Fabraz is back with another 3D platformer that dives even deeper player expression through movement.
Having grown up with platformers since the SNES and Nintendo 64 eras, you could say I am a bit of a veteran when it comes to the genre. Demon Tides focuses on providing a fresh, deep take on movement while delivering a surprisingly polished experience in areas you wouldn't normally expect from a collectathon.
Lets dive right in and see why.
The Story:
Demon Tides takes place a few years after the original Demon Turf. Following a chaotic intro, the game provides a brief recap on the first title's events and explains why the main character Beebz is all the way out in the ocean.
To catch you up without spoiling too much: in the first game Beebz was just a "small punk demon girl" with a singular goal in mind, overthrowing Demon king and becoming the new Queen herself. Nobody believed she would be able to do it, in fact she was laughed at for even thinking it. While everone laughed at the idea, she shocked the world by actually pulling it off.
Now years into heir reign, Beebz receives a letter inviting her to "Ragnar's Rock" to meet it's ruler who claims to be her father. This comes as a massive shock to Beebz and her friends, who always asumed she was an orphan. Alongside her crew, she sets sail for Ragnar's Rock to investigate the truth behind her lineage.
The intro does a great job of setting the stage for the gameplay ahead. What surprised me the most with the story, is how well written it actually is. Now don't get me wrong, that may sound a bit backhanded, but typically a platformer rarely puts much effort into it's story and even when it does, it doesn't always end up well paced or written. That is why it came as a genuinely fun surprise that Demon Tides managed to balance its story beats within an open-world structure.
Beebz herself is a quirky, snarky, yet caring person who undergoes a significant amount of self-reflection. The supporting cast is equally likable, appearing frequently enough for the player to genuinely get to know them. One character initially raised some eyebrows by using modern slang, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well it was integrated into their specific arc. Honestly, there wasn't a single character I disliked.
In theory, you could skip most of the narrative by doing the bare minimum of exploration and avoiding the major characters; however, I suspect this was a deliberate design choice to accommodate future speedrunners. That said, I highly recommend exploring each area fully before moving on. The game makes it very satisfying to reach 100% completion, and there is even a fantastic story reward for doing so!
Overall, I enjoyed the story to the point that I honestly can't wait to see what they do with it in the future (in particular because of that 100% reward).
Gameplay:
Demon Tides is a 3D collectathon platformer with an open-world twist. The world consists of three major areas that unlock through progression, which prevents the player from feeling overwhelmed by too many choices at once.
Playing as Beebz, you have the power to transform into different forms to help with platforming, while double jumping you become a bat, on ground or during a jump you can become a drill which allows you to glide and hover for a bit mid-air. On land or in water, you can become a snake, gaining a ridiculous amount of speed that would make Sonic the Hedgehog proud.
What truly sets this moveset apart is how seamlessly you can switch between forms during any movement. To help with the more difficult platforming sections, you’re equipped with a flag that acts as a manual checkpoint. You can place it almost anywhere and even teleport back to it mid-jump, you just have to remember to set those flags down before you start cursing the stage ha ha.
For example, after a double jump, you can shift into drill form to extend your airtime while controlling your descent. Alternatively, you can build momentum in snake form, perform a short jump, and then switch to bat form to gain height for a massive long jump. I’ve barely scratched the surface of the movement combos possible here, and it’s incredibly fun to discover your own preferred playstyle.
That’s not all, however; you can further customize your mobility using the badge system. Early on, you’ll discover that you can both find and purchase these badges throughout the world. While some offer generic stat boosts like increasing your max health, the real draw is how they fundamentally alter your base move set.
You can equip a triple jump, enable the snake form to glide along walls, or even bring back the iconic spin move from Super Mario Sunshine (a personal favorite of mine). You can even gain the ability to float infinitely in a bubble. Again, this is only scratching the surface of what's possible.
This system makes experimenting and finding your own platforming style a blast. Some badges are designed for high-risk, high-reward play granting even more speed while others are tailored to make the tougher platforming sections much more manageable.
A few minor, but appreciated, features also deserve a mention. For one, you can leave graffiti anywhere in the world to offer tips to other players or just to mess with them. I found that many players were surprisingly helpful, reminding me to place a checkpoint or guiding me toward secrets. Speaking of secrets, there is a handy compass tool you can use at any time to help locate hidden items; that alone made achieving 100% completion much more enjoyable.
Furthermore, most stages or more specifically, the islands you explore feature leaderboards. As the name suggests, these allow you to compete against others in specific platforming challenges, either by racing against their "ghosts" or simply re-running the challenge against the clock. You can even view other players' badge setups to better understand how they achieved their movement speed.
As a cherry on top, Beebz's outfit is fully customizable, right down to her hair color! She even gains unique idle animations if you wear a matching set.
Pros and Cons:
Let's start with the cons: if there is one thing that stands out like a sore thumb, it’s the voice acting, or more precisely, the lack of it. While there are many voiced lines throughout the game, it feels awkward when a line starts and then cuts off mid-text. A few cutscenes are fully voiced from start to finish, but these are rare. I would have preferred more of the main story to be fully voiced; while I understand the high cost of hiring actors for every line, certain key scenes would have definitely benefited from being voiced in their entirety.
While this didn't ruin my enjoyment of the game, it was a bit disappointing.
Additionally, some assets and designs are reused frequently in the open world. It’s not quite as bad as it sounds, but the mini-bosses in particular are all very similar with only minor differences. By the third time I encountered the same "dragon bot," I did find myself thinking, "Again?" Thankfully, the main bosses are all unique and incredibly fun, so this remains a minor complaint.
As for the pros: the game utilizes a cel-shaded aesthetic that is very easy on the eyes. In fact, the entire experience is oozing charm, from the funky music and graffiti to the stylish menus and sound effects. It’s hard to pinpoint just one thing, but the whole package is incredibly cohesive and charming.
The sheer depth of movement customization makes the game highly replayable; it's a blast to experiment with different badge combinations to see how they change your results. This is especially true now that the game has added a randomizer mode for treasure chest with badges etc. I can’t say it enough: Beebz is seriously fun to control and master.
Demon Tides also doesn’t overstay its welcome; my 100% playthrough took me roughly 18 hours to complete. Someone far more skilled than I would likely cut that down to 16 hours or even less.
As I mentioned before, the story and lore are surprisingly well-crafted. I became far more invested in these characters than I expected, and now I’m dying for a sequel to see where they take the story next.
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