I forgot how difficult it was to play a full-fledged game the week before it released. IT TAKES UP ALL OF MY TIME, which would have been regularly taken up by school. Regardless, this week I take a plunge in the cold ocean waters of a quite enjoyable, challenging 3D platformer.

This week is my Demon Tides Review!

Demon Tides is a 3D platformer from Fabraz. The game was released on Steam on February 19th and retails for $25

I want to give a huge shoutout to the developer and Future Friends Games for the key! I tried my best to acquire as many gears as possible and platform my way to beating up Ragnar. I really appreciate it!

It starts with an invitation. No one knows who sent the invitation, but Beebz and the gang set sail for Ragnar’s Rock, a civilization in search of answers, only to be met with hostility. Ragnar’s Rock was once a sprawling series of advanced islands as far as the eye could see. A man met a woman made of wind and set up shop on one of the islands. One day, the mother left with one of the children, and Ragnar did not know what to do, so he decided to go all Castlevania and wipe out and conquer Ragnar’s Rock. A giant eye looms in the sky in the center of all the destruction, and Beebz wants answers. The answers are paywalled, requiring you to find gears to access the final area.

The story isn’t anything to write home about, as the gameplay is the actual star of the show, but it is nice to have little moments that make the characters reflect on their actions and their pasts.

The main players themselves are likable to a point, some more than others. Beebz is a badass, girl boss, queen, or whatever it is they keep calling her. She doesn’t like being told what to do and has an attitude in everything she does. When the moment affects her and her friends, cracks start to show, and she is vulnerable, which is nice because the strong-armed girl boss behavior does wear thin by the latter half of the game. Luci (or Luce, which the game stumbles on from time to time) is the punkish demon lady who absolutely loves Beebz and supports her in everything. Midgi is the nerd, and DK, oh DK, is the worst.

Characters aside, the platforming is why we are here. Boiling it down, the platforming takes a moment to get used to, but it is phenomenal. Beebz is fast and fluid, and her arsenal of skills makes it super easy to traverse the incredibly large, vertical map. The snake form allows for incredible speed across land and water. The demon double jump offers little height, but the diagonal dash provides a burst of speed and distance, effectively refreshing the dash. The left trigger form (floating demon?) allows for floating and to gain that extra little inch of distance to bridge a gap.

Demon Tides gives no honest to God direction; the game will just tell you to collect gears, and it is up to you to do so. It is freeing, but sometimes I would like to have a reminder, so I just do not get lost in the platforming for hours on end.

The islands in Demon Tides are the stars, showcasing the platforming in various and ultimately clever ways. Racing challenges that prove you know how to properly use the snake form, gear-collecting challenges that hone in on timed platforming, and more than enough “paths of pain” to drive you crazy, rewarding, but mind-numbingly aggravating. To the point of a platforming challenge that spans miles high above the second area. Islands that have platforms that disappear and reappear when you are in close proximity to them, a bunch of jump pads that all have to be triggered to progress, all remind me of Mario games. Platforming rewards cosmetics, talismans to improve movement, and gears to progress the story.

The camera gets a little finicky in tight areas, making some areas a little bit more frustrating than they have to be.

The platforming checkpoint system is one of the worst. No obviously noticeable checkpoint markers, just a tiny ball and a rope to signify a checkpoint, drop the rope, and you have a way back up. Miss it like I did more than a handful of times and feel the rage knowing that I have to platform all the way back up if I fall or lose all my hearts.

Combat is pretty mild. dash into baddies, and they die. The mini-bosses or “champions” are where the creativity flows. It was a nice break to pursue the mini-bosses and do a chase-themed fight. Loads of talismans to collect and mix and match, daunting, I say. After beating up on mini bosses, the player is rewarded with slots. Perks like extra speed, walking on water, flames on dash, extra height on jumps, and even a double jump.

Talismans tailor the experience to how the player wants to play the game, making it perfect for any player.

The open world of Demon Tides looks great. You have the sun, the snow, and an absolutely beautiful third area that has a permanent sunset that mixes colors so well with the environment. The art design lends itself well to providing visual cues on where to go next in the player’s platforming journey. The cutscenes are nice, but suffer from stiff animation and facial expressions that don’t really match the emotions being portrayed.

Fat Bard and 2 Mello know what to do because the energy of the challenging platforming and boss fights is perfectly encapsulated in the music. The music is fast and energetic, and it gets you pumped to play more of the game. The voice acting, on he other hand, is a little lax, and I could have done with either full or none at all; having some cutscenes be fully voiced just felt odd when it would pan back to Beebz, and there is no voice.

Demon Tides took me a little while to get used to, but when I found that platforming groove, it is by far one of the better games that I’ve played so far this year. Every time I see a platforming challenge, I am excited to do it, and when I complete it, I feel like I accomplished something. Mixing and matching the talismans is fun and provides a meaningful power creep to Beebz’ movement and to the overall gameplay. The boss battles add another layer to creativity to the platforming that I didn’t think was possible. Lastly, the camera left a bad taste in my mouth in some areas, making it significantly harder to play in. Other than that I think that Demon Tides is a must-play for any fan of the genre.

8/10