Set in a universe that looks somewhere between the cinematic royalty that is “Waterworld” and a particularly garish Duplo set, Tides of Tomorrow adds in the chunky character design of the Dishonoured series before mixing in a healthy splash of asynchronous multiplayer in the form of Story-Link to create something new and refreshing.
Set in a dying world where many inhabitants are expiring of a disease known as Plastemia, where you turn quite literally into plastic, you’ll play as a Tidewalker on a mission to save this cursed place. Tidewalkers have the ability to see the actions of other players via voids in the world, offering an insight into key decisions that they may have made or even routes that they might have taken through a level. It’s up to you to choose whether or not to follow in these footsteps or to blaze your own trail. But as you might have guessed, it’s not quite that simple…
During a recent two hour preview of the game, it became clear that the actions of other players will quite literally echo into your own world. Visiting an enemy stronghold that has recently been ransacked by another Tidewalker will see the guards on higher alert. Making friends in high places will mean that the inhabitants will be more welcoming to other players after you. Your own physical activity, such as unlocking a ladder or breaking a particularly fragile walkway, will determine what paths will be available should someone try to follow you. You can see the ghosts of players’ previous actions and, in turn, other players will be able to follow your own spectre as they track your every move. Each decision you make will have lasting ramifications for the next Tidewalker that follows in your wake.
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Gameplay is very narrative focussed, with choices being made in every interaction that you have with the ocean-dwelling denizens. If you’ve explored around and made use of the voids to spy on your fellow Tidewalkers previous actions, there will often be extra dialogue choices for you to choose from, some clearly marked as to what has been chosen previously. Whilst you may not have any idea who “M0M5L4YER420” is in the real world, you’ll feel like you’ve made a proper acquaintance with them having seen their progress through the game for a couple of hours. It’s an interesting concept that, whilst I was unsure at first, has grown on me, offering a feeling of companionship that’s often missing in a single-player adventure.
Your actions will also be tracked via a number of meters in-game. Perform altruistic actions and you gain points in “Pro-Mankind”. Answer sarcastically during conversations and you’ll bump up the points in “Troublemaker”. Whilst I’m yet to see quite how this will affect gameplay in the full release, it certainly hints at the fact there will be good reason to try multiple playthroughs with different builds.
One constant in this world is your need to take Ozen, a drug that keeps your own ever-present Plastemia at bay. This will be the driving force to the overarching narrative as well as the star in your own story, the canisters tucked away in dark corners, providing a reason to look in every nook and cranny. Your ever diminishing stash will keep you going for now but there will be opportunities to leave some for other players, should you find yourself with an excess or to take some that has been left by others if things are starting to look desperate.
Played in first-person, you might get the idea that this is more of an open-world but in my experience thus far, it’s more wide-linear. Movement, whilst functional, never feels very open-ended with jumping, for example, being restricted unless you are at a designated edge. Stealth has made up quite a large percentage of the gameplay in this preview with sections where you’ll be hiding under tables or in lockers, channelling your inner Solid Snake as you move from cover to cover but it never feels that exciting and punishment is light, as you’ll only be sent back a few moments to try again.
Other sections will have you driving around on your own boat to travel between levels, with action being delivered as Marauder boats try to sink you. Piloting your vessel feels responsive and the Doom-esque djent that kicks in helps to keep the pulse rate up. Maybe M0M5L4YER420 has something to answer for when they pissed them off and left you to clear up the mess.
With a cast of memorable characters, many of whom having regional British accents, much to my own amusement, a unique setting and a very interesting take on multiplayer, Tides of Tomorrow has the potential to be a fantastic follow-up to Digixart’s previous adventure title Road 96. With a focus on great storytelling, this looks sure to please those looking for something just a little bit different in their next digital escapade.
Tides of Tomorrow is coming to PC (Steam), Xbox, and PS5 on April 22nd.
