Chronos: Before The Ashes Reviews
Much like Remnant, Chronos: Before the Ashes skirts the edges of being a Souls-like and offers something unique. The combat is too slow and the aging mechanic doesn't do enough, but its mix of puzzles and combat delivers a fun experience I got hooked on.
Chronos: Before the Ashes is a solid action-adventure that doesn’t overstay its welcome or try to be something that it isn’t. If you’ve played the VR original, you’ll find quality-of-life improves, but this is still the same challenging adventure that you’ll remember. The gameplay is tight, responsive, and consistently fun; there’s nothing more I could really ask for from an action-adventure game.
It takes a bit of getting used to, as expected, and is a bit heavy-handed with its combat and vague on storytelling. But once you’re getting used to its nuances, Chronos: Before the Ashes opens up into a great little Soulsborne affair.
Chronos: Before the Ashes introduces a "souls-lite" experience with an interesting aging mechanic but with a too low challenge level, even at the highest difficulty. Couple with an overly basic game and level design, it makes the game a bit too bland of an experience.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I don’t exactly think Chronos: Before the Ashes was worth the hype, but even though its combat was lame and its visuals underwhelming, it featured enough interesting puzzles and well-designed dungeons to make me want to play it to the very end. It didn’t make me want to revisit its Oculus counterpart, nor do I understand why this and Remnant had to be connected, but hey, it wasn’t exactly THAT bad. It certainly is better than the sum of its parts…
For people looking for a “lite” version of a Souls game, this could be a good way of dipping your toe in the water. For veterans of the genre, Chronos: Before The Ashes is simply too basic and easy to actively seek out.
fun can be had but so can a lot of swearing. A good fit for Souls fans looking for a different challenge.
Where Chronos: Before the Ashes goes wrong is in comparison to Remnant: From the Ashes. As a prequel, this comparison can’t be helped. The reduction in action, lack of complicated boss fights, and the removal of guns are a step-down. But alone, it’s a good game. The puzzles are fun, and the story is interesting, especially when used as a foundation for the events of Remnant.
Chronos: Before the Ashes is a good game, save for some secondary aspects, and provides an innovative adventure.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Chronos: Before The Ashes is a Souls-Like/RPG that unfortunately we cannot recommend. Starting with its low difficulty and poor variety in the combat system. As well as its lack of content in terms of weapons or armor (which is directly lacking) and its more than poor 5-6 hours of gameplay.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Though it may not reach the same atmospheric levels as Demon Souls or Bloodborne, action RPG fans would do well to give Chronos: Before the Ashes a chance to test their killing abilities.
Chronos: Before the Ashes feels dated and awkward, though its intriguing world and unique aging mechanic will probably earn it some fans in the crowded action RPG landscape.
All-in-all, Chronos: Before the Ashes is great. It had a decent combat mechanic, the puzzles are entertaining, the age mechanic is interesting, and the level design is phenomenal. It’s not the perfect souls-like title, but it’s one of the more decent ones you can play.
Chronos: Before the Ashes presents us with a traditional version of Chronos VR, which in turn is a prequel to Remnant: From the ashes. This time the gameplay becomes a simple and friendly souls-like with which it is easy to get started in the genre. He fails in the design of levels, in their duration and in some technical problems, but he knows how to make up for it with good puzzles and exploration.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Chronos: Before the Ashes' biggest issues are some questionable story decisions, and even those aren't wholly damning.
Chronos: Before the Ashes is fun and features fluid and functional gameplay. Its friendly commands make the game very accessible for those looking for a souls-like without excess of suffering. The story is interesting and complete in itself, but it left something to be desired by exploring little of the events that would lead to Remnant. Perhaps spending more time on world events outside the labyrinth dimension could bring greater detail to the narrative.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
It has the weighty action and focus on learning enemy patterns to punish, but at eight hours to beat it’s relatively short and is lacking depth in many of its systems. At $30 and with an easier learning curve this is a good starter for anyone who hasn’t played this style of game, but veteran players may find the experience underwhelming.
The only part it disappoints in - is the story itself, which is short, almost forgettable, all-the-while, somehow enjoyable once you really dig beneath the surface and begin connecting the dots together in the universe that THQ Nordic has built.
It has been mentioned on this site that soulslike games come a dime a dozen nowadays. Every developer wants to capitalize on the success of the genre by creating their own take on the intense and extremely difficult style of role-playing game. Chronos: Before the Ashes is yet another one of those soulslike games, but with a developer like Gunfire Games (responsible for some of the Darksiders entries) and a publisher like THQ Nordic, Chronos comes packed with a lot of promise to be something spectacular.