In the February PlayStation State of Play, one game caught my eye. It wasn’t a sequel or remake, nor was it being developed by a major studio, but I was immediately drawn in. That game was Tides of Annihilation, and from the trailer and 11 minutes of gameplay shown, it looks to be right up my alley. Eclipse Glow Games is developing the game, and I’m very much keen to get my hands on it. From the aesthetic to the gameplay, this looks tailor made for my enjoyment in every way possible.
Tides of Annihilation takes place in London after a cataclysmic event has left it in ruins. It’s now overrun by plant life and alien-looking growths that make it almost unrecognisable. It’s giving me Darksiders vibes and I’m absolutely in love. I adored the world-building and vibes from the Darksiders games, so seeing something in that same ballpark is exciting. The red growths and demonic atmosphere also remind me of Devil May Cry but to a less crazy extent (there doesn’t appear to be any three-headed dogs or lava spiders… yet). The decayed London looks like it’ll be fairly linear from what we’ve seen, but that’s based on one trailer and 10ish minutes of gameplay, so I do hope that there are exploration aspects like the previously mentioned games.
I know I just compared Tides of Annihilation a lot to other games, but there is one thing that it looks like it does very differently: the characters. This game is taking the post-apocalyptic setting and combining it with Arthurian Legend, and I’m all for it. The main character is called Gwendolyn (very much fits the vibe), and it looks like the bosses will include the knights of the round table. The gameplay video showed the boss fight with Mordred, the daughter of King Arthur (who my Fate-riddled brain kept referring to as Artoria). Besting each knight is most likely going to be a major part of the game, which should lead to some excellent boss fights.
With the recent trend in action games shifting to souls-like design, many assumed this game would have that style of gameplay, but that’s not the case. Tides of Annihilation is fast-paced, super flashy, and will allow you to juggle your enemies into oblivion. Using the Devil May Cry example again, the gameplay looks to be all about chaining different moves together to eliminate the various monsters you’ll encounter throughout the game. Instead of having different weapons like Devil May Cry, Gwendolyn takes the powers of the Knights of the Round and incorporates them into her combos. Think about it like the Eikon system in Final Fantasy XVI, where you can switch between different elements mid-combo to get flashy results. There also appears to be some light puzzle elements in order to traverse the world, which will hopefully be used to slow your heart after intense fights.
Speaking of intense fights, the boss fights look dope as fuck. I’m a big fan of boss fights that aren’t just damage sponges and allow you to punish them when you find an opening (Kingdom Hearts II comes to mind). The Mordred boss fight was a perfect example of this as Gwendolyn was bobbing and weaving through attacks before finding the right time to punish and juggle Mordred into oblivion. The attacks from both sides were flashy, in your face, and just all around sensory overload, which is just how I like my boss fights. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the fights in the game are going to look like!
This game is all I could want in a hack-and-slash game. Flashy combat, pretty visuals, and a setting that intrigues me, which is why I’m very nervous whether the game will end up being good. There have been plenty of action games that have looked great before release that end up being less than stellar (Darksiders III, as much as it pains me to admit). Bland level designs, visual bugs, boring combat, and even bullshit difficulty are all on my worry list for this game. And while these concerns are valid, I’d like to hold out hope that this game will live up to the hype. It’s the first release from Eclipse Glow Games and I hope they can knock their debut game out of the park and kickstart a whole series!
Tides of Annihilation was my biggest surprise from the February State of Play, and I’m very much looking forward to it. The setting is intriguing, the characters look gorgeous, and the gameplay looks fun as hell. While I do have reservations about the final product being good (but who doesn’t these days), I’m holding out hope that this will be one banger of a game.
Did you watch the trailer for Tides of Annihilation? What did you think? Will you pick it up? Let us know in the comments below where we can talk about our favourite action games.
