Cronos: The New Dawn – How to Proceed in the Hardware Store

Sep 5, 2025 at 05:54am EDT
Cronos: The New Dawn hardware store

Although you will often have to fight the mutated creatures known as the Orphans, Cronos: The New Dawn isn't all about combat. In true survival-horror fashion, the game also features various puzzles that will test your knowledge of the mechanics in puzzle-solving as much as in combat.

While making your way towards your target a few hours into the game, you will get to explore the Hardware Store, a once-thriving store destroyed by the effects of the Change plague, just like humanity seems to have been. Inside this location, which is easy to spot thanks to signs nearby, you will find a few items you will very much need to stay alive, but this isn't why this store is so important, as you will have to explore it fully to obtain a critical item needed to proceed in the main mission.

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After looking around inside a bit, you will notice that there's a door leading into some office that cannot be opened with keys or any other item. In reality, the door is blocked by Biomass, which you will have to get rid of to proceed. Doing so isn't as straightforward as it sounds, as the Biomass is located inside the office, and thus has to be burned from inside the room you need to get into.

From the blocked door, if you head to the right and then to the left, you will find on your left again a window with a broken panel, allowing you to look inside, and more importantly, to shoot inside. Locate the gas can inside using the screenshot above as a guide, shoot it with your handgun and you will set the Biomass on fire, allowing you to finally open the door and enter the room. Inside, you will find the Bolt Cutter item you can use to open up the other locked door in the Hardware Store, as well as plenty of other doors found all over New Dawn.

About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.

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