Tides of Annihilation Is Not The Recreation You Assume It Is

Tides of Annihilation has solely had a handful of showings, but it surely has already change into a type of video games that’s simple to make assumptions about. A few of that comes from the imagery proven in its trailers and screenshots, since what has been revealed leans onerous into its Arthurian fantasy and a London caught between two worlds. A few of it comes from the size and flash of Tides of Annihilation‘s boss fights, and a few of it has come about as a result of the sport seems to be a bit just like a style the gaming trade has change into more and more acquainted with. Regardless of the cause, gamers have begun to type concepts about what sort of action-adventure game Eclipse Glow Video games is constructing, though most of these conclusions are based mostly on minimal footage and descriptions.

A latest interview with Recreation Rant means that a number of of these assumptions may very well be lacking the mark. Throughout the interview, Tides of Annihilation Producer Kun Fu mentioned the sport’s design philosophy in varied components, and his feedback make it sound like a sport that’s far completely different from what it has been purported to be. None of what he shared breaks down the complete image, but it surely does give a clearer sense of the developer’s priorities and the kind of expertise it’s making an attempt to construct, which helps set extra correct expectations forward of launch.

Assumption #1: Tides of Annihilation Prioritizes Western Attraction

One of many earliest misconceptions forming round Tides of Annihilation is the concept its mythic Western influences imply it was designed with Western gamers in thoughts. It is a simple conclusion to attract, particularly since Arthurian imagery does are inclined to enchantment to Europe and North America. Whereas that may be true, nevertheless, it does not precisely mirror the intentions behind the mission. Eclipse Glow Video games appears extra fascinated with constructing one thing that every one audiences can take pleasure in as an alternative of concentrating on regional enchantment. When requested to touch upon how Tides of Annihilation, being a Chinese game, stands out for its Western enchantment, Fu replied:

“Gamers from completely different components of the world might have their very own preferences or habits, however the usual for whether or not a sport is enjoyable is common. Our purpose has at all times been to create an expertise that appeals to gamers all over the place. That mentioned, in contrast with another Chinese language titles, Tides of Annihilation might naturally catch extra consideration within the West as a result of Arthurian legends and areas like London really feel acquainted to many Western gamers. However finally, solely by being enjoyable to play can our sport win over gamers around the globe.”

As a preface to this remark, Fu said that any assumption that Tides of Annihilation was constructed with Western gamers in thoughts was a “slight misunderstanding,” seemingly because of feedback made by Eclipse Glow Video games co-CEO and COO Ary Chen on the Recreation Builders Convention 2025. Throughout considered one of his interviews at GDC 2025, Chen said, “As a result of the legend of King Arthur is a Western story, as a Chinese language studio, we want to consider learn how to reinterpret the tradition and learn how to inform story with it.” In different phrases, the developer understood that Tides of Annihilation would must be examined by a Western lens throughout growth, with the implication being that its target market was, the truth is, Western gamers.

Whereas Fu’s remark that “enjoyable is common” does not routinely take away Western influence from the image, it does spotlight the developer’s priorities with Tides of Annihilation, exhibiting its dedication to making sure gamers throughout a wide range of cultures and backgrounds can nonetheless discover the sport interesting. This additionally opens the door for the sport’s Chinese language developer to place touches of its personal tradition into the sport with out compromising its capability to take care of participant engagement.

Assumption #2: Tides of Annihilation’s Boss Fights Are Extra Type Than Substance

Whereas minimal gameplay for Tides of Annihilation has surfaced to date, what has been revealed may initially seem to indicate boss fights which can be extra type than substance. The sport’s “Break the Mirror” trailer, particularly, reveals off a flashy boss encounter with Tyronoe, the Ferryman, with a number of cinematic sequences not in contrast to these in Final Fantasy 16‘s boss fights, for example. Moreover, the encounter with Tyronoe contains Fast Time Occasions tied to mentioned cinematic sequences, in addition to what appears to be loads of non-action from the participant character whereas the boss seems to bounce across the battlefield.

Based on Fu, nevertheless, gameplay, not cinema, continues to be the “coronary heart” of Tides of Annihilation‘s design. Finally, Eclipse Glow Video games needed to make the texture of the action-adventure sport’s fight a precedence throughout growth. As such, it might be that Tides of Annihilation‘s boss fights merely look to lean extra on type in a trailer, whereas, with a controller in hand, they could really feel extra concerned. In response to a query about how the sport would steadiness gameplay with cinema, Fu replied:

“At its core, Tides of Annihilation is an action-adventure sport constructed round fight. The texture of the fight is a very powerful a part of the expertise. Actual-time occasions (QTEs) and cutscenes are supposed to help the ambiance of the battle, strengthen the storytelling, and assist form the fight rhythm. Gameplay is the center of our design—it’s not evenly break up between the 2.”

It additionally appears to be that the encounter with Tyronoe proven in Tides of Annihilation‘s “Break the Mirror” gameplay trailer is a battle tied to the sport’s most important narrative, which can naturally be extra cinematic and fewer demanding than different boss fights. Fu even added throughout the interview, “On this reveal, we centered on presenting a full boss battle inside a brief period of time that naturally contains extra cinematic moments.” That does not essentially imply the ultimate product will behave that means although, because the producer emphasised that “Break the Mirror” was created with advertising and presentation in thoughts. Nonetheless, it is not unusual for boss fights which can be extra crucial to a sport’s story to fall extra on the forgiving aspect of issues.

Assumption #3: Tides of Annihilation Is a Soulslike Recreation

Gwendolyn faces a massive mini-boss - Tides Of Annihilation

It might be because of the truth that the Soulslike style has seen a large inflow of titles inside the previous few years that led to the idea that Tides of Annihilation could be hopping on that prepare, or it might be due to how its boss fights have performed out on display. Regardless, Fu went out of his means throughout the interview to verify that Tides of Annihilation is just not a Soulslike sport. Whereas he and the group have been flattered to be in comparison with games like Elden Ring, he needed to make it doubly clear that the action-adventure sport won’t be becoming a member of these ranks. In an emphatic addition to his reply regarding Tides of Annihilation‘s gameplay, Fu said:

“Tides of Annihilation is NOT a Souls-like sport. We’ve got seen a lot fantastic constructive suggestions from the gaming group and whereas we’re honored to be in comparison with such video games like Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and the Darkish Souls sequence, categorizing our sport as a Souls-like sport is inaccurate.”

For some gamers, this can be a blessing, and for others who have been on the lookout for a more difficult expertise in Tides of Annihilation, this might be a dealbreaker. Tides of Annihilation straying from the Soulslike method means it ought to, in concept, enchantment to a extra informal viewers. In not committing to the label, Eclipse Glow Video games implies that its upcoming action-adventure sport must be much less punishing than Darkish Souls or Bloodborne. That being mentioned, Recreation Science additionally burdened that Black Fable Wukong wasn’t a Soulslike, and but it turned out to be one of many extra difficult non-Soulslike games on the market. What meaning for Tides of Annihilation will seemingly proceed to take form main as much as its launch, however that is still to be seen.

Taken collectively, these clarifications level to a sport that’s simple to misinterpret from the surface however way more nuanced as soon as the group explains its intentions. Tides of Annihilation might borrow acquainted imagery and showcase cinematic boss encounters, however the concepts Kun Fu outlined reveal a mission that’s looking for its personal area fairly than lean into expectations. As extra of the sport comes into focus, the assumptions surrounding it would seemingly shift once more, however for now it is sufficient to acknowledge that Eclipse Glow Video games is constructing one thing that has simple influences and but is just not outlined by them.