{"id":2112613,"date":"2026-08-26T11:11:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T08:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2112613"},"modified":"2026-08-26T11:11:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T08:11:26","slug":"having-played-it-tides-of-annihilation-looks-to-be-a-flashy-combo-heavy-game-of-simon-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2112613","title":{"rendered":"Having played it, Tides of Annihilation looks to be a flashy, combo-heavy game of Simon Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"previews\" data-article-group=\"other\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/previews\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Previews<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/tides-of-annihilation\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Tides of Annihilation<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Having played it, Tides of Annihilation looks to be a flashy, combo-heavy game of Simon Says<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Waves of enemies.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-2.jpg?width=690&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing combat with a rocky enemy with glowing red lightning\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-2.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"690\" height=\"388\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eclipse Glow Games<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"previews\"><br \/>\n                    Preview<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/connor-makar\">Connor Makar<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Staff Writer<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\n<p>Published on   <time datetime=\"2026-08-26T11:11:26+00:00\" data-auto-time-zone=\"true\" data-year=\"numeric\" data-month=\"short\" data-day=\"numeric\" data-hour=\"numeric\" data-minute=\"numeric\">Aug. 26, 2026, 11:11 a.m.<\/time>\n              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/tides-of-annihilation-hands-on-preview-gamescom?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          7 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"1cafd57e-008a-43ec-b225-e0af1b2c1f91\" data-name=\"Tides of Annihilation\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Tides of Annihilation\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Tides of Annihilation\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Tides of Annihilation\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Tides of Annihilation\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Tides of Annihilation\" title=\"Follow Tides of Annihilation\"><br \/>\n  Follow Tides of Annihilation<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Tides of Annihilation is a very stylish, combo-heavy, Simon Says game. It&#8217;s a mishmash of mythologies and action game tropes, and while I feel as though its teeters on the edge of messiness, it proved quite the thrill on the Gamescom show floor.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"aside right\">\n<h2>Tides of Annihilation<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Developer:<\/strong> Eclipse Glow Games<\/li>\n<li><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Eclipse Glow Games<\/li>\n<li><strong>Availability:<\/strong> Out TBC on PC (<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3292470\/Tides_of_Annihilation\/\">Steam<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.epicgames.com\/p\/tides-of-annihilation-27dbb7\">Epic<\/a>), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.playstation.com\/en-gb\/games\/tides-of-annihilation\/\">PS5<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xbox.com\/en-US\/games\/store\/tides-of-annihilation\/9PB10QR8G3KM\">Xbox Series X\/S<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Tides is, most apparently, a strange and enamouring game to look at. It&#8217;s the Homer Simpson makeup shotgun of aesthetics. I found myself wandering around a ruined museum, assailed by giant knights and Egyptian beasts. My mentor is a Chinese saint of martial prowess. My character is a British lady called Gwendolyn with a gaggle of Arthurian knights she can summon to her aid. The buffet approach to worldbuilding is a bold choice, but it allows for truly absurd visual clashes that if nothing else sets the game apart from its contemporaries.<\/p>\n<p>The demo I played was split into four parts: a basic tutorial, a slice of an early-game level, a boss fight, and a supposedly challenging bonus boss battle. Plenty to do, though I was <em>heavily encouraged<\/em> to put the game on the &#8220;story&#8221; difficulty, which I fear prevented me from seeing the game&#8217;s true fangs.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\" style=\"display: none\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s a Tides of Annihilation trailer from Gamescom 2026.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kmgHnYta4vw\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The combat system itself is a rich blend of fast, punchy attack strings that chain into each other pleasingly. It&#8217;s the best part of the game hands-down. The twist with Tides is your available suite of summonable knights, each providing their own unique blows that blend together for extensive, VFX-heavy combofests. I found myself often surprised by how easily I could chain together different attacks. Tides at it best felt like a toybox I could play around with.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>One knight I really liked was Geraint, a winged avian-looking bloke whose gimmick is a buildable resource you gain through performing combos. When you collect enough, you can cash this resource in for an explosive aerial launcher. Geraint doesn&#8217;t quite have the same punch as Dante&#8217;s Stinger from the Devil May Cry series, but I felt as though similar feats of melee wizardry. Also, and this is quite a nerdy aside, these knights felt a bit like Stands from Jojo&#8217;s Bizarre Adventure in the way they rush in from behind you to do their attacks. That, at least for me, counts for something.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking up at a huge dragon-like creature leaning over a cliff\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-headline.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking up at a huge dragon-like creature leaning over a cliff\" data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-headline.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-left.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-right.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">4<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-headline.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking up at a huge dragon-like creature leaning over a cliff\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-headline.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking up at a huge dragon-like creature leaning over a cliff\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-headline.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-3.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking out over a ruined neo-classical building\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-3.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking out over a ruined neo-classical building\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-3.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-6.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character facing off against a big monster\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-6.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character facing off against a big monster\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-6.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-5.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking up at an enormous monster\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-5.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking up at an enormous monster\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-5.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>There is a catch though, one I don&#8217;t particularly like. As with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/stellar-blade-guides-tips-tricks-9430\">Stellar Blade<\/a>, Tides of Annihilation has enemies (usually bosses) with attacks that flash a certain colour, heavily encouraging you to react a certain way. This is why I described it like Simon Says &#8211; you&#8217;ll be pulling off some flashy combo and then a big red light will glow from your opponent&#8217;s big hammer. So you stop, press the counter button, get a big hit, then continue. Alternatively, an attack will glow yellow, and you&#8217;ll have to jump. The more action games I play with this reactive element in combat, the more I tire of it.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>What of the characters? How are they? I quite like Gwendolyn, who had wit and an occasional quirkiness. You are joined by Ninine, a girl who can morph into a bird and acts as your Atreus equivalent. The vast majority of her lines in the level I played were vocalised handholding that came on a bit too strong. &#8220;Hey you should try shooting that&#8221;, the moment you look up at a little puzzle in the environment. This game also had yellow paint to help guide you along, as well as a built-in critical path sense that would highlight the direction you need to take or objects you could climb on. As you can probably tell, Tides of Annihilation felt very hand-holdy, when it really had no reason to be.<\/p>\n<p>As the final 15 minutes of my demo time approached, I threw myself at two boss battles. The first was a clash against Mordred, who is a white-haired lady nicking your style a bit. Not only does she have a fancy sword, she can summon knights too, resulting in an explosive battle where you&#8217;re dodging past incoming spectral goons to get a few hits in on the actual boss. It was a flashy affair, the arena warped with each phase and the attacks ramped up in absurdity, creating an organic climax that was undeniably cool.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing combat with a kidn of ground-pound ability\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-1.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing combat with a kidn of ground-pound ability\" data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-1.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-left.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-right.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">3<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-1.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing combat with a kidn of ground-pound ability\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-1.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing combat with a kidn of ground-pound ability\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-1.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-4.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing combat, with red and blue effects and multiple characters in the fray\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-4.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing combat, with red and blue effects and multiple characters in the fray\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-4.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-7.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the protagonist shooting an arrow at a distant glowing target to sovle an environmental puzzle\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-7.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the protagonist shooting an arrow at a distant glowing target to sovle an environmental puzzle\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-7.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>That optional final boss I mentioned earlier kind of wraps up the game for me. Called Geraint, he was this demonic looking Samurai with a big electric katana. He hits hard and fast, but if you keep a look out for those yellow and red flashes, he&#8217;s quickly surmountable. In his next phase he ditches his clothes and becomes this big dragon lad, and things continue to ramp up from there in both difficulty and pomp.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"3\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>All in all I came away from Tides of Annihilation quite surprised. I think there&#8217;s some gold in these hills, there&#8217;s something to this game I want to dig into. I want to play around with the swordplay more &#8211; specifically I want to see how I can combine knights to create wacky, exhilarating combo chains. In the hands of an action game fan I firmly believe its merits quickly present themselves, that hand-holding aside. Fingers crossed the mishmashy nature of the game&#8217;s presentation turns out to be a boon for Tides of Annihilation, and not its bane.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"poll_wrapper\" data-fixed=\"true\" data-hashid data-init=\"false\" data-poll-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Tides of Annihilation is a very stylish, combo-heavy, Simon Says game. It&#8217;s a mishmash of mythologies and action game tropes, and while I feel as though its teeters on the edge of messiness, it proved quite the thrill on the Gamescom show floor.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"aside right\">\n<h2>Tides of Annihilation<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Developer:<\/strong> Eclipse Glow Games<\/li>\n<li><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Eclipse Glow Games<\/li>\n<li><strong>Availability:<\/strong> Out TBC on PC (<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3292470\/Tides_of_Annihilation\/\">Steam<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.epicgames.com\/p\/tides-of-annihilation-27dbb7\">Epic<\/a>), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.playstation.com\/en-gb\/games\/tides-of-annihilation\/\">PS5<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xbox.com\/en-US\/games\/store\/tides-of-annihilation\/9PB10QR8G3KM\">Xbox Series X\/S<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Tides is, most apparently, a strange and enamouring game to look at. It&#8217;s the Homer Simpson makeup shotgun of aesthetics. I found myself wandering around a ruined museum, assailed by giant knights and Egyptian beasts. My mentor is a Chinese saint of martial prowess. My character is a British lady called Gwendolyn with a gaggle of Arthurian knights she can summon to her aid. The buffet approach to worldbuilding is a bold choice, but it allows for truly absurd visual clashes that if nothing else sets the game apart from its contemporaries.<\/p>\n<p>The demo I played was split into four parts: a basic tutorial, a slice of an early-game level, a boss fight, and a supposedly challenging bonus boss battle. Plenty to do, though I was <em>heavily encouraged<\/em> to put the game on the &#8220;story&#8221; difficulty, which I fear prevented me from seeing the game&#8217;s true fangs.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\" style=\"display: none\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s a Tides of Annihilation trailer from Gamescom 2026.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kmgHnYta4vw\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The combat system itself is a rich blend of fast, punchy attack strings that chain into each other pleasingly. It&#8217;s the best part of the game hands-down. The twist with Tides is your available suite of summonable knights, each providing their own unique blows that blend together for extensive, VFX-heavy combofests. I found myself often surprised by how easily I could chain together different attacks. Tides at it best felt like a toybox I could play around with.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>One knight I really liked was Geraint, a winged avian-looking bloke whose gimmick is a buildable resource you gain through performing combos. When you collect enough, you can cash this resource in for an explosive aerial launcher. Geraint doesn&#8217;t quite have the same punch as Dante&#8217;s Stinger from the Devil May Cry series, but I felt as though similar feats of melee wizardry. Also, and this is quite a nerdy aside, these knights felt a bit like Stands from Jojo&#8217;s Bizarre Adventure in the way they rush in from behind you to do their attacks. That, at least for me, counts for something.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking up at a huge dragon-like creature leaning over a cliff\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-headline.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking up at a huge dragon-like creature leaning over a cliff\" data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-headline.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-left.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-right.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">4<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-headline.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking up at a huge dragon-like creature leaning over a cliff\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-headline.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking up at a huge dragon-like creature leaning over a cliff\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-headline.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-3.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking out over a ruined neo-classical building\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-3.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking out over a ruined neo-classical building\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-3.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-6.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character facing off against a big monster\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-6.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character facing off against a big monster\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-6.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-5.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking up at an enormous monster\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-5.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the main character looking up at an enormous monster\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-5.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>There is a catch though, one I don&#8217;t particularly like. As with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/stellar-blade-guides-tips-tricks-9430\">Stellar Blade<\/a>, Tides of Annihilation has enemies (usually bosses) with attacks that flash a certain colour, heavily encouraging you to react a certain way. This is why I described it like Simon Says &#8211; you&#8217;ll be pulling off some flashy combo and then a big red light will glow from your opponent&#8217;s big hammer. So you stop, press the counter button, get a big hit, then continue. Alternatively, an attack will glow yellow, and you&#8217;ll have to jump. The more action games I play with this reactive element in combat, the more I tire of it.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>What of the characters? How are they? I quite like Gwendolyn, who had wit and an occasional quirkiness. You are joined by Ninine, a girl who can morph into a bird and acts as your Atreus equivalent. The vast majority of her lines in the level I played were vocalised handholding that came on a bit too strong. &#8220;Hey you should try shooting that&#8221;, the moment you look up at a little puzzle in the environment. This game also had yellow paint to help guide you along, as well as a built-in critical path sense that would highlight the direction you need to take or objects you could climb on. As you can probably tell, Tides of Annihilation felt very hand-holdy, when it really had no reason to be.<\/p>\n<p>As the final 15 minutes of my demo time approached, I threw myself at two boss battles. The first was a clash against Mordred, who is a white-haired lady nicking your style a bit. Not only does she have a fancy sword, she can summon knights too, resulting in an explosive battle where you&#8217;re dodging past incoming spectral goons to get a few hits in on the actual boss. It was a flashy affair, the arena warped with each phase and the attacks ramped up in absurdity, creating an organic climax that was undeniably cool.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing combat with a kidn of ground-pound ability\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-1.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing combat with a kidn of ground-pound ability\" data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-1.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-left.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-right.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">3<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-1.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing combat with a kidn of ground-pound ability\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-1.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing combat with a kidn of ground-pound ability\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-1.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-4.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing combat, with red and blue effects and multiple characters in the fray\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-4.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing combat, with red and blue effects and multiple characters in the fray\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-4.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eclipse Glow Games\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-7.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the protagonist shooting an arrow at a distant glowing target to sovle an environmental puzzle\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tides-of-annihilation-7.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tides of Annihilation official image showing the protagonist shooting an arrow at a distant glowing target to sovle an environmental puzzle\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tides-of-annihilation-7.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>That optional final boss I mentioned earlier kind of wraps up the game for me. Called Geraint, he was this demonic looking Samurai with a big electric katana. He hits hard and fast, but if you keep a look out for those yellow and red flashes, he&#8217;s quickly surmountable. In his next phase he ditches his clothes and becomes this big dragon lad, and things continue to ramp up from there in both difficulty and pomp.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"3\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>All in all I came away from Tides of Annihilation quite surprised. I think there&#8217;s some gold in these hills, there&#8217;s something to this game I want to dig into. I want to play around with the swordplay more &#8211; specifically I want to see how I can combine knights to create wacky, exhilarating combo chains. In the hands of an action game fan I firmly believe its merits quickly present themselves, that hand-holding aside. Fingers crossed the mishmashy nature of the game&#8217;s presentation turns out to be a boon for Tides of Annihilation, and not its bane.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"poll_wrapper\" data-fixed=\"true\" data-hashid data-init=\"false\" data-poll-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home Previews Tides of Annihilation Having played it, Tides of Annihilation looks to be a flashy, combo-heavy game of Simon Says Waves of enemies. Image credit: Eclipse Glow Games Preview by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on Aug. 26, 2026, 11:11 a.m. 7 comments Follow Tides of Annihilation Tides of Annihilation is a very stylish, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2112613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2112613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112613\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2112613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2112613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2112613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}