Tides of Tomorrow Review – A Bold Narrative Adventure That Truly Feels Unique

Tides of Tomorrow is a new narrative story-driven single-player game with a twist from DigixArt and published by THQ Nordic.

A Truly Unique Narrative Experience

Known for their narrative-driven games like Road 96 and 11-11 Memories Retold, I was very interested to see what story DigixArt had come up with next. And Tides of Tomorrow didn’t disappoint. It is one of the most unique stories I’ve ever played in my years as a gamer. Usually, video games follow the same narrative tropes: zombie apocalypse, alien invasion or a war, for example. Yet with Tides of Tomorrow, DigixArt took a basic idea like environmental impact and turned it into a truly original story that kept me invested and thinking (into the late hours of the morning) just one more mission.

Having seen the trailer and instantly loving the art style and the core concept of the game, I was instantly hyped on diving into the world of Tides of Tomorrow and getting immersed in its story.

Asynchronous Multiplayer Changes Everything

Firstly, the unique aspect of this game (and the twist I mentioned) is that it features asynchronous multiplayer.

So what do I mean by this?

Well you play as a ‘Tidewalker’, a special individual who can see visions of past events and use them to influence your decisions and choices. So when you start up the game for the very first time, you are asked to link with another player playing through the game. There is a list you can choose from and it shows their progression percentage in the story but also their traits they have gained from how they have been playing the game.

You can later choose to follow another player, however you might find yourself inadvertently forming a bond with who you are following, like I did. As a ‘Tidewalker’ you see visions of your fellow counterpart and see how they approached a situation. Which leads me to the truly outstanding fact that no two playthroughs are the same. The game I’m playing and the one my counterpart has been playing have different outcomes, dialogue and actions.

The amount of work (especially in the writing and voice acting alone) to make this a unique experience really shows the level of originality that DigixArt has brought to this game to make it not feel like another quick out the door single player title.

The Story Of Tides of Tomorrow

So what is the story of Tides of Tomorrow?

Well its set in a future where there has been a great flood that has destroyed civilization. The planet ‘Elynd’ has essentially become a great big ocean and what remains of humanity lives on floating communities throughout the ocean world.

However the population is dwindling due to a mysterious disease called ‘Plastemia’. It is a condition that gradually turns the infected individual into plastic.

The only known treatment to ‘Plastemia’ is ‘Ozen’. However it is limited and highly sort after with not enough to go around to cure the entire population. And a group called the Marauders control it to make a profit.

Sound interesting?

I told you it was unique.

Characters, Dialogue And World Building

It really is a game for those who truly enjoy a good singleplayer game with an engaging narrative. And Tides of Tomorrow has just that. Its engaging with its deep lore, environmental storytelling and character dialogue. Its up there with games like Telltales The Walking Dead.

Also the characters you meet along the way are all unique with their own motivations and goals that make it even more compelling to the overall narrative. And when you interact with them you have the choice to follow in the footsteps of your player counterpart in choosing a line of dialogue which they chose or another choice entirely leading to a unique character interaction for each player.

Soundtrack And Audio Design

Sound wise, the game stands out with its truly amazing soundtrack. The score alone is mesmerizing with its cinematic tone, but the songs used in this game are truly something else.

One minute you could be in an intense situation with the futuristic tone of the score playing in the background and the next approaching a settlement with the music of the Democratic Republic of Congo band KoKoKo! blaring away giving that cheerful African culture feeling as you explore what the world has to offer.

It’s a really great mix of soundtrack and score and one that I recommend you check out even if you haven’t yet played the game.

Sound effects offer that grounded realistic feel that you would expect in a world that’s now one big sprawling ocean. The lapping waves, the occasional seagulls, the water swaying against your boat. Everything feels authentic and really drives you into that immersion.

And this is coupled with the truly outstanding voice acting which brings each and every NPC to life making them feel a part of a world that is lived in and believable.

Graphics And Performance

Graphics wise the art style was the biggest selling point that drew me into testing out Tides of Tomorrow. Its colorful and vibrant, owing to that uplifting and engaging tone (unlike the moody color pallet of most modern games).

Character models look realistic with facial animations that actually express emotion and don’t feel robotic. When engaging in dialogue with a character they keep eye contact and their head turns position to wherever you might be standing.

The Hud is limited to a health bar on the bottom left. Your currency (scrap) Ozon supply and emote selection are then on the bottom right. Then at the top you have you’re quest reminder and following player on the top left and your sharable friend link code on the top right.

All of these are small (though not too small for players with poor eyesight like me) and not too intrusive. It really does a good job at keeping the immersion.

Also to quickly mention, dialogue options when talking to a character pop up clearly next to their head with clear text (white on black) with a clear indication of which button for each option and a brief explanation of the dialogue choice. A little colored triangle will be by the dialogue option that your following player will have chosen.

The game also looks great on a 4k HDR screen. On console there isn’t any graphical options apart from adjusting the gamma, however the game looks fantastic fresh off the download with no glitches, loss in textures or any other issues to note during my playthrough.

Gameplay And Mechanics

When it comes to any game, gameplay is key to the overall enjoyment. Sure you can have a great story, but if the gameplay is not up to scratch, it can leave you less than impressed. So how does Tides of Tomorrow fair up?

Surprisingly well!

Now the mechanics are basic, however that is in no way a bad thing. You have your core unique gameplay feature of ‘Tidewalker Vision’ but besides that, you’re walking, running, jumping and crouching around the settlements.

There is combat. I engaged in a ‘cage match’ with the Marauders champion and had to use the vision mechanic to see which way my opponent would lean and then pick either left or right to intercept my fist with their face.

There is also nautical combat. Your boat is your main transportation for getting around the settlements but it also has a cannon on it. An auto aim locks onto a nearby target and then you press X to shoot. Your boat can also be upgraded to improve its hull, purchased with scraps that you can find around the settlements on your travels.

There are also stealth sections in the game that get you crouching around obstacles, hiding under desks and staying silent inside lockers.

Replayability And Player Choice

Your health is the main source of everything in the game. You are suffering from the effects of ‘Plastemia’ and your health bar will go down from being hit in combat or when traveling from location to location.

‘Ozon’ will restore your health but only one bar at a time, and with ‘Ozon’ being scarce you should stock up when you can and only use it when you need to.

There are share crates dotted around settlements where your counterpart player might have left some scraps or ‘Ozon’ inside for you. You can choose to leave some in there too which will improve your cooperative reputation.

There are quite a few traits that will affect your reputation during your playthrough and as I mentioned before, other players can see these when picking you. As a taster my main traits for my ‘Tidewalkers’ reputation are Pro-mankind, Cooperative and Survivalist.

The fact that another player can choose you based on your traits and start to trust your choices as I did with my player counterpart really makes this game unique.

Couple that with the choices you make effecting the world of your playthrough and whomever follows after you, makes this a game that I want to come back to and play again to see how different a second playthrough will be.

Final Verdict

Overall Tides of Tomorrow really blew my expectations out of the water (pardon the pun) and gave me an experience that was both immersive, enjoyable and truly original.

It’s a breath of fresh air when a studio doesn’t follow the same old boring tropes that we’ve come to expect as gamers and delivers us something truly unique.

And because of that originality and unique feature of asynchronous multiplayer, giving the gameplay this whole new refreshing aspect (plus the awesome sound design, voice acting and soundtrack) I’m happy to give Tides of Tomorrow a well deserved 10/10.

I can’t wait to see what DigixArt comes up with next.

Tides of Tomorrow is out now on PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox Series S and X.

This review was based on a Xbox Series X playthrough.