Vibrant open seas, a plethora of islands to explore, and a little demonic character called Beebz make up your journey across the many puzzling platforms of Demon Tides. The game’s seamless open world is one of its many lures, and I’ll be as bold as brass with my opening reaction, navigating this game has been an absolute delight.
If this is your intro to Beebz, she’s actually the returning protagonist from developer Fabraz’s Demon Turf, though this time taking full 3D form (rather than her Paper Mario-esque 2D presentation of yore). Beebz harnesses transformation powers that alter her human state to that of a bat or a snake, both of which are very helpful ways to traverse the landscape in land, sky and sea. Plus, the transition between all three forms is deliciously seamless.
She’s accompanied by a ragtag ship crew consisting of a frog(?) in a barrel called Midgi, a galaxy-skinned woman called DK, and a red punky character called Luci. Their presence in the game is welcomed though, making the journey a little less of a lonely place. And it’s the first introduction to the unique art style of Demon Tides, buzzing and lively in its nature.
Moving and grooving
Beebz and her crew are on a mission to meet her father, who happens to be some sort of sadistic king called Ragnar who resides out of reach on Ragnar’s Rock (get it?) up in the sky. Though, on a wildly bumpy arrival, it appears they’re not welcome at all and everyone else on the little islands scattered across the ocean aren’t having a great time either. Shrouded in mystery, there are deadly red reefs to contend with, wreaking havoc on the islands, and killing you instantly if you decide to touch them. Though in a platformer, that touch is sometimes beyond your will.
You’re here for Ragnar, sure, but you’re also looking to get the hell out of dodge and the only way to do that is to search the islands for golden gears, navigate your way through three main areas, tackling their defending Ragnar champions, finding useful chests, uncovering secrets, and making sure you don’t get killed. Fortunately, as you do this, there’s a context-rich story to lead you on your way to solving many of these problems.
As a platformer, it’s the moveset to accomplish all of this that I’m incredibly eager to shout from the rooftops about after my many hours in game. Taken from Demon Turf and built upon for Tides, it’s an exciting mix of jumps, wall runs, spins, boosts, and a delectable blend of vertical and horizontal movement that, whilst perplexing to begin with, will leave you feeling confident and maybe even a touch smug once you’ve mastered them. Finding satisfying shortcuts quickly became one of my favourite things to do in this expressive platformer.
It immediately brought back memories of so many other titles from the genre that I love and I’d be surprised if the devs at Fabraz didn’t also seek inspiration; Bower’s Fury, Sonic Adventure, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, to name a few. Admittedly, Fabian Rastorfer, founder of Fabraz, told Creative Bloq that Bowser’s Fury, Sunshine Mario, Wind Waker, and even Elden Ring were all part of building Demon Tides.
One small gripe I did have from the game’s outset though, was the distinctly jarring colour palette between Beebz’s own design and the purple-red nightmare of the crash site. Fortunately, I was pleased to learn that whilst these areas represent some of the most dangerous places on the map, they’re also few and far between. A quick snake transformation and you can whizz into the open ocean for some blue skies and sunlight.
Endless exploration
With so many islands to choose from, surmounting in 83 by the end, getting distracted is easy, but endlessly fun. And at each island, you’re handed the reins to a free-roam adventure. Fall off one platform? Scramble up another and find something else to do. Trying to unlock a chest? Interact with it and you’ll get a clue. Looking for Eyetems, the game’s currency? There’s a hint button for that, too, consisting of a shiny arrow above your head to point you on your way.
Each island will harbour a certain number of chests, Eyetems (to spend on perks and clothing) and possibly a golden gear, which you’ll be collecting throughout the game to advance. Yes, navigating this platformer isn’t easy. But it’s easy enough. It’s a genre that can easily provoke a frustrating experience, but Demon Tides does a few excellent things to alleviate this, giving you the courage to keep on trying, even when times get really tough.
Firstly, you can drop checkpoints. For me, it’s an utter relief because I fall A LOT. Having a checkpoint to return to makes the most challenging runs hit that sweet spot of enjoyment with just a sprinkling of frustrated wails. Though, there’s also times when they take the checkpoints away. Suddenly, someone’s whipped the rug out from underneath me, my checkpoint crutch is held hostage, and I need to trust myself. The odd challenge that I enjoyed. Test me, why don’t you?
You’ll also be able to drop a rope from high inaccessible parts of your platform when you reach them, sort of negating the need for the checkpoints, but only if you’re good enough to get there first. And lastly, the moveset. Again, I have to praise its evolution from Turf to Tides. Fabraz clearly knew they were onto something, and bringing it into this 3D world has expanded the opportunity to have all kinds of fun with it tenfold.
Rowdy residents
Around most islands, you’ll also meet Lokians, the residents of the islands bewildered by Ragnar’s demonic reign. They’ll be wearing masks to protect themselves from Ragnar’s eye, and they’ll be perplexed that you don’t. There’s the Kappernians, a sort of blobby duck frogs with massive belly buttons, who will task you with saving their babies from time to time. And there are chums and the odd soldier with a sword and shield that’ll make you repeat an easy attack combo. Attack is a part of it, but it’s simple in nature and, fortunately, not too distracting.
This leads me to the narrative of Demon Tides. Conversations with these characters, your crew, and the villains of the game are… unusual. There’s a lot of angry chat, though Beebz does have a touch of an attitude problem. But, there’s also slang whipped around from DK who drops words like rizz queen, pog and delulu. Or, the first of Ragnar’s champions you’ll meet, the Jester, who calls you a dirty rat and tells you to sod off.
Strange in-game chat aside, there’s also ways to communicate with other players and that’s through tagging up surfaces with graffiti, saved and shared with players across the world traversing the same part of the game as you. Sometimes, super helpful, like popping up graffiti reminding players to lay a checkpoint. Sometimes, super annoying, placing graffiti intensely close to a rope to unfurl that confuses interaction with it. Any tags I placed felt like I was shouting into an abyss: “Is anybody out there?!”
Jump around
Demon Tides is a truly great 3D platformer, thanks to its freedom of movement, the expansive open world and killer moveset. It’s also unbelievably chaotic. At times, I think I even stopped blinking. There’s barely any restriction on the way you move, made even greater by the game’s collectible talismans that enable you to totally customise your moveset.
Restricted at first by locked slots, you find these talismans throughout the game, hidden in chests, they ultimately build ways to change your traversal and augment Beebz’s abilities. You’ll unlock more though, enabling loadouts you can set up and switch between, and adding a little extra boost that you may desperately seek when you can’t quite make the jump you want. Even running without any of the talisman’s though, I found I was still able to navigate the challenges. But it certainly opens up a whole new realm of momentum and trajectory that’s a joy to experience.
There are ways to take advantage of the terrain to suit your playstyle, too, and I’m sure they want you to try and figure those out. Whatever way you choose to play, you have to be smart with it. Demon Tides will punish you if you don’t at least try and pull out a combo of moves worthy of proceeding. But it’ll absolutely reward you if you get creative, too.
It’s been a long time since an open-world 3D platformer has excited me the way Demon Tides has and that’ll be in part down to the sheer amount of variety that’s been rammed in. What I love is that you can absolutely tell that developers Fabraz are hardcore fans of the genre, seemingly taking inspiration from some of the best platformers that came before it. But, it’s 2026, and there’s a lot to be said for bringing out a 3D platformer that still manages to surprise and delight. Cue House of Pain’s Jump Around and get stuck in.
