It’s increasingly rare to find games that dare to be different, to innovate. This is often due to the financial risks associated with novelty, and in the current industry climate, many shy away from taking chances. While Tides of Tomorrow doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it takes the narrative adventure genre, shakes it up, and emerges with a game that subtly blurs the lines between solo and multiplayer experiences, reminiscent of FromSoftware’s approach.
Tides of Tomorrow is a largely linear solo game where the choices of other players can subtly influence your playthrough. The game is set in the near future, where sea levels have risen dramatically, leaving little of the world we know intact, save for the vast quantities of plastic polluting the oceans. Humanity now resides on abandoned oil rigs or small islands constructed from salvaged waste, plastic, and metal – remnants of a world we ourselves destroyed.
The seas surrounding these settlements are choked with plastic debris, a crisis so severe that plastic has infiltrated the human body. Almost everyone suffers from “plastemia,” a horrific condition leading to a slow, agonizing death, a literal end of life as a lifeless plastic doll.
However, one substance, Ozen, can temporarily stave off the inevitable. Naturally, Ozen is in high demand, and unscrupulous merchants are profiting handsomely. You step into the role of a Tidewalker, a figure considered heroic in Tides of Tomorrow’s world, though not all view these individuals with equal admiration. Tidewalkers are special individuals, strangely interconnected, able to perceive echoes of other Tidewalkers through a mental link. This is where the game begins to get truly interesting.
In terms of gameplay, Tides of Tomorrow is a relatively straightforward, linear narrative adventure. You journey between these sea-bound colonies, following somewhat linear paths with limited room for extensive exploration. Your primary activities involve collecting scrap – the game’s currency – and searching for Ozen, as even Tidewalkers are not immune to plastemia.
At the start of the game, you choose which other Tidewalker – meaning, which other player – you wish to follow. This can be a randomly suggested player or one of your friends, for whom you can share a unique ID. If you wish to follow my progress in Tides of Tomorrow and experience the consequences of my questionable choices, you can use my ID: 2898-3322. Between each level, you have the option to switch to following a different Tidewalker if you feel your current choice isn’t aligning with your preferred playstyle.
How does this work? At specific points in the game, the decisions made by the player you’ve chosen to follow will impact your own game. Here are a few early-game examples: I once encountered a guard blocking a necessary passage. The player I was following had bribed him, making him more amiable towards Tidewalkers, and by extension, me. However, my subsequent conversation with him escalated, leading to a confrontation and my forcing my way through. This means he’ll be highly suspicious of the next Tidewalker he meets – who, of course, will be the player following me.
Another instance: the player I was following had previously been spotted attempting to free a large captive fish (a decision that makes sense within the game’s context). Consequently, I encountered more patrolling guards when it was my turn to undertake the same rescue mission. My final example: at a later stage, I needed to persuade a large gathering of people to aid me in a crucial mission. This was significantly harder because the player I was following had previously made himself quite unpopular with the crowd, making them skeptical from the outset and thus difficult for me to convince. I failed to secure their help, and the player who follows me will likely face similar struggles.
In essence, other players leave their mark on your game at certain junctures, influencing your experience to varying degrees. Is it a gimmick? Yes. Is it a good gimmick? Also yes. I didn’t find my predecessor’s choices or actions to be so decisive that they fundamentally altered how I had to play. For instance, if you arrive at an island where the main entrance is blocked due to my predecessor’s unpopularity, you can simply navigate to the other side of the island and land there instead.
While its impact isn’t always decisive, on a few occasions, I found it added an interesting layer of engagement. At one point, I had to choose between three altars, each representing a distinct life philosophy. After making my choice, I was asked which altar I believed my predecessor had chosen, based on my knowledge of their previous decisions throughout the game. Answering correctly offered a reward of vital Ozen.
Tides of Tomorrow offers a narrative adventure with a unique twist that feels genuine, not merely a marketing ploy. While it might not fundamentally alter your gameplay, it adds an intriguing dimension, often presenting players with difficult ethical choices: Will you leave some Ozen for the next player, or will you think of yourself and take it all? Will you leave some currency in one of the special chests that only Tidewalkers can open to assist your successor? Or will you simply not care? It will be fascinating to see how this system evolves over time. If everyone acts selfishly, could the system eventually falter?
Tides of Tomorrow unfolds in a world that is both stunning and devastated. The water is blue, the sky is clear, and settlements are often vibrant and ingeniously designed. Amidst this beauty, the sea is littered with massive islands of plastic waste, and the entangled bodies of people are scattered throughout. It’s beautiful in a deeply sinister and unsettling way. The designers at DigixArt have truly created a breathtaking style here, both visually and through their excellent soundtrack.
The team behind Tides of Tomorrow previously made a name for themselves with the brilliant Road 96 and Road 96: Mile 0, both featuring exceptional storytelling. Tides of Tomorrow is no different, captivating me for the 11 to 13 hours it took to complete. DigixArt excels at crafting compelling narratives, and they’ve done it again, this time adding their unique asynchronous multiplayer mechanic. It’s a great feature that makes this game one of the freshest narrative adventures we’ve seen in a long time.