Fabraz have outdone themselves with Demon Tides, and larger studios better start getting their act together if this is what an indie game looks like. Having covered Demon Turf some years back, while Demon Queen Beebz clearly hasn’t had any work surgery done, and the same natural soul we were bewitched with before the transition between games is like VHS to Blu-Ray. We’re skipping DVD.
This game is a real looker with a great colour palette, character design and infectious music throughout. Unlike Demon Turf, this venture is full 3D and not that Paper Mario aesthetic, and this works in its favour. Hell, let’s just go with it: this is a triple-A title as far as I’m concerned. But a quick disclaimer on that: triple-A doesn’t mean it’s the best and flawless, though it undoubtedly raises the bar.
Demon Tides doesn’t so much feel like an RPG now, but a bona fide open-world 3D platformer. First impressions were that there was going to be an emphasis on speed runs, but that’s not the case either. This initially felt welcoming, and with the vibrant colours and friendly entourage supporting Beebz along the way, it’s almost like a highly accessible platformer for all the family: appealing to the kids with its characters and dialogue, for the gamers with its combos. Let’s jump to that. Ahem.
Objectively, I liked Demon Turf. The characters were good, the story interesting, and the gameplay mostly satisfying. However, the camera bothered me quite a bit – switching from manual to automatic to find the right bite. This is prevalent in a lot of 3D platformers and not exclusive to that game, but it put me off. I can confidently say that isn’t the case here. Yes, you will need to manually position the camera for big jumps, or take advantage of the selfie cam to locate hidden routes, but that’s all part of the discovery.
My beef this time is with the complexity of the combos and skills – I just couldn’t commit them to muscle memory, no matter what. Even if we look at benchmarks such as Mario Odyssey, 3D platforming can be tricky (especially if you grew up with years of playing 2D) – getting your perception right takes a little bit of a curve, but with Demon Tides, silly mistakes or miss-presses cause a fair amount of frustration and having to repeat areas.
I don’t mind redoing areas or jumps in secret areas with the odd death here and there, but for the main thread of gameplay, it would be nice to be able to crack on without too much of a spike. So, here’s the thing. If you’re unfamiliar with Beebz, she can transform into animals on command. A double jump will trigger a bat for extra air, a spinning bat (again??) for longer, timed jumps, a snake for water travel (there’s a lot of water here), and a dash button to modify attacks, wall runs and more.
While this is very cool and makes you perform skills like Tony Hawk without a skateboard, I personally found it easy to press the wrong combo, or worse: double jump like any platformer and morph into the bat, which cannot climb up obstacles, so if you mistime the jump, you’re effectively turning into a washing machine as have no aftertouch and will hit the deck before you know it. In the right hands, Demon Tides flows beautifully (watch the trailers). I simply can’t replicate that, so giving that statement for context, as I won’t be poo-pooing a game because of a skill issue.
Demon Tides’ levels of complexity through timing and combos could then potentially alienate a younger audience, who this looks more geared to, based on the characters. My 8-year-old clocked this and asked for a go. Sure, but let me show you the controls and be mindful it’s hard, so don’t get upset if you can’t do it. This isn’t the bit where I say she aced it; however, with her Roblox parkour experience (her reasoning), she was able to adapt to the timing and controls. She, too, got frustrated each time she pressed the wrong combo or started again, but she laughed and tried again. In fact, while writing this, she walked past and said you aren’t deleting Demon Tides, are you? I want to play it again.
Quite the opposite of the control system is how accessible and free the game is with exploration, as well as customisation. In next to no time, we were changing Beebz’s hair and costume, equipping talismen for buffs and spraying graffiti all over the place to share with other players. Demon Tides is, in fact, inclusive; it just has a learning curve to it. Despite being mediocre at the game, I can constructively say this is an excellent game with so much to offer. Demon Tides is as deserving to be up there with the likes of Astro’s Playroom for its appeal, options and for setting a very, very high standard. It’s not Tekken, but just remember your button presses, k?
