Navigating a Bleakly Beautiful Future
Star Trek is the only fictional show or story I can think of where the future isn’t entirely doom and gloom. True, it may not be all plain sailing, what with the attacking Klingons and those damn Borgs, but the Earth of the future is politically safe, economically plentiful, and peaceful.
Mostly though, our media shows a future that is usually pretty bleak. You only have to look at Fallout or The Last of Us to see a mixture of horror, misery, and murder.
Tides of Tomorrow is set in the future, and I will be honest with you: it’s not looking good for us. Despite that, it presents a colourful world with a lot of heart. Let’s go for a swim.
In Dark Souls and Elden Ring, the ghosts of past players float by, and if you are wise, you might watch how they died or see what secrets they reveal. In Tides of Tomorrow, this mechanic is a huge part of the experience, cleverly woven directly into the actual story.
Surviving Elynd
Set on the fictional planet of Elynd, you play as a Tidewalker. You start the game floating underwater in a sea of plastic. There are other Tidewalkers floating there with you, and you immediately get the chance to follow one; representing another player who has completed the game in the past. You end up being rescued by a lady on a boat, which is when we discover a bit more about this world.
Elynd is entirely covered in water and choked with plastic, causing the surviving population to suffer from a deadly illness called Plastemia. This disease eventually turns every human being into a plastic model, frozen in their final death gasp. The only thing that can slow its progress is a substance called Ozen, which is inhaled from canisters. Naturally, this substance is in notoriously short supply, making it a massive bargaining tool for certain gang members.
As you journey through the story, you meet a whole host of characters and different factions. There is a militia gang called the Reclaimers, run by a kingpin who is all about money and securing Ozen. Then there are the Mystics, a group of religious zealots who strictly adhere to something called the Prophecy. Along the way, through your dialogue and action choices, you decide exactly how you want to shape the narrative. You might want to play as an environmentalist first, prioritising saving the world over its human inhabitants. Alternatively, you could be human-centric, ensuring the survival of humankind is the absolute most crucial part of your mission. Or perhaps you are simply a troublemaker who just wants to watch the world burn.
Each choice you make in Tides of Tomorrow will not only affect your own playthrough and determine your ending, but it will also impact future gamers. Through visions, they will follow your journey, seeing the actions you took and the decisions you made. It is a brilliant mechanic that works incredibly well in practice.
Mastery of Time
Other elements of the gameplay include collecting scrap, which acts as currency, and running errands for people. You can use your vision ability at any time to see what the previous Tidewalker did. If you need to find a secret button, simply look at the vision, and you can see exactly where they went. There are even clever moments where you can figure out the password to enter a restricted area by quite literally looking back in time.
The gameplay also features some mild platforming and exploration, alongside more action-heavy moments. You will find yourself driving your ship in various races, as well as battling pirates by firing bombs at them. Thankfully, this ship combat only happens a few times, as it certainly wasn’t my favourite part of the game. There are also timed chase sequences where you must escape an area by running, jumping, and using ziplines. Again, these aren’t the most successful elements of the gameplay, but they work well enough to get by.
Vibrant Vistas
Visually, Tides of Tomorrow stands strong with a highly colourful and original world. I really liked the character designs and the distinct visual identities of the different areas and factions. It also uses the vision mechanic very effectively in terms of its visual design. On the audio front, it boasts a rocking soundtrack full of a heady mixture of original music and styles. The voice work is great as well, rounding out an overall excellent showing from the sound department.
An Inspired Voyage
You’ll have a great time with Tides of Tomorrow and its strange time-travelling mechanics. Its use of integrating other players’ journeys into your own is a genuinely inspired bit of game development. The story firmly hooked me throughout its 10-hour campaign, and there are some incredibly tough choices to make along the way.
I do think the action sequences are the weakest moments of the experience, but if you want your in-game actions to be remembered forever, then Tides of Tomorrow could be the game you’ve been waiting for.
Important Links
Tides Of Tomorrow Washes Ashore – This Story Isn’t Just Yours – https://www.thexboxhub.com/tides-of-tomorrow-washes-ashore-this-story-isnt-just-yours/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/tides-of-tomorrow/9NVSC8DXSKRS/0010
