If you’re a fan of survival games, there’s nothing better than a game world that feels genuinely rewarding to explore. Taking the extra time to look around and find secret passages should be something that games encourage in this niche, but it’s not always the case.
One game that is on track to create an inviting yet dangerous world is Chronicles Reborn. This indie gem had a demo on display at DreamHack Birmingham 2026, and I had the opportunity to go hands-on – here’s a first glimpse at the fantastical world it offers.
Atmospheric and inviting
Chronicles Reborn is an exploration-focused survival game that places you in the shoes of a character who’s part of a group called the Brightwyn Order. Developed and published by Brightwyn Games, it’s a warm, inviting-looking game with a stylized aesthetic and a seemingly vast world that begs to be explored.
I had the opportunity to go hands-on with Chronicles Reborn at DreamHack Birmingham 2026, taking part in a short but sweet demo courtesy of a development team member at the stand.
The demo starts off by introducing you to the core mechanics of the game – simple movement, picking up items, crafting – and then sends you around the village to pick up a handful of items that you’ll need for crafting key items.
It wasn’t reinventing the wheel in terms of survival gameplay by any means, but it was enjoyable, and I liked getting the chance to wander around the village. It felt cozy and magical, but there was a sense of danger that danced along the horizon, particularly once combat was introduced.
After the first couple of quests revolving around crafting, exploration, and speaking to a very friendly tree, the demo tasked me with exploring and finding the source of a magical trace in the overworld.
It was kept fairly vague, which I was initially excited about, as I thought it might involve some puzzle-solving or map-reading, but the map marker then led me to the source with little effort on my part.
The Chronicles Reborn demo didn’t provide much of a glimpse at the game’s story, but from what I saw, it seemed intriguing. There were enough lore snippets tucked away in character interactions and trait descriptions to make me eager to see the game in full; I’m particularly keen to learn more about the Brightwyn Order and their mission to gather hidden knowledge.
Promising, with some quirks
The best demos are those that make you excited about the game’s full release. It may sound obvious, but you should be left wanting more by the end of a demo, not feeling as if you’re ready to simply hop onto the next title in your backlog.
Chronicles Reborn struck a good balance with how much it revealed during the demo. I left feeling like I wanted to explore more, but that I still got a good feel of the game’s tone, storytelling style, and core mechanics like combat.
Mechanically, Chronicles Reborn has two separate skill tree-style tabs – Knowledge and Skills – unlocking new crafting recipes and skills for the player to utilize.
Something that I appreciated about the skill trees in Chronicles Reborn is that the gradual unlocking of new recipes and skills made it easy to get stuck into the demo. Survival games that throw everything at you from the jump can be overwhelming, but Chronicles Reborn felt well-paced.
Performance-wise, Chronicles Reborn definitely had a few quirks to iron out, but it was pleasant overall. I encountered a few issues here and there, largely with item interactivity and the character model, but they weren’t frequent. The demo still felt enjoyable and immersive despite these quirks, too.
This is the sort of game I can see myself getting stuck into on my Steam Deck. The Steam page doesn’t list whether it’ll be playable on the handheld device, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed to see this once a Chronicles Reborn release date is announced.
If you’re a fan of cozy survival games and exploration-led titles, this is one to watch out for. The demo at DreamHack Birmingham 2026 left me eager to see more of Chronicles Reborn, particularly with its mysterious lore and the story behind the Brightwyn Order.
FAQs
Chronicles Reborn was developed and published by Brightwyn Games.
Chronicles Reborn is an exploration-focused survival game with a detailed crafting system.
Yes, despite being a survival game, Chronicles Reborn is cozy and atmospheric.
The best cozy games include Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Pokémon Pokopia, and Cozy Grove. Other popular examples include Stardew Valley and Luma Island.
