9 December 2025

Tides of Annihilation Is Not The Game You Think It Is

By newsgame

Tides of Annihilation has only had a handful of showings, but it has already become one of those games that is easy to make assumptions about. Some of that comes from the imagery shown in its trailers and screenshots, since what has been revealed leans hard into its Arthurian fantasy and a London caught between two worlds. Some of it comes from the scale and flash of Tides of Annihilation‘s boss fights, and some of it has come about because the game looks a bit similar to a genre the gaming industry has become increasingly familiar with. Whatever the reason, players have begun to form ideas about what kind of action-adventure game Eclipse Glow Games is building, even though most of those conclusions are based on minimal footage and descriptions.

A recent interview with Game Rant suggests that several of those assumptions may actually be missing the mark. During the interview, Tides of Annihilation Producer Kun Fu discussed the game’s design philosophy in various elements, and his comments make it sound like a game that is far different from what it has been speculated to be. None of what he shared breaks down the full picture, but it does give a clearer sense of the developer’s priorities and the sort of experience it is trying to build, which helps set more accurate expectations ahead of launch.

Assumption #1: Tides of Annihilation Prioritizes Western Appeal

One of the earliest misconceptions forming around Tides of Annihilation is the idea that its mythic Western influences mean it was designed with Western players in mind. It’s an easy conclusion to draw, especially since Arthurian imagery does tend to appeal to Europe and North America. While that might be true, however, it doesn’t accurately reflect the intentions behind the project. Eclipse Glow Games seems more interested in building something that all audiences can enjoy instead of targeting regional appeal. When asked to comment on how Tides of Annihilation, being a Chinese game, stands out for its Western appeal, Fu replied:

“Players from different parts of the world may have their own preferences or habits, but the standard for whether a game is fun is universal. Our goal has always been to create an experience that appeals to players everywhere. That said, compared with some other Chinese titles, Tides of Annihilation may naturally catch more attention in the West because Arthurian legends and locations like London feel familiar to many Western players. But ultimately, only by being fun to play can our game win over players around the world.”

As a preface to this comment, Fu stated that any assumption that Tides of Annihilation was built with Western players in mind was a “slight misunderstanding,” likely due to comments made by Eclipse Glow Games co-CEO and COO Ary Chen at the Game Developers Conference 2025. During one of his interviews at GDC 2025, Chen stated, “Because the legend of King Arthur is a Western story, as a Chinese studio, we need to think about how to reinterpret the culture and how to tell a good story with it.” In other words, the developer understood that Tides of Annihilation would need to be examined through a Western lens during development, with the implication being that its target audience was, in fact, Western gamers.

While Fu’s comment that “fun is universal” doesn’t automatically remove Western influence from the picture, it does highlight the developer’s priorities with Tides of Annihilation, showing its commitment to ensuring players across a variety of cultures and backgrounds can still find the game appealing. This also opens the door for the game’s Chinese developer to put touches of its own culture into the game without compromising its ability to maintain player engagement.

Assumption #2: Tides of Annihilation’s Boss Fights Are More Style Than Substance

While minimal gameplay for Tides of Annihilation has surfaced thus far, what has been revealed might initially appear to show boss fights that are more style than substance. The game’s “Break the Mirror” trailer, in particular, shows off a flashy boss encounter with Tyronoe, the Ferryman, with several cinematic sequences not unlike those in Final Fantasy 16‘s boss fights, for instance. Additionally, the encounter with Tyronoe includes Quick Time Events tied to said cinematic sequences, as well as what seems to be plenty of non-action from the player character while the boss appears to dance around the battlefield.

According to Fu, however, gameplay, not cinema, is still the “heart” of Tides of Annihilation‘s design. Ultimately, Eclipse Glow Games wanted to make the feel of the action-adventure game’s combat a priority during development. As such, it could be that Tides of Annihilation‘s boss fights simply look to lean more on style in a trailer, whereas, with a controller in hand, they may feel more involved. In response to a question about how the game would balance gameplay with cinema, Fu replied:

“At its core, Tides of Annihilation is an action-adventure game built around combat. The feel of the combat is the most important part of the experience. Real-time events (QTEs) and cutscenes are meant to support the atmosphere of the fight, strengthen the storytelling, and help shape the combat rhythm. Gameplay is the heart of our design—it’s not evenly split between the two.”

It also seems to be that the encounter with Tyronoe shown in Tides of Annihilation‘s “Break the Mirror” gameplay trailer is a battle tied to the game’s main narrative, which may naturally be more cinematic and less demanding than other boss fights. Fu even added during the interview, “In this reveal, we focused on presenting a full boss fight within a short amount of time that naturally includes more cinematic moments.” That doesn’t necessarily mean the final product will behave that way though, as the producer emphasized that “Break the Mirror” was created with marketing and presentation in mind. However, it’s not uncommon for boss fights that are more imperative to a game’s story to fall more on the forgiving side of things.

Assumption #3: Tides of Annihilation Is a Soulslike Game

Gwendolyn faces a massive mini-boss - Tides Of Annihilation

It could be due to the fact that the Soulslike genre has seen a massive influx of titles within the last few years that led to the assumption that Tides of Annihilation would be hopping on that train, or it could be because of how its boss fights have played out on screen. Regardless, Fu went out of his way during the interview to confirm that Tides of Annihilation is not a Soulslike game. While he and the team have been flattered to be compared to games like Elden Ring, he wanted to make it doubly clear that the action-adventure game will not be joining those ranks. In an emphatic addition to his answer concerning Tides of Annihilation‘s gameplay, Fu stated:

“Tides of Annihilation is NOT a Souls-like game. We have seen so much wonderful positive feedback from the gaming community and while we are honored to be compared to such games like Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and the Dark Souls series, categorizing our game as a Souls-like game is incorrect.”

For some players, this will be a blessing, and for others who were looking for a more challenging experience in Tides of Annihilation, this could be a dealbreaker. Tides of Annihilation straying from the Soulslike formula means it should, in theory, appeal to a more casual audience. In not committing to the label, Eclipse Glow Games implies that its upcoming action-adventure game should be less punishing than Dark Souls or Bloodborne. That being said, Game Science also stressed that Black Myth Wukong wasn’t a Soulslike, and yet it turned out to be one of the more difficult non-Soulslike games out there. What that means for Tides of Annihilation will likely continue to take shape leading up to its release, but that remains to be seen.

Taken together, these clarifications point to a game that is easy to misread from the outside but far more nuanced once the team explains its intentions. Tides of Annihilation may borrow familiar imagery and showcase cinematic boss encounters, but the ideas Kun Fu outlined reveal a project that is trying to find its own space rather than lean into expectations. As more of the game comes into focus, the assumptions surrounding it will likely shift again, but for now it’s enough to recognize that Eclipse Glow Games is building something that has undeniable influences and yet is not defined by them.