By Daryl Baxter And Others Daryl Baxter And Others,Em Stonham
Copyright escapistmagazine
Cronos: The New Dawn is the latest gem from Bloober Team, offering a gritty blend of survival horror and sci-fi. While it’s a solid game that’s been met with a great reception from the horror community, it’s not the only title which Bloober Team deserves love for.
To help you plan which game to pick up and get terrified by next, you’ll find a round-up of the best 6 games by Bloober Team below. Cronos will make an appearance, of course, but there are plenty of exceptional titles outside the sci-fi horror niche as well.
The Escapist recaps
Bloober Team has released plenty of stellar games over the years, with the majority of them falling into the survival and psychological horror niches. The most recent title from Bloober Team is Cronos: The New Dawn, a tense survival horror with a heavy sci-fi theme that feels somewhat reminiscent of DOOM, Silent Hill, and Resident Evil. The best Bloober Team game will vary depending on which type of horror you prefer – tense and gritty, gory and intense, strange and psychedelic – but the team’s Silent Hill 2 remake tends to be viewed as one of their best. Cronos: The New Dawn is arguably not the best Bloober Team game, but it’s one of their best, giving the classics like Layers of Fear a run for their money in terms of building atmosphere and telling a dark story.
Best 6 Bloober Team games, ranked
Bloober Team has a vast catalogue of games, with some of their first titles including Hospital Havoc and Music Master: Chopin, both released back in 2010. Despite Bloober having some non-horror titles to their name, they’re most widely known for creating scary games.
We’ve ranked the top 6 best Bloober Team games below, going in ascending order based on narrative, gameplay quality, and overall themes.
6. Blair Witch
Don’t be fooled by this game coming in at the last spot on the list – it’s still an exceptionally fun psychological horror game that fans of the Blair Witch movie will get a kick out of.
With your trusty dog Bullet at your side – who you can give treats and pets to, don’t worry – you’ll need to navigate the haunted forests that are allegedly the home of the Blair Witch herself. This Bloober Team title is rich and atmospheric, with a few shocking moments dotted throughout the tense story.
Interestingly, there’s also a VR edition of this game. It wasn’t quite as well-received as the standard iteration, but if you’re a psychological horror fan with access to a VR headset, it’s worth taking a look at.
5. Layers of Fear 2
One of the titles that is synonymous with Bloober Team is the Layers of Fear series, including the 2016 original, the 2019 sequel, and the 2023 remake of the original. There’s also a VR iteration of the 2016 original.
While the original Layers of Fear game does sit higher up on this breakdown of the best bits by Bloober, the sequel is a lot of fun as well. It takes place on an eerie ship that seems to be rotten to its core, placing the player in the shoes of an actor who is hoping to win over a legendary director in a strange production.
Just like the original, Layers of Fear 2 is unnerving, with more of a focus on exploration and puzzles than other games in the psychological horror niche. While some may dub it purely a walking simulator, it’s worth dipping into if you like odd, unsettling horror.
4. Observer: System Redux
This entry is purely for the System Redux version of Observer. While the 2017 original is solid, this newer iteration of Observer from 2021 offers a smoother and more enjoyable experience, ironing out some of the crinkles in the first game.
Observer: System Redux is a cyberpunk horror that lets the player work as a detective who can hack into the minds of criminal investigation suspects. It’s got a dark and twisted story, with stealth sections and challenges that’ll have you chewing on your nails while exploring the retrofuturistic world it takes place in.
3. Layers of Fear
Confusingly, there are two games called Layers of Fear in the Bloober Team line-up. This list entry is for the original 2016 iteration of the game, not the 2023 version – the newer version is okay, but it doesn’t outshine any entries on this list.
Layers of Fear is arguably what put Bloober Team on the map in the world of psychological horror. The story takes place from the perspective of an artist who is determined to finish a masterpiece – no matter what it takes. The narrative gets dark and demonic quickly, placing a heavy emphasis on storytelling and exploration over intense gameplay.
2. Cronos: The New Dawn
Cronos: The New Dawn is the newest release from Bloober Team at the time of writing, offering a perfect blend of sci-fi and survival horror. The player sees the story from the perspective of The Traveler, a futuristic operative of sorts who must collect the consciousnesses of key people by hopping through time rifts.
The world in Cronos has been ravaged by a devastating virus that turns people into warped creatures called Orphans. The game is packed full of gore and oozes tension, with some challenging boss fights to test even the most seasoned of gamers.
1. Silent Hill 2 remake
Does the Silent Hill 2 remake outshine the original? It’ll depend on who you ask as both have their merits, but it’d be hard to argue for any of Bloober Team’s other games taking the number one spot in a list of their best titles.
The Silent Hill 2 remake manages to capture the slow-burning dread and terror of the first game, adding a modern spin on the classic. It’s dismal and depressing, but there are pockets of beauty and mystery hidden throughout the fog-drenched town of Silent Hill.
Bloober Team has a wide variety of games on offer, ranging from unnerving psychological horror to gory sci-fi horror with heavy survival elements. While there’s arguably something to love about all of them, the best of the bunch are the Silent Hill 2 remake, Cronos: The New Dawn, and the original Layers of Fear.
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