I've been following Demon Tides for quite a while, all the way back to its initial announcement as Project Tides. (And maybe before that because I remember an interesting social media post from the developer about using dithering as a transparency effect, but that's besides the point.) Last year, I finally got my hands on the game with its Steam Next Fest demo, and had a blast with Beebz and crew, exploring a few islands in the game's first zone. Now, ahead of the game's full launch early next month, I've graciously been given access to the entity of Demon Tides' first act, all the way through the first major boss fight. Having essentially exhausted this preview of things to do in about 5 hours over two sittings, you might say I had a good time.
Demon Tides takes place a few years after its predecessor, Demon Turf (and Neon Splash, but that's a special case), with Beebz now queen of the Demon World. She receives an invitation from a neighboring king by the name of Ragnar to visit and chill in his flying castle. However, he's neglected to mention a way to actually get into his castle, or that he's a tyrant terrorizing his citizens on the reg. Oh and he's also Beebz's dad apparently. Not one to stand for tyranny (or unsolicited claims of parentage), Beebz and friends sail to Ragnar's Rock to kick some butt, collect everything that isn't nailed down, and shmoove all over the various islands.
Where Demon Turf was a punishing 3D platformer requiring total precision and careful planning, Demon Tides is much more loosey goosey. Gone are the bottomless pits and self-contained levels, and in their place is a vast ocean for you to explore with tons of islands to discover. Frustrated after you fall into the drink from a great height and don't want to climb all the way back up? No worries, just use Beebz's snake form to quickly swim in any direction you like; you're bound to find something. You can always come back with fast travel, and then next time you'll remember to actually place down a checkpoint to avoid losing progress. Speaking of: you're no longer limited in how many checkpoints you can place. You only have the one flag, but you can plant it as many times as you'd like and instantly return to it by holding up on the D-Pad.
Beebz's basic moveset is exactly as it was back in Demon Turf, but it feels a bit tighter and more fluid here. You've got the double jump with bat form, a spinning glide with... whatever that form is, side flips, and the ability to chain multiple jumps together for a triple jump just like a certain plumber. You've also got a dash now which serves as your attack as well as an additional platforming tool. The dash will home in on enemies too, which means it's probably not a coincidence Beebz turns blue while using it (other than, ya know, contrast).
The order in which you perform these moves is very important, as chaining certain sequences together opens up further possibilities. The most useful of which is jump, spin, then double jump for some significant distance. You can also dash after the double jump to bounce up again ever so slightly, though you need to time it well to use that height as Beebz will come careening down immediately afterwards. Getting creative with these moves is where a lot of Demon Tides' fun lies. After all, why follow the obvious path when you can just do some wall jumps over here, dash around a corner, then mid-air long jump your way to your destination?
Of course, even a super expressive moveset means nothing if there aren't good levels to use it in, and Demon Tides first act certainly delivers there too. There are a few big, sprawling islands where the focus is more on exploration, but most islands are more like obstacle courses. I feel like act 1 has a good ratio of these, as the platforming here does lend itself more towards the latter than the former. In particular, I found the Jester's three islands a little too easy to get lost in, leaving me to wonder what exactly my objective there was for a few minutes before eventually stumbling upon it. I certainly enjoy exploring too, but Beebz is more about speeding gracefully through danger than slowing down and smelling the roses.
I still did slow down to smell those roses pretty frequently, or rather just to look at the gorgeous landscapes and take some selfies in photo mode. Many islands in Demon Tides have a clean tropical look to them: blue skies, green grass, and a foamy sea below. Others relish in saturating a single color, like orange or purple, with the whole atmosphere being tinged with that hue, similar to the various districts of Hecksville in Gravity Rush. Here though, it does kinda hurt my eyes a little, even if it's still stunningly beautiful. It's less of a complaint, and more a plea for my eyes to toughen up a bit so I can keep staring. My ears are having a much better time, with an amazing soundtrack by Fat Bard as well as a few songs by the legendary 2Mello.
So far, Demon Tides feels like one of those games I know is going to be special, like the aforementioned Gravity Rush. I've only played about a third of the game for this preview, but I'm hungry to dive into the rest when it's ready. You could say I'm (sea) foaming at the mouth because this game is ready to make a splash. Better get your sand dollars ready to drop them on Demon Tides when it releases February 19th, 2026.
