2025’s Most Underrated Game Proves Even the Best Games Are Flopping

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Wow, 2025 has been a wild ride as a gamer! The new Nintendo Switch 2 is seriously incredible – it’s taken off like crazy and is already breaking records. I’m also really excited about some of the fresh games coming out, like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which is totally different and awesome. But honestly, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag. It’s been tough hearing about all the layoffs in the industry, and it feels like with SO many games on Steam, it’s harder than ever for the really good ones to stand out.

A great example of this is Cronos: The New Dawn, a sci-fi survival horror game made by Bloober Team. Despite getting excellent reviews, it didn’t sell very well, showing that a good game isn’t always a successful one.

Cronos: The New Dawn Marked a New Era for Bloober Team

Bloober Team started in 2008, but they gained significant recognition after the successful release of the Silent Hill 2 remake last year. Cronos: The New Dawn began development in 2021, and with a planned release in 2025, it has the opportunity to benefit from the positive attention Bloober Team is currently receiving.

I’m really excited about Cronos: The New Dawn. It’s set in this made-up city called New Dawn, and the game jumps around through different parts of its history. The developers, Bloober Team, were inspired by what life was like in Poland during the Cold War, but they’ve mixed in a lot of cyberpunk and grunge to give the whole thing this really cool, but also unsettling, vibe. It’s aiming for that nostalgic, slightly creepy feeling, and from what I’ve seen, it nails it.

I’m really into the story of this game! You play as Traveler ND-3756, who works for this group called The Collective – they’re basically trying to prevent a terrible future for everyone. As a Traveler, your job is to jump around in time, finding people who might be able to help save humanity. It’s a cool concept!

Cronos Is a Survival Horror Game With Time Travel

Okay, so playing Cronos: The New Dawn is unlike any other survival horror game I’ve tried. The whole time travel thing really sets it apart. You’re constantly jumping between the future and the 1980s, which is key to figuring out how to save humanity. It’s a really cool mechanic that keeps things fresh and interesting.

As players progress, they’ll collect weapons to defeat enemies. Enemies will combine to become more powerful if they touch, so players need to eliminate them quickly before they become too difficult to handle.

Despite being a time manipulation puzzle game, Cronos often feels like an adventure game too. You’ll make lots of choices in conversations that can change the story, even deciding which people to save. It’s a unique and engaging experience that isn’t overly complex.

Cronos’ Commercial Failure Reveals a Troubling Trend for Gaming

I was so excited when Cronos: The New Dawn finally came out on September 5th, 2025! It was available on Steam and all the latest consoles – Switch 2, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. I remember checking the sales numbers and being really pleased to see it had sold around 200,000 copies by the end of the month – that’s pretty great for a smaller team like Bloober Team. And just recently, they announced it’s hit 500,000 units sold! That’s fantastic news and I’m thrilled for them.

While sales of the game weren’t bad, they probably aren’t strong enough to justify making a sequel or a new game in the same universe, which is a shame given how good the game actually is. The moderate success of Cronos: The New Dawn highlights some major issues within the gaming industry and suggests a worrying pattern.

It’s tough for smaller game developers like Bloober Team to stand out, particularly if they’re creating entirely new games instead of sequels or adaptations of existing stories. While their remake of Silent Hill 2 was popular, they haven’t been able to achieve the same level of success with original ideas.

The somewhat disappointing sales of Cronos highlight a problem in today’s crowded gaming market. Players often say there are too many games to choose from, but developers understandably tend to create sequels and familiar concepts because it’s difficult for new games to stand out.

With over 10,000 games launching in 2025, many haven’t performed as well as Cronos. Despite having more choices than ever, players are overlooking great games like Cronos, which is concerning for the gaming industry.

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2025-11-30 08:20