Asynchronous multiplayer may not be as popular as real-time multiplayer, but it offers a unique perspective on cooperative play. It can enhance immersion, provide assistance, and create the feeling of navigating a vast, shared world with numerous other players. However, DigixArt’s Tides of Tomorrow , a choose-your-own-adventure game, is unique in that, unlike other projects with asynchronous elements that only indirectly affect gameplay or offer turn-based PvP, it weaves them into the very fabric of the narrative, truly changing the course of the story for each player. This is ambitious, and it’s precisely what makes the project one of the most intriguing narrative multiplayer experiments of recent times.
We were able to play through the first two chapters of Tides of Tomorrow , which gave us a good idea of how asynchronous multiplayer plays a unique role in the story and gameplay. It’s worth noting that while the game does feature standard, albeit simple, gameplay, it’s primarily played for its story. Therefore, in this preview, we’ll focus on how the game incorporates its most distinctive features into the narrative, rather than the story itself, to avoid spoiling anything important.
Following visions across the flooded world of Tides of Tomorrow
Tides of Tomorrow takes place on Elind, a vast ocean planet devastated by a global flood. Much of civilization has been destroyed, and survivors cling to life on floating cities and platforms. A deadly disease called Plastemia, caused by toxic microplastic pollution, is spreading across this world, threatening all life. Players assume the role of a Tidewalker, an amnesiac survivor who awakens with no memories of the past.
As the hero begins his journey, he is tasked with exploring a mysterious, flooded world, collecting resources, interacting with a variety of characters, and overcoming dangerous threats in search of a cure for Plastemia.
The core idea of Tides of Tomorrow is that you are never truly alone on your journey, even when playing solo. Instead of exploring Elind in a vacuum, you actively choose to follow the path of another real player. Their past decisions influence your playthrough: they determine which characters you encounter first, how certain situations unfold, and what information or opportunities become available to you. The presence of other players is felt through brief visions showing how they dealt with similar moments. You can react differently, make opposing decisions, or follow their example, but the game constantly presents your story as part of a larger chain, with each Tidewalker leaving a trail for others to follow, build upon, or learn from.
My preview began with atmospheric music reminiscent of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag . Upon launching the new game, I was explained the premise of the upcoming asynchronous adventure and then taken to the character creation screen, where my seemingly lifeless body, along with others, floated in the ocean depths. There, I was offered several color schemes for my Pathfinder, as well as the option to choose a gender and voice. After creating my character, a list of other players I could follow appeared, along with their location, stats, last connection date, and progress. I selected a player named AJC, and my journey began.
Floating in the ocean depths, I heard a mysterious voice say, “It’s time,” and I knew I needed to contact someone. Ahead, I saw the echo of an AJC player swimming toward the surface and followed him.
Despite a fair amount of struggling and losing some health along the way, I managed to get close enough to the surface to be rescued by a character named Nahe, who played a key role in introducing me to the core survival mechanics of Tides of Tomorrow .
The game’s core mechanic is Tides of Time . It allows players to briefly see visions of the player they’re following. It can be activated at any time, though its only real use is to show these visions, nothing more. It doesn’t directly highlight objects or objectives unless the player is stumped, and seeing another player’s actions doesn’t provide any guidance. The mechanic works similarly to the ghosts in Dark Souls , which temporarily allow players to see the translucent silhouettes of other players. After using Tides of Time for the first time, I witnessed a vision of Naha telling AJC that she’d been searching for him her entire life.
After following Nahe onto the deck of her boat, I learned of the threat of Plastemia and how plastic had infected my brain, causing regular bouts of illness during which my Tidewalker would momentarily choke. After surviving one of these bouts while talking to her, I used the Tides of Time again and saw a vision of her offering AJC a bottle of Ozen, which she claimed would temporarily alleviate the symptoms. Unfortunately, the bottle she gave AJC was the only one she had, meaning there was none left for me. Soon, I suffered another bout and lost consciousness, waking up on her boat in the Salvage Depot . There, she advised me to follow in AJC’s footsteps, as they would lead me to safety, and the post-apocalyptic story of Tides of Tomorrow officially began.
The core mechanic of Tides of Tomorrow is the foundation of asynchronous multiplayer.
As mentioned, the main feature of Tides of Tomorrow is the Tides of Time mechanic . As a choose-your-own-adventure game, players are constantly faced with dialogue choices that affect how characters treat them and how the story unfolds. However, new response options may occasionally appear when players use Tides of Time to view a Major Vision . In such cases, during a conversation with an NPC, the option “Unexplored Vision” may appear in the response list. Temporarily exiting the dialogue and using Tides of Time unlocks this option, revealing a key event from the previous player’s journey.
However, the Main Visions help not only in dialogue but also in overcoming obstacles. For example, they first came to my aid when I needed to cross the water between two platforms. In the vision, I saw AJC using a moving platform to do so. Although the solution was fairly obvious, the mechanic still provided a unique way to avoid a deadlock. Furthermore, using the Tides of Time is completely optional, so players who want to maintain the game’s difficulty or remain completely independent of the previous player’s choices can choose not to use them.
Since Tides of Time is an optional feature, I found that the Prime Visions often served as a nice bonus to the experience rather than a mandatory part. Even knowing that I had chosen AJC at a key plot point, I sometimes still chose other dialogue options. Choosing an option influenced by the previous player almost felt like cheating.
That may be the intention, but given that the gameplay is already fairly straightforward, removing the mystery from its outcomes only exacerbates the problem.
Tides of Time can also be used to observe Minor Visions , though I found them largely useless. They essentially serve only as a constant reminder of the asynchronous multiplayer component. These visions are almost identical to the ghosts in Dark Souls : they often only show the previous character moving in a certain direction or using an emote. During the preview, Minor Visions sometimes even broke immersion, as I saw an echo of the AJC player moving across the screen (sometimes right in front of my face) during key cutscenes and dialogue. Bugs in previews are expected, but I couldn’t figure out whether this was a bug or whether this was just the game’s underlying systems working in conflict with each other.
However, the ingenuity of the Tides of Time mechanic does show itself at certain moments, albeit rarely. For example, in the first chapter, I was tasked with fighting another NPC, and the game gave me the opportunity to use Tides of Time to see which way he would dodge. Then, like playing Simon, I memorized his movements and reacted accordingly. This was perhaps the highlight of my preview experience, as I saw how Tides of Time impacted more than just dialogue and simple puzzles.
It’s also interesting that your playthrough not only directly depends on the choices of the previous player but also shapes the experience for those who follow you. Your key decisions shape your character traits, giving other players an idea of who they’re following. For example, a player who chooses humanity will leave behind a world more supportive of the Tidewalkers, a healthier and more prosperous one.
On the other hand, the Troublemaker will do the opposite.
The only drawback to this system is that players can’t fully appreciate how their actions impact others unless they know those other players and share their “seed” with them, which allows them to follow a specific person directly rather than choosing a random one. In a sense, this makes Tides of Tomorrow work against itself: if a player isn’t followed by someone important to them—for example, a friend or a favorite content creator—they have less incentive to consider the consequences of their actions on others. This increases the likelihood of selfish behavior, such as hoarding all of Ozen and salvaging the communal chest for future Tiderunners. If character traits actually impacted gameplay, rather than simply giving other players an idea of who they’re following, this would matter anyway, but it doesn’t currently.
Tides of Tomorrow focuses on story over gameplay
Ultimately, Tides of Tomorrow is a story that players can shape not only for themselves but also for those who come after them. Consequently, its gameplay is extremely simple: exploration is severely limited, combat encounters are rare, and there’s almost no room for maneuver between key plot points. Since the game seems to be focused on storytelling rather than offering deep gameplay, this formula works. However, those looking for challenging and engaging gameplay will likely be disappointed.
For example, upon arrival at the Salvage Depot, the game presents the location as an exciting, living world full of possibilities. On the one hand, NPCs are everywhere, looking as if they truly belong: dancers partying at the club, a bartender serving customers, and residents queuing for Ozen.
This isolated area (like the entire world of Tides of Tomorrow ) is covered in beautiful, vibrant colors, and scattered neon lights highlight the Salvage Depot’s rebellious nature . However, as I wandered around the location, I began to realize just how empty it actually was.
Only a few NPCs I encountered during the preview allowed me to interact with them, and they rarely responded to my presence. As far as I could tell, there’s little point in going off the beaten path, save for the occasional tablet entry revealing lore and a paltry amount of salvage—the game’s currency. Even when traveling between zones by boat, the game merely teases you with the illusion of full control over the vessel. Instead of free ocean exploration, these scenes are merely embellished loading screens, similar to those in Starfield , that end once you’ve swum a certain distance. You’re then teleported to your chosen location, even if you haven’t physically reached it.
Tides of Tomorrow occasionally features optional Ocean Events , which can be completed for additional salvage, Ozen, and lore. Their dynamic nature makes gameplay a little more exciting. For example, you might need to salvage loot from a sinking ship or escape a storm through a minefield. Unfortunately, these events end almost as quickly as they begin, after which you’re returned to the main story without any options.
The game also features stealth sections, which during the preview were very unpolished and, again, extremely basic. In these sequences, enemies patrol areas, and bright red cones of light in front of them indicate their detection radius. The problem is that not only are they incredibly easy to avoid, but the time it takes them to notice you makes it even easier to avoid them.
To top it all off, the stealth sections in Tides of Tomorrow are extremely short. Many last no more than a minute due to their simplicity and the short distance between the start and end points.
From what I’ve seen, there’s little point in going off the beaten path, other than the occasional tablet entry that reveals lore and a tiny amount of salvage—the game’s currency.
Tides of Tomorrow’s focus on story rather than gameplay also has a serious drawback: weak voice acting. While some key characters deliver decent performances, I found the vast majority of NPCs during the preview to be unbelievable. Typically, if a game has solid gameplay, rough or uneven voice acting is easier to ignore. But in a game where nearly every interaction, choice, and progression is conveyed through dialogue, these flaws become much more noticeable.
Tides of Tomorrow Hands-On Preview: Conclusion
Despite some current flaws, Tides of Tomorrow still feels like a solid game, designed for those who value narrative experimentation over mechanical depth. If you enjoy story-driven games where choice, perspective, and consequences matter more than combat systems or open-world settings, there’s definitely something to be interested in. The idea of following different players and seeing how their decisions shape your own journey gives the game a certain replayability. Even if this curiosity stems more from a desire to explore alternative outcomes than from the pleasure of replaying the gameplay. How engaging this proves in the long run will likely depend on how much players connect with the stories left behind by others.
Tides of Tomorrow is scheduled to launch on February 24, 2026, giving DigixArt just over a month to iron out some of the rough edges present in this preview.
Some issues, such as shallow exploration and overly simplistic stealth, seem built into the game’s design and are unlikely to change much at launch. Others, such as presentation flaws and narrative pacing issues, could be addressed with additional polish. Regardless, Tides of Tomorrow stands out for its sheer ambition, and its ultimate success will depend on how willing players are to embrace it on its own story-focused terms, rather than expecting the mechanics of a more traditional game.
