Tides of Annihilation has been one of those games I keep seeing in gaming showcases like State of Play that looks like it could be the next big character-action hit, in the vein of Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, but something about it has always made me hesitant. Was it the ruined London setting? Was it the hyper-realistic visuals? The combat?
Well, I got to check out a lengthy demo of Tides of Annihilation at Gamescom 2026, and while I did have a bit of fun with the super-polished, twitchy action game, I left feeling whelmed. Not overwhelmed or underwhelmed, but just... whelmed.
To give you a bit of a backstory on Tides of Annihilation, you play a young woman named Gwendolyn who is on a journey to save her sister and defeat the demigods of a mythical world called Avalon. However, the story mostly seems to take place in a modern, ruined version of London, which has been attacked by an Otherworld invasion, and, somehow, our girl Gwendolyn is the last surviving human. Oh, and she ends up with the power to control over 10 different Legendary Knights of the Round Table, which I think is probably the coolest and most interesting part of the game.
The character-action combat here is mostly what you would expect, but the interesting twist is that Gwendolyn can equip up to four different Knights to use during battle for different attacks. They can even help her with things in the overworld, like moving heavy boxes or lifting objects to reach higher areas. Since the game is mostly linear, I'm not entirely sure whether you're meant to backtrack to find collectibles and other secrets, as you might in a Metroidvania, but we'll have to see once the full game launches.
I spent most of my demo time exploring a huge museum with various areas and things to find, but it was still mostly linear, with enemy battles sprinkled throughout. Switching between the knights during battle confused me at first, since each one is tied to different buttons on the controller, but I can see people really getting into it and building perfect knight combos that work well together.
You can attack with one Knight while fighting as Gwendolyn, then bring in a different Knight for a follow-up, rinse and repeat. There's actually quite a lot of variety in what you can do in fights. Ultimately, though, something about the impact of the attacks, or the way enemies reacted to them, didn't sit right with me. It just didn't feel as satisfying to play as it looks when you're watching Tides of Annihilation in a trailer or over someone's shoulder. I wasn't genuinely excited for the next bout to begin.
I'm curious to see how the game continues to develop and whether things change to make the combat feel more approachable and satisfying, because as it stands, not much feels especially new or exciting. There are a lot of character-action games out there right now, so I need a little more oomph from the combat for Tides of Annihilation to stand among the greats.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://gamerant.com/tides-of-annihilation-hands-on-preview-gamescom-2026/
