Tides of Annihilation has been on my radar since before it was named Tides of Annihilation. I sat down with a studio called Ophiucus at Gamescom 2024 to talk about ‘Ghost of Fog’, their ambitious, post-apocalyptic action title with some serious promise. Fast forward to today, and Ophiucus, now Eclipse Glow Games, has flown me out to China to sample two hours of Tides of Annihilation.
While in China, I was enveloped in an atmospheric, themed demo venue, which plugged me firmly into Tides’ aesthetic, and the two hours of the game I demoed set me up with the firm opinion that this game will be something very special.
Read on to scope out my full Tides of Annihilation preview, taken straight from Chengdu, China.
Tides of Annihilation Twists The Apocalypse
Tides of Annihilation is a post-apocalyptic title through and through, which means I was guaranteed to fall in love with it, but it does things very differently from other titles in that niche.
Firstly, it fuses a real-world location, in this case the heart of London, with a mystical, ethereal, and foreboding Arthurian legend, complete with the Knights of the Round Table. You assume control of Gwendolyn, dubbed the last human on Earth, wielding immense power and the ability to control those Knights.
She’s not alone, of course. There are other entities occupying this devastated realm, including those with similar skills but a more malicious take on the end of the world.
London is a phenomenal spot for the apocalyptic action to unfold, and Eclipse Glow has perfectly recreated the city. Being local to London, I can attest to the sheer accuracy of this replication, right down to road signs and the placement of miscellaneous objects around the environment. In a word, the world around you in Tides of Annihilation is flawless.
It becomes even more impressive when you probe deeper into the cataclysm that has ruined the planet, entering a mirror world that’s sort of an ‘Upside Down’ (ref: Stranger Things) of our world, and these ‘folded realms’ that are entire biomes trapped inside some mystical construct.
I absolutely cannot fault the world-building in Tides of Annihilation. From what I saw, it looks sumptuous, intricately detailed, and well populated with threats, puzzles, and out-of-the-way collectibles. I can’t say how large the environment(s) are to explore, but one section threw me into a desert-like map that would have taken a fair chunk of time to fully explore.
The end of the world in Tides of Annihilation is like nothing you’ve ever seen. It’s a refreshing, powerful take on the concept, and fans of all things magical, ancient, and mystical will be chomping at the bit to explore more.
The Most Breathtaking Combat Sequences
I’ve been around the houses when it comes to games like this, and while I’ve not appreciated all of them, I can recognize a solid boss battle when I see one. In Tides of Annihilation, the combat will have your head spinning. To be fully transparent, it’s a little complex at first, but once you’ve got the hang of all the motions and movements, you’ll be flying.
Every fight sees you utilize Gwen’s base skills, combined with the supplementary forces of those Knights. They’re drastically different from one another, and you can equip four at one time, housed in pairs, switchable at the press of a button. The goal is to have pairs of Knights that complement one another, or that offer dramatically different powers to keep things diverse.
For instance, there’s a Knight that will slow down time or completely freeze your enemy, while there’s another who will plough into your enemy with overwhelming force. Another will use powerful sword attacks, while a fourth will teleport up close and deal massive damage with a rapid flurry of short-distance attacks.
My favorite Knight from the demo was Palamedes, a hulking brute of an entity who is useful in more ways than one. As you explore the world, you can use him to smash walls and barricades, or lift large obstacles to solve puzzles. You can also use another Knight, Bors, to resolve scenarios that require the use of an ethereal bow.
But anyway, the combat.
I fought some ferocious bosses during my demo, including Geraint, which the team stressed was the ‘toughest boss in the demo right now.’ He was, that’s for sure. The typical multi-phase boss battle played out beautifully; the audio was sublime and matched the pacing perfectly, and I was kept firmly on my toes at all times.
Geraint is a stunning enemy, and everything from the arena to how the fight wraps up (I had goosebumps) took my breath away.
And that notion only furthered itself throughout the other boss fights. I fought Mordred, who is kind of a ‘dark counterpart’ to our heroine, Gwen, and I fought Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god. That’s right, I fought an ancient Egyptian god in the British Museum in a post-apocalyptic action game made by a Chinese studio.
You can’t begin to wrap your head around the ambition of this game until you dive in; I’ll tell you that for free.
The Accessibility Factor
Tides of Annihilation might present itself as a Soulslike game, but I’ll be frank… If it were a Soulslike game, I certainly wouldn’t have made the 22-hour round trip to China to play it. I’m just not a fan. However, I knew from my time learning about Tides that the team wanted to go another way with this title, and they certainly have.
While you can crank up the difficulty and utilize (or just recognize) all the trappings of a typical Soulslike game, you’ll notice that you can turn down that challenge level and have a much easier ride through the game. During my two-hour demo, I didn’t die once because I was on ‘Story Mode’ difficulty, but even so, I felt like there was still enough of a challenge.
In fact, during an introduction held at Eclipse Glow’s office in Chengdu, the team stressed that this is not a Soulslike game, but an action-oriented title with cinematic sequences.
Oh boy, were they right.
In addition to the more forgiving difficulty tiers, other elements will help you on your way through Tides of Annihilation. For instance, the ‘yellow paint’ trope that some gamers admittedly hate is there, and there’s a one-tap solution for getting tips to solve puzzles. There are plenty of ‘restore points’, the checkpoint system seems reliable, and you’re presented with plenty of loot to play with.
Again, I played on Story Mode, so it might be that I was offered much more meat when it came to resources.
When you’re fighting, you’ll have some advisory bubbles pop up, your companion Niniene will give you guidance, and you’ll obviously be able to lean on the power of your Knights almost all the time to level the playing field. The controls are relatively simple (I played with a controller), and every element, from the camera to the lock-on system, using utility, and parrying, is on point and smooth.
The Cinematic Value is Tangible and Breathtaking
I’ve already said how the ambience, the soundtrack, and the set pieces are mind-blowing, but those notions are furthered immeasurably when you soak up the wider world around you. Gwen is a masterful character and both well-acted and animated, and the boss fights give way to some incredible cutscenes that will have you slack-jawed.
When you’re exploring the British Museum (it’s not called that in the game), you’ll hear this curious, plucking composition that matches the scenery, and then when you enter the fight with Anubis, you’re buffeted by an authentic, Egyptian-themed track that’s pulsing, punchy, and perfectly matches the pace of the battle. That continues throughout every sequence and fight.
Every enemy I came across felt unique and intricate. As I probed the world, I found fragments of the past that helped set the stage and expand the story, and I found myself pulled into the intrigue and innovation of the narrative, eager to learn more… And then the timer ran out!
If I could compare the combat to anything, it would be that fight in Avengers: Infinity War, where the likes of Tony Stark, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange meet Thanos on Titan. The effects in that sequence are brilliantly close to the scale and splendour of Tides of Annihilation, with colors being blasted from the various Knights’ powers being splashed all over the screen, and body-shattering attacks being the order of the day.
Similarly, in that Marvel scene, you’ve got a diverse palette of combatants attacking one central boss, which perfectly compares to the average boss fight in Tides of Annihilation. You’re technically a force of five fighters going up against your enemy, but at no time does combat become overwhelming or jarring because of the scale.
It’s super satisfying and a visual spectacle to behold, and I only sampled a small portion of what’s going to be on offer. I cannot begin to fathom how much more impressive this game will become in the latter stages of the story.
Customization Meets Simplicity
With a game like this, many folks want to know about the depth of customization. For instance, what’s the outfit situation like? How many weapons are there to play with? Can you change Gwendolyn’s appearance?
Well, from the sample I had, I can explain quite nicely.
Gwen has base outfits that are unlocked by progressing through the game and digging through all the hidden spots in each environment. They’re incredible, striking outfits that represent a mix of sheer power and grace, and something more revealing and sultry.
You can equip Gwen with various items of armor, such as greaves and chest plates, but these are practical and not cosmetic – only the base outfit will show. You can also equip various primary weapons, which can all be further manipulated, and you can use a series of ‘badges’ to gain various accolades and passive abilities. It’s a simple system, that’s for sure.
Everything is very accessible, if I might come back to that word. Every item I picked up had a simple explanation and clear numbers that told me what that thing meant to me as a player. And by using resources found in the world, you can upgrade your items and keep them flowing as the game gets tougher, which, again, is a typical Soulslike trope.
The customization isn’t going to move mountains, but it doesn’t really need to. Eclipse Glow has spent painstaking effort putting together a character you’ll fall in love with, from her outfits to her tattoos, and from her voice acting (there’s a deeper story there) to her humorous quips at times. I don’t think I’d want to edit her appearance that much!
Talking about humor, that’s another thing I wanted to touch on quickly. The tone in Tides of Annihilation is unique. You’ve got this shattered, devastated world populated by fearsome, ferocious enemies and ancient entities, but there’s a lot of tongue-in-cheek comedy and softer moments between characters that put a smile on your face.
It’s a flawless juxtaposition that allows the game to feel both deadly serious and light-hearted when it needs to.
Should You Wishlist Tides of Annihilation?
Tides of Annihilation will, I think, appeal to an immense range of gamers. If you love your single-player Soulslike games, you’ll be interested. If you prefer games that walk the line between action and Soulslike, like Stellar Blade, you’ll be interested. And if you just appreciate immense production value in a stunning post-apocalyptic adventure, you’ll be interested.
It’s not so niche that it will ringfence itself, and it’s not so general that it loses its sense of what it wants to be. It strikes the perfect balance between accessibility and uniqueness, and for that, Tides of Annihilation has officially found a slot in my top three most anticipated games right now.
For reference, it’s nestled alongside Metro 2039 and The Witcher 4.
I’d firmly advocate for throwing Tides of Annhilation on a wishlist and waiting to see more from this game. I can’t thank Eclipse Glow enough for inviting me to China to experience this game, and I absolutely cannot wait to see more.
Let me know on the Insider Gaming Discord server if you’re going to wishlist Tides of Annihilation – or if you already have!
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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