Able to announce the Switch 2, Nintendo has pulled a huge surprise on horror gamers by suddenly launching Cronos: The New Dawn on the console. That might be considered a love letter on behalf of the survival-horror lovers currently gracing the eShop. Reactions? Very scattered, mostly positive.

But then, what is Cronos: The New Dawn? “From very subjective observations from trailers and players’ comments, maybe this game is a Dead Space-Resident Evil hybrid,” someone mused. A spooky atmosphere and that game’s intense gameplay and stunning visuals-a very nice thing to have on a Switch 2 port. Tunnelrat called this a nice port with nice visuals, now he suddenly wants Dead Space for Switch 2 as well. Um, same.

Of course, this came just out of nowhere, Nintendo literally bounced the announcement through Twitter with a store link. And within a couple of minutes, the replies section went into such a wild mess of excitement glazes, demands, and usual console wars-shaped nonsense. Some couldn’t believe this game was coming to Switch 2. PhillyBeatzU tweeted, “Why didn’t I know this was for SWITCH 2 ahhh” – mood honestly.

However, not everybody is bound to be thrilled. Somewhere has become a prelude to this discussion as physical versus digital ones commenced. Some gamers were showing what they said were physical copies of this game while others insisted these were only “key cards,” and those “key cards” just allow you to download the digital version but are not actual game cards. Nero Redwolf was very much on that side of the debate and probably with very good reason: “That’s not a physical copy. That’s a key card. No sale.” Sonicpulsar, on the other hand, disagreed: “Wrong, It’s physical. As you can see, I can open it, touch the artwork and the card itself.”

This entire physical-versus-digital issue might be one that grows on the Switch 2, especially since a few specific game titles are forcing installation through the internet even if you physically own one. Kinda messy, though at least players have choices? I guess.

According to those who’ve played it, most said the gameplay was mostly positive feedback. Sonicpulsar said, “It’s great. Just played it now,” along with a screenshot; and fairly blunt, RZ🖕🍕 said “buy it! shits good.” Timothy Mark! described it as “feels like a fusion of dead space and resident evil,” which honestly sounds amazing.

But true to Nintendo style, other games are being asked about. The replies are filled with requests for Dead Space, Silent Hill 2 (“Any chance of Silent Hill 2 on Switch 2?” asked Luis Mtz), and, of course, the never-ending wait for Metroid Prime 4. Blaze Werewolf just dropped a simple “Still waiting for Metroid prime 4…” which, same bro. Same.

Suddenly, from some other quarters suspend all technical cries. Werewolf Freak was on his tirade about how it “will look worse than 2016 tech, the framerate will still be 30fps regardless of framegen being used” and him not owning games on Switch 2. But, it looks like most are just ignoring his rant to enjoy the game.

Then there are the strange comments, because, well, Twitter will always have some of these. R3TROGAM3R chimed in with the opinion that the helmet in the game’s art looks like “vajeen” to him, which is… a take, I guess. Meanwhile, Cyrusnv2004 used this occasion to demand, “REVIVE ETERNAL DARKNESS,” which, honestly, is legit.

That also brings weird timing-JohnTheDad said he’s “playing Silent Hill 2 right now before Cronos,” implying some players are doing their own horror marathons. No download lag with digital, after all, since the game just came out.

Survival horror is quite a thing on Switch 2 right now, and Cronos: The New Dawn seems to be hitting most of the right notes for all players until now. Visuals are praised, while gameplay seems pretty solid, Gen fills that gap in the horror games that Switch players have been missing. Physical, digital? You’D better have fun if you’re down for some scares on the go.

This release is also evidence of Nintendo actively trying to give Switch 2 a third party lineup worthy of someone who can truly shine in his graphics and gameplay. After some skepticism about the potency of the system, to see a game like this running perfectly well is quite uplifting for the future. Maybe it’s not such an insane call for Dead Space after all?

For now though, really very soon, Cronos: The New Dawn will terrorize Switch 2 owners. Mostly positive vibes, solid gameplay, and the further nourishment of the horror genre on Nintendo’s hottest machine. Halfway decent surprise drop.