Being a survival horror game heavily inspired by the games that made the genre what it is today, Cronos: The New Dawn places great emphasis on the survival mechanics, namely resource management. Ammo and materials are always scarce, forcing players to pick their fights wisely and craft only the items they strictly need. While this is a rather common setup for the genre, the way the game handles these mechanics in the first few hours makes for a very frustrating experience that can potentially turn off a few players.

With one of the most interesting settings ever seen in survival horror games, however, it would be a shame for any fan of the genre to drop the game because of the mounting frustration its first couple of hours cause. Thankfully, the first few hours of Cronos: The New Dawn can be made more manageable by acquiring a couple of upgrades as soon as possible.

At the beginning of the game, The Traveler starts out with a very limited selection of tools. Among them is the Sword MK-1615 handgun, a decent firearm but far from being the best in the game. However, being the only weapon you will have for some time, and the one whose ammo is the easiest to procure, it will be one of the most reliable weapons, if not the most reliable, for a good portion of the game. As such, you will want to upgrade its Firepower using Energy as quickly as possible, as even a single upgrade increases the weapon’s power considerably, allowing you to deal with the weakest Orphans with a single charged headshot. At the start of the game, tempted by the lower Energy cost for the Stability, Reload Speed, Charge Speed, and Clip upgrades, you may end up investing in any of these upgrades, but do not make this mistake, as only Charge Speed is worthwhile among them, but is not as vital as Firepower. With this upgrade, you will have a much easier time dealing with the Orphans barring your way until you get the Hammer PROV-2030 Shotgun, whose higher Firepower makes it a great choice for stronger Orphans and bosses.

Much like weapons, the Temporal Shell suit can also be improved by upgrading Suit Integrity, Inventory Slots, and Resource Limit. As these upgrades are obtained with Cores, and not Energy, and cannot be rolled back, you will have to pick your upgrades carefully. Though tempting at the start, Suit Integrity shouldn’t be your first suit upgrade, but rather Inventory Slots, as the seven slots available at the start of the game will soon become insufficient to carry enough ammo and healing items. Once you have upgraded Inventory Slots to eight, you should consider improving Suit Integrity for more health and better survivability. Resource Limit, while good on paper, has never been a problem for me even during late game, as you will end up using any resource you find rather quickly, so the times you will hit the limit are rare.

By getting the upgrades above as soon as possible, your first couple of hours in Cronos: The New Dawn should be way more enjoyable, giving you a fighting change while allowing you to learn more about the game’s intricacies without constantly getting taken down by Orphans and hoping for a lucky break. The game will remain challenging enough even if you follow these tips, so don’t expect your mission to be a walk in the park.