Demon Tides Review

So, I’ve been working on my review of Demon Tides for a while. Admittedly, it’s taken me a little longer than expected, but I’ve got some general info down about the game in my previous Review in Progress. Like I mentioned in my previous article, this is a sequel to Demon Turf, and follows Beebz, Luci, Midgi, and DK as they leave the Demon Turfs to meet Beebz’s father: King Ragnar. After receiving a mysterious message, Beebz has been thrown through a loop, having spent her whole life believing she’s an orphan. With plans to get answers, she’s now got more questions and is even part of a revolution against her estranged father.

Ragnar has been ruling over his lands with an iron fist, with an eye overlooking everyone. Because of that, most Lokarnans wear masks to conceal their identities. Which means that yes, Beebz can buy masks (and other outfits) that have different perks. It also fits the vibe of a teenage girl, which I appreciated. Luci will customise outfits that you find in treasure chests, and it’s admittedly pretty fun to see the different ones on offer.

Having mentioned challenges, there are a bunch of them. For example, there are racing events where you need to get to a checkpoint at a certain time. Some involve you going through hoops to reach the finish line, and others are just placed in difficult areas to platform, where you need to figure out how to get to the end. You can challenge these obstacle courses again, with a leaderboard for you to check your time against other players.

Other players can also interact with you in a unique way by using graffiti tags. Many of these tags are ways to help players know where to place checkpoints, how many things there are to collect, and give a hint on where some of these are hidden. It’s pretty handy, and you can implement tags yourself so long as you’re connected to your Wi-Fi.

For those who also struggle with platformers or have coordination issues, you’ll find that you can turn on invincibility in the settings. These won’t make challenges easier, but you’ll die less often at the hands of different traps when you’re already struggling. It’s been really helpful for me, as I admit: I have the coordination of a baby deer. I get frazzled easily, and this made the game much more accessible for me, but it didn’t take away any challenge outside of combat. And considering the boss fights require a lot of coordination and timing, well… it helps a lot.

There are a number of mini-bosses in the game known as Gearserkers, and you’ll find them littered around the map. Once you defeat these, however, you’ll be able to collect the Golden Gear that powers them, which can help you travel to different locations through Runa’s Cannon.

In terms of big bosses, there are four that you need to worry about: Jester, Tridentius, Roc, and Ragnar himself. To battle them, you’ll have to foil their plans in three specific areas on their sections of the map, and upon reaching the final area in their quadrant, you’ll have to fight them. These battles won’t happen immediately, as they’ll be in a set location so you can go back if you need to.

Ragnar’s generals all have different reasons to fight for him, so you’ll find that there’s a perk to defeating them. Not only will you get a Talisman slot for each one (defeating Roc will unlock the final Talisman slot, allowing you even more perks to help you on your journey) but they’ll provide some all-important lore. But there is more to learn, as you can also find lore by travelling to specific spots where you’ll be able to discover some of Ragnar’s memories. These can help you to uncover what happened to Ragnar and how he became the way he is.

Now, I mentioned Talismans, and these provide different perks for Beebz. These influence her different forms and techniques: snake form, bat form, spins, jumps, and speeds. While you can purchase some Talismans from Midgi and DK, you’ll also find others that will only be unlocked by doing challenges. So, there are reasons for doing them, and not just cosmetic reasons. In your snake form, you can swim and move a lot faster, and your perks can make it easier for you to turn corners. Of course, some Talismans are also only there for aesthetic reasons: for example, you can have a pixellated or big-head form, and there’s one Talisman that does nothing but take up a slot.

When it comes to the different lands, there are numerous to explore, and not all areas are inhabited. While you’ll find some villages where you can speak to Lokarnans and Kappernians (like Midgi), there are others, such as Crow’s Nests and the like, where you’ll just need to travel through them to get all that you can. Some areas are easier than others, but then there are some that have a distinct vibe. For example, I’m terrified of Dunkelwald, an island in Shiverbeaks territory that is honestly based on horror elements. It’s spooky, and even the sound design makes it so.

Also, just as a warning, Dunkelwald knows how to bring me back to the internet horror of the late ‘00s and early 2010s, and it was like I was having flashbacks to those days.

Somehow, each level feels unique, and that’s impressive considering there are so many areas left to explore. The bosses are only part of the game; as the platforming is where the real challenge lies. You could spend hours on one area, and it’s very much a game of patience and strategy. You need to get used to Beebz’s movements to succeed, and you also need to strategically place each checkpoint so that you won’t have to go all the way back to the leaderboard at the beginning of each island.

Ultimately, there were few moments that I didn’t enjoy Demon Tides. Beebz was compelling, and I even enjoyed the interactions with the Generals and Beebz’s own group of friends. There are difficult challenges for those who enjoy the challenge (I will go through with them one day) but then there’s also distinct music, and a nostalgic design that brings me back to the old PlayStation days. The usage of a fisheye lens in certain sections was also a lot of fun, and Fabraz really understands how to play around with camera angles.

The only issue I found was at one point where it said I hadn’t collected the Golden Gear at Jester’s Juicery, despite having defeated the Gearserker in that area. Outside of that, I found that Demon Tides was a fun and creative 3D platformer that has really gripped a lot of my time. Ultimately, whether you’re new to platformers or an old-hand at them, I think you should give it a go.