Chronos (2016 video game)

Lore & Background

Chronos is an action role-playing game viewed from a third-person perspective with a fixed camera similar to early Resident Evil games. The player controls a customizable protagonist on a quest to kill a dragon inside a labyrinth. Combat involves slashing enemies with melee weapons and using a shield to fend off attacks. Upon death, the player can only reenter the labyrinth one in-game year later, causing the character to age and altering attributes. Players solve puzzles, acquire weapons, unlock magical powers, and level up by improving strength, agility, arcane, and vitality.

The game was the first title released by Gunfire Games, co-founded by David Adams, founder of Vigil Games (creators of the Darksiders series). It was announced on June 11, 2015, during an Oculus press conference and released on March 28, 2016. In September 2020, THQ Nordic announced an overhauled version, Chronos: Before the Ashes, which removed the VR requirement and served as a prequel to Gunfire's 2019 game Remnant: From the Ashes. This version was released on December 1, 2020, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Stadia.

Critics compared Chronos to The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls series. Some noted that while gameplay was traditional, the incorporation of VR elevated the experience.

Reader's Guide

Chronos holds significance as one of the earliest major titles for the Oculus Rift VR headset, helping to establish the platform's launch library. Its development by Gunfire Games, a studio founded by a former Vigil Games founder, linked it to the Darksiders lineage. The game's unique aging mechanic—where death advances the in-game calendar by one year and alters character attributes—set it apart from typical action RPGs. The fixed camera perspective, reminiscent of early Resident Evil games, was a deliberate design choice that influenced combat and exploration. The 2020 overhaul, Chronos: Before the Ashes, extended the game's reach beyond VR by removing the headset requirement and connecting it narratively to Remnant: From the Ashes. This allowed a broader audience to experience the game and established a shared universe between the two titles. Critics drew comparisons to The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls, indicating its blend of puzzle-solving, exploration, and challenging combat. The game's generally positive reception on Metacritic underscored its role in demonstrating that traditional game mechanics could be effectively adapted for virtual reality.

Did You Know?

• Chronos was the first title released by Gunfire Games.
• The game was announced on June 11, 2015, during an Oculus press conference.
• Upon death, the player can only reenter the labyrinth one in-game year later, causing the character to age.
• An overhauled version, Chronos: Before the Ashes, was released on December 1, 2020, as a prequel to Remnant: From the Ashes.

Origins and the Birth of a Genre

The Soulslike subgenre traces its roots to the Japanese studio FromSoftware and its director Hidetaka Miyazaki. Their 2009 release Demon's Souls laid the groundwork, establishing a design language built around punishing combat, vast interconnected worlds, and a sense of discovery that rewarded persistence over raw reflexes. The Dark Souls trilogy, spanning 2011 to 2016, then cemented these conventions into something players could instantly recognize, and it is from this franchise that the very name 'Soulslike' was borrowed. Over time, fans coined the related term 'Soulsborne,' blending the Souls titles with Bloodborne (2015) to describe FromSoftware's broader output, which later extended to Elden Ring. Within this lineage, titles like Chronos: Before the Ashes (2020) emerged as part of a growing family of games that inherited the genre's core identity—challenging, atmospheric, and deeply rewarding for those willing to embrace failure as a teacher rather than a verdict.

The Architecture of Difficulty

Central to the Soulslike experience is a deliberate embrace of failure. Players are expected to die repeatedly, and the design ensures each death carries weight without being irrecoverable. Typically, some progress—collected items, defeated bosses—persists from the last checkpoint, while other losses like experience points or in-game currency can be reclaimed if the player acts quickly. This creates a risk-and-reward loop where death functions as a learning tool rather than a mere punishment. Salt and Sanctuary developer James Silva described the result as 'deliberate and meaningful exploration,' where repeated failures teach the player the world, the character's growth, and the rhythms of combat. Combat itself tends to be methodical, demanding careful stamina management and forcing players to commit to full attack animations before they can react, leaving brief windows of vulnerability. Checkpoint systems, often represented as bonfires or their equivalents, serve as respawn points, leveling stations, and fast-travel hubs, while resetting nearby enemies to preserve tension.

Storytelling Through Silence

What distinguishes the Soulslike genre from most action role-playing games is its refusal to spell things out. Rather than cutscenes or lengthy dialogue trees, these games trust the player to assemble a narrative from fragments: cryptic item descriptions, sparse NPC exchanges, and the architecture of the world itself. The lore is deliberately scattered, encouraging players to return to locations, re-examine objects, and piece together history through inference. This approach generates a powerful sense of mystery and personal discovery. Yet the tone is not uniformly grim. Despite the dark fantasy settings that define much of the genre, developers have woven in moments of levity—unexpected interactions like petting a cat, humorous NPC reactions, absurd weapon and outfit choices, and slapstick deaths such as being devoured by a Mimic. These lighter touches prevent the experience from becoming monotonous and remind players that even in a world built on suffering, there is room for wonder and humor.

A Genre's Expanding Family

The Soulslike label has grown from a niche descriptor into a widely recognized design category. From Lords of the Fallen (2014) and Titan Souls (2015) through the wave of 2016-to-2020 releases including Salt and Sanctuary, Nioh, The Surge, Code Vein, Mortal Shell, and Chronos: Before the Ashes, the genre has attracted developers across multiple studios and platforms. Its influence extends well beyond strict genre boundaries: titles as varied as Journey, Shovel Knight, Destiny, The Witcher 3, Hollow Knight, God of War, Dead Cells, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Black Myth: Wukong have all been cited as carrying Soulslike DNA in their design. Developers interviewed about the classification generally welcomed it as a helpful shorthand for players, though some cautioned that the label can set expectations a particular title may not fulfill—Remnant: From the Ashes, for instance, drew disappointment from players who expected a traditional action RPG but found a primarily shooter-based experience. The genre's continued expansion, with multiple titles slated for 2025 and 2026, suggests its design philosophy remains a powerful creative force.

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