Análisis de Chronos: before the ashes

Chronos: before the ashes is the new one from Shooting games Yes THQ Nordic. It’s a third person action-adventure game Souls in which we will play the role of the chosen one to travel the complex path of the labyrinth in order to kill the mighty dragon that threatens human existence.

A priori it contains all the essential elements so that those who love them the adventures of knights, swords and dragons are fully satisfied with the game. Unfortunately, we will find out very early on that this is all still a mere ideal and that we are facing an absolutely soulless title.

When it was just Chronos.

Chronos: before the ashes it’s not exactly a new game. It was born in 2016 under the name of Chronos and was launched to be played by the Oculus Rift, virtual reality glasses for PC. Perhaps, at the time, the power of virtual reality offered to the player of Chronos a major innovation and a strong sense of immersion in the game. However, This adaptation to consoles in the form of a traditional adventure game overturned its original design and diminished (a lot) its narrative and playable experience.

Chronos: before the ashes is the prequel to Remainder: ashes, fantastic game of Shooting games published in 2019 of which you can find a complete analysis here. This title came out as a Dark souls cooperative (up to three players) with procedural scenarios and enemies where ranged firearms predominated, relegating melee only in emergencies. The formula worked so well for them that it became one of the best video games of its genre last year. However, and safely, its predecessor will not suffer the same fate.

Poorly implemented melee combat

Despite Before the ashes It has certain details which are flattering, that is not surprising at all. It is a title without charisma, spiritually empty, repetitive and rough in its playability. They chose to focus 100% on close combat using bladed weapons and magic, but the gameplay is so hard and slow that it is unthinkable that they made this decision. In Rest It was also not a wonder to fight with swords or spears, but its spirit lay in the use of pistols, shotguns or rifles. It was a tough game but it was a pleasure to shoot enemies while sharing a game with two other teammates.

In Chronos, other than the fact that it doesn’t have multiplayer, you’ll have no choice but to fight up close and the pace of the fighting is so slow that it will drive you mad on more than one occasion. And not only that, but it has a basic concept error that destroys the entire playable experience of the title and is the basis of successful type fights. Souls: stamina bar does not run out when attacking. You only get tired when running or covering hits with your shield, but you can strike endless axes without getting tousled. Seems like a very serious misconception to me and more so when the only real motivation for the game might be combat. How do the confrontations translate? While waiting for the enemy to hit you, block with the shield and start hitting big hits as far as you can.

Not that it’s a simple game but the truth is that we have defeated more than one boss without even knowing what their attacks look like because we ended up getting them stuck in a corner with punches. And we’re not talking about lightning-fast hits, quite the contrary. The movements (attack and dodge) are so slow that combat is visually rare. And the point is that with the right trigger (RT on Xbox) you’re giving a hard hit that will stun the opponent 100% of the time, so if you manage to hit them, you’ll be placing them practically at your mercy.

Therefore, the real difficulty of the fight really lies in the player’s ability to adapt to this very orthopedic rhythm of punches and, on many occasions, in the improper use of the camera in closed spaces. As we commented before, the game was born to be played with VR glasses, where the camera was your head and you could observe anything you wanted at any time because it was not placed behind the back of the character. . In this adaptation, the thing is more tragic: many enemies surprise you in small rooms and camera does not handle walls and walls theme well, and several times you will get extra hits so you don’t see where the action is coming from.

Loading … Loading …

Special mention for the game’s loading times, which will test even the most impatient hearts. Let me explain: the game has been analyzed in its version for Xbox one x Yes loading times are unbearable. Falling in battle or teleporting through fast travel points will make you, many times, rethink the value of keeping playing.

We’ve calculated, with the clock in hand, how long it takes to load the game after a kill or fast travel. The figure is close to 57 seconds. In other words, almost a minute watching the loading screen. As well. Imagine there is an enemy that chokes you more than necessary and you fall over and over again … The game, of course, doesn’t invite you to keep trying unless you like it. We don’t know what the load times will look like on the new generation consoles, but we imagine that they will be considerably reduced. Or we hope so for the sake of the title and the player.

We’re aging

But it’s not all gonna be bad in there Chronos: before the ashes. It has a rather curious mechanism which has so much to do with the traditions of the game as with the gameplay of it. Your character begins the adventure at 18, a yogurt full of vitality and strength. Every time you die you get a year old, so you will lose some characteristics but gain others. For example, you will lose agility in combat but you will gain arcane power as you age. In addition, at certain ages you can unlock special characteristics that will make you more powerful in certain aspects.

This, on paper, is very interesting but the truth is that in practice it is not so much. You can experience the adventure without having unlocked even 75% of the skills. Even if you are very good at playing, you will reach the end without having unlocked a single one. Honestly, I think something’s wrong with the approach when, on an adventure, they reward you for failure. And I’m not saying it just for this aspect. Like any good game of this type, you will take an item with you (in this case dragon heart) that will help you regenerate life and have limited uses that you can develop. Well, these life healing uses will not regenerate until you die and there is no other way to do it.

Already seen puzzles and modest technical section

In terms of puzzle-solving mechanics, some have surprised us for the best. However, but the general trend throughout the adventure is the same: I’ve seen this before. We won’t reveal anything but since the very beginning of the story there are a few puzzles that excite us, and you will recognize them immediately. However, as the adventure progresses, that feeling fades and that hint of creativity remains, practically, an anecdote. It is such a shame to see how this opportunity is wasted and sent back classic system of complicated scenarios where you find an object and retrace your steps to place it elsewhere and open a door or get another object. We would have liked a bit more risk throughout development as we saw in the early stages of the game.

Its technical section is modest but correct. The artistic style differs considerably from that of Rest, because it is made in an almost cartoon, with colorful settings, a few lines of detail and simple textures. That this aspect was chosen does not have to be bad, but it lacks a bit more detail. Additionally, we commented on the excessive load times of the game and it is incomprehensible how they can be so long with the title so little graphics load. It is not known if this is optimization.

The sound effects library is quite concise and the use of music is totally circumstantial. The soundtrack only appears at certain times to give the story more drama, but the adventure unfolds almost entirely in silence. The melody at the beginning is quite nice, but its soundtrack will not be very memorable for most players.

Is this game suitable for all audiences?

Absolutely not. Chronos: before the ashes will become an essential title only for fans (very fans) of Rest who want to delve a little more into the story and the characters of the saga. It will also be appreciated by players who like the particular style. Souls in combat, taking into account the enormous distances between the two.