Demon Tides

I jumped into Demon Tides expecting a fun sequel vibe from Demon Turf, and what I found is a bold, often brilliant 3D platformer that wears its personality proudly. Fabraz doubled down on movement, adding layers of customization and a sandbox-like ocean to explore that instantly scratches the Wind Waker + Mario 64 itch. The game’s charm is in its schmovement — an expressive, combo-friendly move-set that rewards creativity and speedrunning alike. There are rough edges (camera moments and some performance hitches), but the thrill of chaining tricks and discovering secrets usually wins me back tenfold.

Surfing and Schmovement Across Ragnar's Rock

Demon Tides feels like a platformer that finally decided to stop apologising and be flashy. The core loop is simple: you pilot Beebz across an open ocean, hop between islands and structures, and solve traversal-centric challenges using a remarkably expressive move-set. Movement ranges from tight Mario 64-esque jumps and spins to wild new abilities — drill dashes, cannonball attacks that double as lift, paragliders, and hookshots — all of which can be chained into fluid lines. I spent hours just learning how to convert a misjump into a stylish recovery; the game rewards improvisation and creativity rather than punishing every little mistake. Placeable checkpoints give you control over risk: if you want stakes, skip them; if you want to practice a sequence until it sings, pin one down and retry to your heart’s content.

Talismans, Drip and Player Expression

What sets Demon Tides apart are the modular systems that let you express playstyle as much as cosmetics. Talismans modify Beebz’s toolkit in dramatic ways — cling to walls, gain extra jumps, or add offensive options — and you can mix them to build oddball but effective combos. There’s also a persistent cosmetic economy: outfits, hair dyes and headgear give the whole thing a fashion-game layer (the “drip” is real). Social toys like placing graffiti tags across the world and racing against other players’ ghosts add unexpected community spice: I loved stumbling on someone’s cheeky tag mid-run, and ghost runs push you to shave off seconds without turning the world into a competitive mess.

Sound, Sight and the Tech Under the Hood

Visually the game leans into bright, stylised environments that often look like a cartooned tropical playground, and the soundtrack backs that vibe with catchy, sometimes euphoric tracks that made me stop and listen more than once. Performance can be a mixed bag: on some PCs I noticed frame dips when the engine tried to render a lot at once, and the camera has occasional quirks (objects can block sight, and tight arenas sometimes trigger awkward framing). Accessibility options and a range of graphic presets help, but since the game is Windows-only on release, PC players will want a decent rig for the best experience. Still, the presentation is packed with charm and ambition, and the moments where everything clicks — music, movement and level design — are pure platformer bliss.

Demon Tides is a bold, mechanically rich 3D platformer that’s often thrilling and frequently hilarious in its swagger. It’s ideal for players who love expressive movement, collectibles and community-driven quirks like graffiti and ghost races. Buy it if you crave a modern collectathon with a high skill ceiling; wait for patches only if you’re worried about camera/performance hiccups.