Tides of Tomorrow’s push to make waves upon its arrival left me with plenty of hope as I began in the game, but it quickly became clear the title was sinking without a trace and struggling to come up for air.
Releasing April 24, Tides of Tomorrow sees players follow in the footsteps of each other, impacted by the choices their predecessor made, but rather than resulting in a tsunami of thrills, memorable moments, and impactful characters, the THQ Nordic title instead proves to be a damp squib.
Swept Away
Initially, the environment in Tides of Tomorrow was breathtaking and served as a warning to humanity. The oceans are full of plastic, and the global population is plummeting due to a virus called Plastemia, which, rather terrifyingly, slowly turns a person into plastic from head to toe.
Tides of Tomorrow is full of bright colors, with an art style that initially catches the eye. The mix of the deep blue of the ocean, mixed with the array of plastic floating on its surface, immediately struck a chord, as it’s easy to see the world that has been created becoming a reality if humanity doesn’t buck its ideas up quickly.
The core of the game also swiftly makes its mark, too, as you immediately select another player whom you want to follow in the footsteps of. As I had early access for the review, the choices were limited, but the allure of following a friend’s journey and being impacted by the choices they made in their playthrough certainly has appeal.
Soon enough, you discover your role as a Tidewalker, with the power to see visions of the past (the choices the player you’re following has made), and you’re left to deal with the consequences of their actions. If they took a resource, bad news, it isn’t there for you, while enemies may be more relaxed or hostile, depending on the approach your predecessor took.
It’s an interesting angle, and one that initially intrigued me, but it didn’t take long to realise that the reality is far different.
Actions With No Consequence
The consequences of the choices of those you are following are, in reality, completely redundant. Basic choices, like whether to choose or take an item, are easy to work around, and many of the bigger choices you are presented with don’t leave that much of an impact.
In one situation, I found the guards to be a lot more lenient based on the behaviour of the player I was following, who had managed to make a positive impression. That meant I didn’t have to sneak around and could freely strut about to explore, and promptly took the opportunity to gather everything I could.
Eventually, it was decision time for me. Would I steal the Ozen, Tides of Tomorrow’s crucial survival tool, or leave it? I chose to take it, meaning whoever follows me has to adopt a sneakier approach, but had I chosen not to, players would’ve had the same experience I did.
A lot of the time, it is just a 50/50 flip.
While that may seem frustrating for anyone who chooses to follow my character, it really won’t make much of a difference at all. Tides of Tomorrow has no combat, apart from a few button clicks here and there, and small naval battles in the ocean, and ‘sneaking around’ is crouching through vents.
For a game that’s geared around the choices you make and how they will impact other players, it’s extremely disappointing that the reality is one of total inconsequence—it’s akin to empty dialogue options that yield a similar result.
The story overall doesn’t flow that great either, quickly settling into a routine of going to a new place, speaking to some people, making a few choices in dialogue, and leaving. Relying solely on narrative only works when there’s a gripping story to accompany it, but the journey as a Tidewalker struggles to make a splash and barely manages to keep its head above water.
Drowning in Disappointment
Tides of Tomorrow’s system of choices is what should have set it apart from other games, but the feature falling flat essentially leads the title to just become another game in a sea of endless decision-making. And while I was initially impressed with the aesthetics, it wasn’t enough to sustain my interest.
The wow factor quickly fades away with the realisation that the vast majority of the world around you looks eerily similar. While some of the main hubs look different from the outside, the interior, save for a few exceptions, is the same, a regurgitated mess of floating debris that has been haphazardly scrunched together to create floating towns.
Though that does fit with the game’s aesthetic, the corrugated steel and piles of trash quickly become all too familiar, with the environments all giving a sense of deja vu. In the end, I found myself ignoring the environments altogether, as it was obvious I’d seen it all before.
Additionally, the animations of the characters in the game are pretty haunting. Watching a character during a cutscene was off-putting, their mouths moving out of sync and with very little emotion, which made it impossible to form a connection with the cast of survivors I was meeting.
I hope this is an issue that has been identified ahead of release, and that the post-launch version will be much cleaner, but even if it is, it won’t detract from Tides of Tomorrow’s flood of disappointment.
Tides of Tomorrow Review Verdict
Overall, I can’t help but wonder what could have been with Tides of Tomorrow. The choice of following another player and being impacted by their choices had the potential to be a truly memorable experience, but it doesn’t go anywhere near as deep as it should. As a result, I’ve struggled to form any sort of connection with the game.
Tides of Tomorrow is very linear, which isn’t always a bad thing, but when the pause menu tells you exactly how much of the game you have completed, it’s quite worrying when you find yourself wishing for the end, only to see you’re less than a third of the way through, and getting bored so early is never a good sign.
Overall, the only thing Tides of Tomorrow left me with was a sinking feeling.
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Tides of Tomorrow
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