal
    Aug 10, 2016
    75
    Chronos is a very solid adventure, long and unique, that also proves VR works with third-person titles.
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  2. Everyeye.it
    Jul 29, 2016
    78
    Chronos is an interesting adventure, that tries to adapt a classic format to the new Virtual Reality language. It has also some innovative features related to character progression, that shines above any other aspects of the game.
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  3. 4P.de
    Jul 11, 2016
    78
    With its Souls-lite fighting system and the beautiful art design that successfully manages to use VR within a “classic” gameplay mechanic you Chronos pulls you into a magical world. Nonetheless it is rather just a first step, while it leaves a lot of potential untapped. [Tested with Oculus Rift]
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