Review: Demon Tides

Developer – Fabraz

Publisher –  Fabraz

Platforms – PC (reviewed)

Review copy given by publisher

Follow the new Demon Lord Beebz as she goes on a journey to meet her father through an invitation. She’s never seen him before and his castle is far above the ocean she travels to. After her ship crashes due to a sudden reef appearance, she cobbles together another ship with her crew. She then embarks on a journey around the ocean to reach the castle above her, carving out her own path.

Demon Tides provides an adventure filled with nothing but platforming without being too restrictive. You can go anywhere you like and clear areas with a variety of solutions. The difficulty is easy enough for beginners but has its own challenges for veterans. There’s a lot to learn and it can be overwhelming and repetitive if you aren’t into platformers. Anyone looking to challenge themselves with a platformer should genuinely consider giving Demon Tides a try.

The tutorial sets up Beebz’s journey and gives you a summary of her abilities. Once you successfully pass, you get your story objectives to help proceed with the story. Beebz quickly points out a nearby optional objective, highlighting how you can freely explore areas. It’s also encouraged since Beebz’s crew mentions you can find items that help you on your journey. There’s no wrong answer when it comes to exploration as long as you are doing something.

Having the freedom to explore without being restricted is one of Demon Tides’s greatest advantages. You are rarely, if ever, blocked out of an optional area because you haven’t found a particular ability yet. Exploring optional areas can also give you new abilities that may help you overcome areas that stumped you. It also reinforces the idea that there’s no “correct” path and you can pursue the activities that you want.

This freedom also applies to the platforming itself. You are given a large variety of moves at the beginning, outlined to you through the tutorial. It’s possible to finish the game with nothing but those techniques. While you can acquire items that provide additional effects or new ways to overcome obstacles, they aren’t mandatory. There are almost no areas that you can’t pass with the moves that you have available to you.

Having that freedom makes platforming less intimidating to a new player. You aren’t blocked from proceeding because you don’t have certain abilities or a special item. Keep trying, and you can eventually complete an area. This reinforces the concept of pursuing any path you like since the only thing blocking your progression is your skill. You can visit other areas to boost your abilities before coming back, but persistence and experimentation are all you need to succeed.

There are also several quality-of-life features that make progression easier. You can place a checkpoint anywhere on the map and teleport to it. This prevents you from restarting an entire platforming section if you fail, just going back to where you fell down. You can also easily review your full skillset to remember what moves can help you bypass an obstacle. These ensure that you can easily clear challenges while cutting down the frustration if you aren’t a skilled platformer.

Veterans can also challenge themselves through leaderboards around the world. You can see current record holders and make attempts to appear in the rankings. Refine your attempts or return after gaining new abilities to improve your times. Providing an incentive with a competitive aspect boosts replayability and lets you test your skills. Almost every location has leaderboards for you to test your skills, rewarding innovation and boosting replayability.

Demon Tides’ second greatest advantage is giving their platforming challenges multiple solutions. While it’s helpful to know one way to progress through an area, something you discover later may help shave seconds off of your record. You might also think about how to use the new abilities or items you’ve found to your advantage. Not having a single correct answer makes it easier to overcome challenges while comparing notes on what does and doesn’t work.

The downside is that each platforming area isn’t easy and it takes practice to complete them. Being able to explore every area sounds great at first but it also means dealing with challenges that may look overwhelming. You also must practice your skills against particular platforming sections that can still be infuriating when you fail. Picking yourself back up is easier with the checkpoint system but you still spend time figuring out how everything works.

Having multiple options for overcoming a challenge is also nice, but that also means there’s a lot to remember. You probably won’t remember every move in your arsenal while starting out, and not every challenge reinforces what you learned. It’s not easy to look up moves and test them out, thinking about what you can do. Knowing that your basic skills are enough can also make you feel silly for not knowing how to overcome a specific section.

If you are interested in the platforming genre, Demon Tides is a game that stands out. It’s easy for beginners to play, and there are several factors that make gameplay enjoyable. Veterans will enjoy the opportunity to challenge themselves while using every creative solution they can think of. You can’t escape the frustration of failure and experimentation even if you travel to different areas. Despite its shortcomings, Demon Tides is a solid platformer that anyone can enjoy if they are willing to invest the time.