Tides of Tomorrow is unlike any narrative game I've played before, although the game does have expectations. We've all reached the end of something like Telltale's The Walking Dead and gleefully flipped through the pages showing what might have happened if you'd made different decisions, comparing the shape of your own journey to those of other players. Were our decisions made by a majority or a minority? Tides of Tomorrow takes this element and asks, “What if that was the whole point?” Here you are always following in the footsteps of other plays, reacting to the world they leave behind, and I feel a taste of it in mine Next Steam Festival demo
Tides of Tomorrow was developed by Digixart, which is no stranger to creating narrative journeys. thanks great road 96 and its continuation. Set on Elnida, an ocean planet destroyed by a plastic dump, you play as one of the many Tidal Walkers who are slowly emerging from their state of suspended animation underwater after the Great Flood. As the plastic-borne disease spreads, you'll need to figure out how to survive while navigating harsh fleets filled with people living in the shadow of the same disease. As you face the end, will your decisions pave the way forward just for you or to a new future for everyone? You can try it yourself with a demo (check out our Steam Next Fest Guide more on how to do this).
I wave back
Connecting me to another player's recorded activities opens Tides of Tomorrow, in which I literally float to the surface after being awakened by Nae, the kind explorer. The visions show me Nae interacting with the player I'm “following”, but my conversation with her afterwards makes it clear that this is not a glimpse into a parallel world. Nahe literally just saved another player and sent him on his way right before meeting me.
I'm not just signing up for another player – my decisions will affect those who end up following me. Suffering from a bout of plastemia, Nae suggests that I hold a bottle of Ozen, a gaseous medicine of which Elinda has limited supplies. And this is her last bottle. Take it and she won't be able to offer it to the players coming after me. Obviously this has little effect on my progress, but still I can't bring myself to understand it. What if someone else needs this Ozen more than I do? I continue.
From there, the game takes me to Marketland, a floating trading city controlled by Obin, an unscrupulous guy who manages Ozen's supplies that move around the area. This also makes it the perfect place to make it big with a little thievery, teaming up with Reclaimer and party girl Aela, who is also suffering from plastic poisoning. But even minutes after I step off the boat and onto the dock, it's clear that I'm in for a very different experience than the player before me, with some parts of the plan made easier by their intervention, and others more difficult.
Waves of Tomorrow tells me that the guards are on alert, as another Wavewalker previously stole some Ozen. But from the visions I see, the player has previously encountered stiffer resistance in the form of a forced barbed wire blockage, forcing him to make his way through a side entrance. However, after a little distraction, I can actually walk through the main gate unhindered. While searching the market and checking out the places, I notice the ghostly footprint of the same player who had to sneak through the vents while they were being chased.
At another point, I need to cross from one part of the market to another, but the player in front of me had to destroy a makeshift bridge to evade security. This means that I will have to part with valuable scrap metal to repair it. However, to take the sting out of the equation, a nearby villager hands me some scraps after the previous player kindly shared resources with them.
Despite this, during the heist itself, stealth is not so easy due to constant patrolling by guards. Covers mean I can avoid their sight, but some of them have become too obvious thanks to the player in front, which makes some covers now seem out of place. After we get the loot, I have time to hide some more Ozen around the hideout so other players can find it and save it before the final escape.
Tides of Tomorrow makes me really feel connected to other players' adventures, and I love the idea of inverting the now-classic story-based gaming device of seeing what other players have been up to. This is where you end up actually an experience these entertainments are along with your own choices and they will influence you in real time and not just become boring in the end. It's not really Death in Stranding 2 levels of collaborative world-building, but in some ways the emphasis on storytelling in Tides of Tomorrow makes you feel closer to those you match up with.
On the other hand, after you've only played one correct sequence, it's still difficult to know how Tides of Tomorrow's shape will change in the long term. The effects of player decisions are intriguing in a broad sense, but there's also a sense that at times you can't make your own choices. Feeling quite reactive to what the player had done before me, I didn't feel like I'd have to make a lot of big decisions on my own, even if I was told at the end that there might be some big red herrings, like running into Aubin himself. In the meantime, come in and choose your own path.
Tides of Tomorrow is coming to PCPS5 and Xbox February 24, 2026
