Demon Tides Preview

Demon Tides, Fabraz’s sequel to Demon Turf, is one of those games you can sink 11 hours into and still be itching to play more of. I personally am quite terrible at platformers (especially 3D ones like this), but Demon Tides offers such a wide range of activities and ways to deal with obstacles that I still found my time with this preview build to be exceptional; it was a real struggle to put down the controller.

Demon Tides sees Beebz and friends upgraded to full 3D models as they explore Ragnar’s Rock, an open world filled with various islands dotting an endless sea, with a huge eye in the sky looking down on everyone. Each stage has collectibles to gather, like your basic currency, Eyetems, or the Gears that cap off most islands and unlock more of the world, like Super Mario’s Stars. In the preview build, only the first act was available, limiting play to one-third of the world, but that still gave me a wide variety of experiences, including plentiful puzzles, brutal boss fights, and hours of fun.

As a platformer, Demon Tides prides itself on its “expressive” movesets; Beebz’s transformations, jumps, and dashes offer the player multiple options for getting where they want to go, and the environments are designed such that there’s never a single path forward. I was often impressed by how my instinct to go off the beaten path and check out all my other options led me to skip to a deeper part of the level. The camera controls are also notably pretty clean and work seamlessly. There were a few moments of awkwardness that frustrated me, but it never took me out of the experience.

Additionally, the game offers unlockable Talismans that provide different boosts and edits to Beebz’s moveset; some simply make her jumps or dashes give a bit more height or speed, but there are a lot of more out-there upgrades that give the player even more options on how to advance. My favourites include summoning a bubble around Beebz so she can stay in the air indefinitely until you decide to pop it for an extra jump in your current form, giving Beebz a hang glider, and transforming the photo mode into a drone that can freely explore the entirety of whatever island you’re on. That last one even has the most satisfying bumping and crashing sound effects when your drone runs into stuff.

As a collectathon, Demon Tides is remarkably easy to handle and keep track of, considering the “figure out whichever path works best for you” philosophy behind the platforming. At any time, you can hit a button to learn the general direction of the nearest Eyetems and you can see Chests on the map once you’ve gotten close enough to them, but even outside of that, the islands are designed in such a way that you keep running into Chests and Eyetems, and they tend to stand out visually, too. I admit, I am having trouble finding the Gear in one location after having nabbed everything else, but I imagine I’ll figure it out later, like when the game is in a more finished state.

I will also say that I’ve taken to hoarding my Eyetems instead of spending them freely at either the cosmetic or the Talisman stores on Beebz’s ship. Most everything is reasonably priced, but I kept running into a sentient coin named Mr Mint on the various islands, and he has special challenge rooms that are very difficult and cost 100 Eyetems to access; most islands don’t even give you that many with 100% completion. They’re fun tests of skills and determination, but the high price tag makes me want to hoard my funds instead of trying out more customisation options. This dissipated a bit as I got further in and gathered more Eyetems, but it was one of the only things that irked me.

What didn’t irk me at all were the characters, however; Beebz and her friends are back, and even if I didn’t play Demon Turf, I can say they are immediately loveable goofballs filled with a punky sort of sass. Beebz gets many chances to show off her attitude with random people across the islands, and she comes across as effortlessly cool. She plays off of the first act boss, Jester (a very fun sentient pile of clothes who’s a bit of a clown), very nicely, with him getting in her face, shouting, and pulling off these intense expressions and her simply egging him on or dismissing him. I absolutely adore her as a protagonist, even down to the quips she throws out over the course of gameplay.

Demon Tides is beautiful to look at, too, from the splashing water to the cute 3D characters. There’s always something new to see, and much of it has a cobbled-together, mechanical, and punk feel to it, not unlike the best Sonic titles. Adding to that are slick ruins and, again, a truly “IGN will rate this 7.8/10” amount of great-looking water.

The hip hop–esque score, however, might just wind up being the best part of Demon Tides. The track that plays during the Jester boss fight alone gets me excited for the game’s release date with its bombastic, oppressive tunes and sharp vocals. However, it’s not alone, with enough variety to make this first act feel large enough for a full experience. If nothing else, I might pick this up just to leave it open and groove to the music.

This sea-surfing escapade is shaping up to be truly special. I didn’t even get around to mentioning how Beebs can still turn into a cute little snake and roll around at high speeds, dress up like a pirate, or any number of other wild activities. Regardless, Demon Tides is firing on all cylinders, and I simply cannot wait for its 19 February release on Windows.