Chronos: Before the Ashes is a nice little taste into the world of Remnant, set as a prequel to From the Ashes. Gunfire have dipped into the world of Souls lites here with a game that will feel similar for anyone who has played any of the FromSoft games while providing difficulty options for those dipping their toes into the style of game.

Chronos is a shorter game, which is expected with the original release being an earlier VR title but there is plenty to do here to get yourself acquainted with the universe, especially if you look to follow on with diving into Remnant and Remnant 2

Picked this up just because I like Remnant: From the Ashes a lot, I wasn't expecting much but I left really impressed with how the foundations for the lore of the world from Remnant are all here.

I also enjoy how a lot of gameplay concepts that were improved for Remnant are already here. The unique weapons, traits, some secrets and puzzles, I can see how this game evolved into the next step.

The gameplay feels a bit clunky, felt like sometimes I was mostly bruteforcing my way through combat, and you can also see the moments thought out for VR and it can feel weird at times in a flat perspective.

I enjoyed the level design and exploration a lot, and playing it as a fan of Remnant, the insight into this piece of the past is a fun experience too.

Chronos: Before the Ashes feels a bit like a beginners Soulslike. This was originally released just as Chronos as a VR game before getting a re-release as a more traditional third person RPG. It was marketed as a prequel to Gunfire Game's later project Remnant: from the Ashes. Though there are certainly lore, location and enemy links between the games that I can see how they would set it up as such they are otherwise completely different titles and on the positive side I can see how the studios ability increased between the two titles as Remnant was a truly great experience I loved. Chronos unfortunately, is not.

The biggest issue with it is how it plays and frankly that's a gigantic problem for any game as it's kind of a core requirement for the medium. It manages to be both slow and pondering yet floaty and weightless at the same time which is an impressive thing to create. There are certain games that get these kind of things right, take Monster Hunter World for example, when you swing your giant sword and connect you can really visually feel that impact and Chronos just lacking that crunch. It has a few weapons to use and almost none of them are that fulfilling. The closest is probably the hammer with an upper cut that feels like it's going to have real force behind it but enemy reactions rarely support this in a satisfying way. Add to this that the game is often extremely unresponsive in both dodging, attacking and even the simple act of picking up items. Pressing the button just either has a delay or there is just no response at all.

It's otherwise extremely simple, some basic weapons to upgrade and find and shields with a few elemental power ups and that's it. Coming off the back of Nioh 2 which has insane weapon sets, customization, skills and ranged abilities leaves this feeling extremely basic and why it feels like a beginner's Souls title. That may be slightly unfair comparing a budget game like this to Nioh 2 though. Not everything about the game is bad, it does have an interesting mechanic around leveling up. When you die you age 1 year, starting at 18 and getting older each time. This effects how you level up your character as when younger it costs less points to level up strength and agility. As your character gets older these become more expensive until you can't upgrade them at all if you get too old. The opposite is true of arcane which starts expensive but gets cheaper as you get older, after all with age comes wisdom! (supposedly). It's a unique idea.

Overall once I got used to the game I must admit I didn't hate it. I even enjoyed parts of it but it's severely underbaked across all fronts. The art design is nice but the visuals are otherwise bland, some enemy designs are pretty cool but the combat is unresponsive and shallow, The level up system is neat but the game is super short so I didn't even know about how the stats changed until after I'd beaten the game etc.

I'm glad that Gunfire Game's built on what's here because a friend and I had a great time with Remnant and are eagerly awaiting Remnant II but this one? This one you can skip.

Originally created as "Dark Souls in VR", and serves as a prequel to Remnant: From the Ashes. It's no GOTY, but it works as a gentle introduction to the Soulslike genre.

The combat is admittedly flawed (you can stunlock most enemies with sword heavy attacks), but it is methodical, tactical, and weighty. The level design is above average (with a particularly memorable sequence involving a bookshelf), and despite the simplified graphics the atmosphere is lovely. I wasn't expecting much, but I thoroughly enjoyed this.

The age-when-you-die mechanic puts an interesting spin on character progression, but is better utilized in Sifu.

Well, it was okay. The game was too short and the fights too easy for my taste. I'm sure not everyone sees it that way; maybe I just started with the wrong expectations. But I expected the difficulty of Souls like games ala From Software but the combat system can't keep up in terms of difficulty, depth or feeling. And then what's left with games like this? Of course not the great story, because it doesn't exist.

But all in all it worked, were some nice few hours. The aging mechanic was an exciting idea, but it could have done more with it.

Chronos: Before the Ashes combines the Souls style combat and difficulty with Resident Evil style exploration, puzzle solving and item examination. Combining items, transforming items by examining them, it's all here. There is no story or characters but the combat is good, enemies are good and technically the game is also good. It's a good game. And it took me 15 hours to get the platinum and it also has difficulty settings. I recommend this game. You can play it while you wait for Elden Ring and Resident Evil 4 DLC's

The Full Review(No Spoilers):

A Different Kind of Souls Game
Chronos: Before the Ashes was originally a VR game set before the events of another Souls type game, Remnant: From the Ashes. It was originally titled just "Chronos" but it's non VR version is here and it gets the subtitle of "Before the Ashes". I never played Remnant. I mean I think I tried it for a bit but it's like 1 hour max.

Something caught my attention with this game though and now I am here, having fully finished the game. And I have to say, it's a good game. It's definitely a good game.

Like all the Souls style games, this one doesn't have a story. I'm sorry but I won't pretend that these games has a story but "It's not being told directly". I don't understand it with From Software games and I don't understand it with other souls type games as well.

These games don't have a story and for me, they will always start with a -1 because of it. Yeah, Chronos doesn't have a story. It doesn't have characters. It has some scrolls lying around and I read all I could find, it still didn't feel like it had a story. If you want a narrative hook from the games you want no matter how good their gameplay is, this game is a hard skip for you.

But, yeah. Let's talk about the gameplay. Chronos is focused on melee combat. There is no ranged option from what I can see. But that's not a problem because the melee combat is pretty good. At the start of the game, we select our gender, difficulty and a starting weapon. We will come back to gender later but our starting weapon choices are a Sword or Axe.

Rest of the weapons in the game are found through exploration and puzzle solving. I found all of them I believe because I got the platinum for the game and I think it wants you to find every weapon. Anyway, all weapons feels great. But there are some cheating here and there. Like, there are 2 or 3 swords. 2 or 3 axes. Still, I found the weapon variety okay.

And this is a game where you will most likely select a weapon type you like and you will go with it. There is also weapon upgrading so yeah, this is not a game that you will want to switch weapons often.

There is also magic, kind of. There are 4 elemental stones, one of them given to you right after the prologue and the other 3 are again, needs to be found through exploration. These stones can be used as like super moves once a bar under your health and stamina fills up and they also give elemental power if you attack by charging your weapon by holding the attack button.

But these stones and their powers are never explained clearly and I haven't used them much. Enemy variety is good for the most part, there are a few reskins. Each enemy can kill you if you are not careful, classic souls style. There are 6 bosses, each of them are unique and the last 2 are very challenging. Like wow.

Okay so the combat is pretty good. Animations are very nice as well. Blocking, parrying, dodging etc. You played a combat like this, it will feel familiar but it will also feel good. There is something you need to know about this game however.

This is not an RPG. It feels like it is but it actually isn't. There is not much freedom. For example, you always need to have a shield and a weapon. You can't unequip a shield and use your weapon with two hands. That's just not possible. No ranged options as well.

Gender thing, there isn't a character customization. You have two options. Male or female. That actually kind of makes sense. Because there is a specific mechanic in the game. But before that, let's quickly touch up on the difficulty setting thing.

Yes, this game has a difficulty option. Does it RUIN the game? Like Souls fans would want you to believe? No. I am totally ok with From Software not choosing to include it in their games, it's their game. But I think it worked great in Chronos.

I did my first playthrough at the hardest difficulty called Heroic. It isn't as hard as a Souls game but it's still tough. Those last 2 bosses, they were pain. I also did a second playthrough in the lowest difficulty, I believe it was called Casual. And yeah, it was easy. I would recommend most people to at least try Heroic first because that seems like the intended difficulty. But if it's too tough for you, go ahead and play at a lower difficulty. Accessibility and difficulty settings are never a bad thing in my book.

Going back to the RPG stuff, while this game is not a proper RPG, it has some RPG mechanics. You get XP and you level up. There are 4 attributes you can put points into. One increases your health, other increases magic powers, other one is for lighter weapons like sword and the final one is for heavier weapons like axes.

It's a pretty simple level up system. But there is one more mechanic. Aging. Yes, every time you die you age 1 year. In your younger years, those 2 skills for weapons costs you less points. While magic and health costs you more points. Around the age of 40, health costs you less and after 50-ish, magic costs you less.

Aging also fully affects your characters' look. Which is why there isn't a character creator. I selected a Male for my first playthrough and as it aged, it became more buffed, it grew a beard and a mustache, then those started to become white; it looks good.

In every 10 age starting with 20, so you go 20,30,40; you get to select a perk. You get 3 choices, you need to select one. These includes stuff like "More Damage With Weapons" or "Get More XP". So literally, you will get more powerful as you die more. It's a system that works great.

So, one final thing to talk about with the gameplay. Exploration and puzzle solving. Chronos' biggest, most interesting idea to me was to combine the Souls like gameplay with Resident Evil style exploration and puzzle solving. Souls games had a little but of RE DNA in them with like solving the map and opening shortcuts but this game completes the road.

You find new items including keys that unlocks new paths. Some optional paths includes weapons or stones. You can also combine items, interact with items to transform them. It smells Resident Evil and I LOVED it. For me, this is the key different aspect of Chronos and it kept me going.

Technically, the game is fine. Art style is simple but nice. Sound design is good. I played it on PS5 through backwards compatibility. There is no next gen version. It worked good but loadings were painfully slow. I can't even think how they were on PS4. Though I played the game from an HDD so maybe it would be a different story if you played it through the PS5 console itself.

Chronos: Before the Ashes combines the Souls style combat and difficulty with Resident Evil style exploration, puzzle solving and item examination. Combining items, transforming items by examining them, it's all here. There is no story or characters but the combat is good, enemies are good and technically the game is also good. It's a good game. And it took me 15 hours to get the platinum and it also has difficulty settings. I recommend this game. You can play it while you wait for the Elden Ring and Resident Evil 4 DLC's.

Some genuinely cool ideas for a soulslike, but also some of the worst combat I've experienced in one of these. Repetitive enemy types, none of which are fun to fight and most you can stunlock with heavy attacks. Everything is slow and clunky. Generally not that difficult except for the fact that it just feels horrible.

The age thing is cute, but I mean, Sifu did that too and that one also happens to be fun to play.

But the inventory puzzles feel a natural fit - I've always wanted Dark Souls with More Puzzle, a proper Zelda For Grownups, but aside from Tunic, nothing else's come close. Also shoutout to the clever portal hijinks which will be really fun if you never played the original Prey.

Really close to being a cool game. It's doing enough cool stuff that I powered through it for a while, but after a few bullshit deaths I just tapped out. These people have made games with good melee combat, haven't they? What happened?

I never had the opportunity to play the original as a VR title. My first encounter with the world of this game is I think the same as most people, via Gunfire Games' other title Remnant: From The Ashes.

After a few hours of playing Chronos I was finding the overall clunkiness a little frustrating, but the thing I found most interesting was seeing this perceivable arc from this game to Remnant. It's palpable what the team at Gunfire learned with this game and what they took into Remnant to make that game as good a game as it is.

Chronos is largely a pretty rote action RPG that is similar to other Souls titles in that the world is largely interconnected and it gives you very little information on how to proceed. That's about it for the comparison though, as the progression system is mostly a basic EXP level up system. They also have an interesting age mechanic, which raises your characters age as you die. This has an impact on your leveling by changing the cost of individual stats based on your age. When you're young, strength and agility are cheap stats to buy with your skill points, but arcane is expensive. The opposite is true once you hit your forties (about 25ish deaths, give or take). This is a pretty interesting system and I did find myself engaging with it by actually thinking about when I wanted to put my points into agility, etc. Good system.

Beyond that, the game is pretty okay. The bosses aren't that great, and there are a few enemies that are pretty un-fun to fight against up until you realise you can extremely easily stun-lock them against a wall and they stop being a problem and the game becomes more fun.

I recommend giving it a go! I got access to it via PlayStation Plus Extra and that honestly feels like the best place to play it at the moment if you're worried about financial investment.