When Tides of Annihilation first debuted in February, my first thought was “I really hope this game doesn’t suck.” It’s honestly hard to tell these days, with so many debut titles coming from Chinese studios. The debut was followed by a lengthy gameplay trailer that gave me hope, and today, during the Xbox Partner Preview, we got a glimpse at a very flashy and cinematic boss fight. To share more details about the game, its lead producer, Kun Fu, sat down with Xbox Wire to talk about today’s trailer.
As we already knew, the action-adventure title is set in a shattered version of modern-day London, which has been fractured by an otherworldly invasion. The title has players taking on the role of Gwendolyn, voiced by Jennifer English, a lone human survivor who sets out on a quest to rescue her sister and restore the world by searching for the Holy Grail. Tides of Annihilation is inspired by Arthurian legends, and Gwendolyn has the ability to summon and command spectral forms of the Knights of the Roundtable.
In the latest trailer, we see a boss fight against Tyronoe, who transforms into a massive bird beast, spawning clones and creating a Mirror Space Folded Realm. It’s a barrier that Gwendolyn finds she cannot pass, but Lamorak appears inside the Mirror Space and offers assistance. When he throws his spear for Gwendolyn to wield, she’s able to shatter the mirrored barrier separating the Folded Realms.
As Fu mentions, the boss fight is mainly a demonstration of how Tides of Annihilation combines intense action with cinematic visuals. It’s flashy, to be sure, but it’s also fair to criticize the real lack of gameplay throughout the fight. Here’s to hoping Tides of Annihilation is more than just quick-time events, as it does remind me a bit of Final Fantasy XVI. Performance also looks a bit shaky, but considering the game still doesn’t have a release window, there’s plenty of time for Eclipse Glow Games to polish it up.
Tides of Annihilation is currently being developed for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, and will be an Xbox Play Anywhere title.
