Cronos: The New Dawn - A guide to getting the Bolt Cutter

Chain cutter or, as this game calls it, bolt cutter. That's the word you've been looking for, what you've been missing for a while in the great survival horror game that is Cronos: The New Dawn, isn't it?

Maybe you've been playing the game for a while now, a little over a couple of hours of wandering around, and you've noticed that there are several doors that are chained and padlocked, but they're not props, far from it. If you approach them, they ask you for a tool to remove the chain, just as other gates ask you for a key or a key card. We've had the same thing happen to us, and to stop you thinking about it and finally know when and how you can start going through those doors, we tell you where and how to get the bolt cutter in Cronos: The New Dawn.

First up, it's the when. As we said, you've been playing for a couple of hours, you've started manipulating the oddities with your shapeshifter EPH-611, and you've already taken out and burned a handful of Orphans with your Traveller ND-3576. Such is our calling.

You find yourself in the flat block, the one you've seen from afar that is badly disturbed by the anomaly on the upper floors, with debris floating in the air. Your mission is to find one Wiśniewski; your current objective is to "proceed to the transit point". By now, you will have left behind four or five chained doors, no less.

When you reach the front of the building you leave behind a round square; remember this. You should enter the building and use the shelter with a save point just past it on the right. From there, you will see a locked lift with chains, and this will be our main reference point.

This lift is essential to follow the natural progress of the game, so from here your search for the bolt cutter becomes mandatory, and you will understand that the doors you left behind can be opened later on, doing a bit of backtracking like in a Metroidvania/search action game.

Ignore the lift for now and complete the flat block stage floor-by-floor. If you make it all the way to the end (watch out for the new green bugs that explode with acid when you get close), you'll get the key to the hardware store on the last explorable floor. Hardware store sounds good, doesn't it?

With it in your possession, head back down to the shelter and save your game. Where was there a hardware store? Naturally, you're not going to find it on a floor of the block of flats - remember the little square we mentioned at the beginning? Go back to it, watch out for the acid-spitting Orphans, don't let the rising ones merge, and once you've cleared the area, look for the most obvious sign in the area. There is the Jȩdruś Hardware Store.

Although it may seem a bit chicken, at this point (once you've swept the square) we recommend you return to the shelter, apply upgrades, and reload supplies. What awaits you inside, just before your prize, is the first supernaturally sized Orphan.

To free it, note that you can hit one of the flammable objects from the window outside the back room, which will cause the giant to shed its organic bonds and come straight for you.

How to defeat the Giant Orphan

In the style of old Resident Evil's tough-as-nails bosses, play cat and mouse with him, circling the central shelf and hitting him with headshots just before he delivers his blow. Be careful, because he has a lot of range, both horizontally and vertically, but it's quite doable.

Unload your shotgun in his face, pick up more bullets on the shelf itself, and if you run out of shells of this type, switch straight to your Filo MK-1615 pistol and finish him off with loaded headshots.

When he collapses to the ground, you can go into the back room and finally pick up the bolt cutter. Reward!

"Tool used to cut bolts, chains, padlocks, steel bars, and wire mesh".

You can now unlock these chained doors! Before rushing back to the lift, remember that there is one right on the left side of the flat block façade. And also that the brand-new shears are taking up space in your inventory. Are you prepared for what awaits you if you take the lift?

Note: Screenshots taken with the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Cronos: The New Dawn. This guide is valid for all versions, including PS5, Xbox Series, and PC.