There are a few issues you can have to face when you’re a hotshot video game review boy, and one of the most frustrating is playing the same chunks of a video game over and over again. When you play demos, preview builds and eventually review builds for the same game, you’ll often have to slog through an intro multiple times. There have been dozens of occasions where I’ve just not wanted to go through the same introductory content multiple times, but that’s all part of the gig unfortunately. Every so often a game comes along though that bucks this trend, and has me gripped no matter how many times I am forced to replay portions of it. Demon Tides is a particularly good example of this, and it’s mainly because it has some of the best platforming in the genre.
Demon Tides is a direct sequel to Demon Turf, a 2021 platformer that I had a wonderful time with. The main character Beebz returns, now as the ruler of a kingdom after overthrowing the demon king previously. The game starts with her receiving correspondence from another mighty leader, and it’s apparently her father who she’s never met. Your buddies from the first game all agree to go with you on this particularly personal diplomatic mission, and you all begin a journey across the waves. It doesn’t take long for things to kick off though, as your ship is destroyed and you’re sent on a collectathon quest across a sprawling island archipelago.
The very first thing you’ll realise when playing Demon Tides is that you have a hell of a lot of abilities right from the start of the game. This is a 3D platformer for those of us who have been collecting shiny shit since Super Mario 64, and you start with the fully unlocked moveset from Demon Turf. Beebz can jump, double jump, dash and hover, and all of these abilities together create some serious magic. The tutorial area teaches you the best ways to chain these skills together so you can cross the biggest gaps, and then you’re good to explore the ocean.
The biggest change that Demon Tides has made since the last game released is in the overall structure. This now involves exploring a sprawling open world as opposed to individual levels, and it changes the flow of the game entirely. The first unlocked area alone is massive and full of all sorts of different islands to explore, each packed with rewards to gather and challenges to overcome. You’re free to pick and choose where you go next too, and no matter which direction you zoom off in you’ll have a blast.
Because of the size of the world, Beebz needs a way to get around quickly. This comes in the form of transformation magic, where you turn into a snake that can rush across land and water at top speed. This is useful in a whole host of situations too, like when you find a race to compete in which will grant you some sort of fabulous prize.
Despite being a seaside themed game, Demon Tides manages to pack a lot of variety into its different islands. You’ll find ruined cities floating among the waves, alongside tropical paradises full of pirates and drilling platforms with unexpected casino themes. You’ll find so many different challenges scattered across these locations too, like anti-gravity platforming and grind rails taking you to ridiculous heights. No two play sessions ever felt the same in my playthrough, and that made me a very happy fella.
Alongside great platforming and a fabulous world, Demon Tides also features a boat load of quality of life mechanics that I really appreciated. The ability to just place a flag that acts as a checkpoint whenever you want is such a blessing, and makes tough sections where you need to wall run, dash and glide perfectly to proceed much less punishing. You also have an item finder which is a lifesaver for completionists, that will point you directly to the nearest collectible at the push of a button. The challenge is always reaching those bits and bobs you desire as opposed to finding them, and that’s exactly the way I like it.
I always struggle to forgive a game with pointless collectibles, so I was happy to see that every glowing doodad you grab in Demon Tides has a purpose. Gold gears are needed to progress and are the most important of these, but there are also talismans you can equip and a general currency that you can spend on a variety of different things. Not everyone will use the purple pennies to unlock new outfits as gleefully as I did, but you can buy extra talismans with them too.
The Talismans are a part of the game I was particularly intrigued to dive into after my previews, and they impressed me even more than I expected. There is such a ridiculous range of these to use, and they can end up modifying your moves in some seriously wild ways. I played most of the game with a bunch equipped that powered up my glide ability, giving it bonus vertical lift and boosted jumps once the glide ended. It almost felt overpowered, but the challenges on the waves absolutely necessitated it. For boss fights I’d switch to a load out that gave me extra health and regeneration, and this was equally helpful. The amount of ways to experiment with your gear is wild, especially for a 3D platformer where you usually just have a set moveset.
As if all these clever mechanics weren’t enough, Demon Tides also features some slightly less essential elements that are fun to play around with. The photo mode complete with selfie options and poses is back, and just as entertaining as ever. You can also spray paint different pictures anywhere you want, and can see where other players have done the same. This is particularly helpful when flag photos are left as reminders to drop a checkpoint, so thanks to all the other reviewers who did that.
For me Demon Tides lived up to the hype, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Traveling across the ocean even with the snake form can feel a bit much, with some early long journeys getting old fast. I also think the visuals are occasionally a bit too vibrant, with particularly neon skies surrounding some islands and detracting from both the platforming and the aesthetic.
Demon Tides is in many ways the 3D platformer of my dreams, with the perfect amount of complexity in your movement and so much to collect across its oceanic world. I had so much fun overcoming all sorts of wild platforming challenges, and particularly appreciated the ability to customise Beebz with different talismans to improve my chances of success. Fabraz have cemented themselves as heavy hitters in the genre with this wonderful game, and I won’t be putting it down until I’ve emptied every last island of goodies.
