In terms of scale, their development team consists of over a hundred members, and they're still expanding. In terms of experience, their core creative team has worked on major single-player titles like Yakuza and Assassin's Creed with overseas teams. As for funding… as a media editor invited only to observe, I can't give a precise answer, but considering the level of detail in the model assets I secretly glimpsed on the developers' computer screens, I don't think this is something to worry about.
However, these are not the primary reasons why I went from skeptical to excited about Tide of Annihilation — for action games, the key lies in the "spark" that emerges from the rhythmic interplay of blocks and triangles. In today's action games, or games with action elements, the combination of "trigger + four right-hand buttons for skills" has almost become a standard. Moreover, in a domestic environment where single-player game design ideas are still relatively immature, this is actually a practical solution, though not without drawbacks.
But if I were to complain subjectively, I must say that I don't particularly like this simplified action gameplay. It still lacks the fluidity and finesse of a well-executed action game, and it doesn't allow for the ultimate exploration of "building your own combat style" from a vast array of moves.
So, when I first played the game, instead of rushing to explore the details of the demo, I opened the printed move list in front of me and carefully browsed through it. After watching the PV that brought back memories of God of War's epic battles and Ace Combat's dramatic sequences, I was curious to see if Tide of Annihilation would incorporate more "three major ACT" era design legacies.
I was pleased to find that while the move list wasn't very complex, it included everything from dashes, air lifts, and knockbacks to techniques that allowed players to keep enemies on the defensive, all of which were sufficient to create numerous stylish combos.
Click to expand...
Moreover, Tide of Annihilation introduced a unique "Knight Avatar" gameplay, where players can summon "knight avatars" by consuming resources. This mechanic allows players to either quickly recover from failure or intensify their attacks to enhance their offense.
Though it's difficult to split a finger from the already-busy right hand to control the "knight avatar," after some practice, I quickly saw the potential of this feature. Essentially, the "knight avatar" is just a variant of the "trigger + right-hand four buttons for skills" model. The key difference is that the "knight avatar" offers more than basic offense and defense conversion. Only when you decide to take your gameplay beyond completion does the "knight avatar" truly come into play and serve its purpose.
During my playthrough, I encountered four types of "knight avatars" and two combination setups (which can be switched in real-time during combat). These aren't the final versions of the gameplay. According to the staff, players will unlock more "knight avatars" as the game progresses, with an even greater variety of combinations.
For regular players, this eliminates the frustration of needing to do a lot of prep work before getting started. For players who are more focused on the flow of the gameplay, the "knight avatars" avoid the common restrictions of modern action games, such as waiting for cooldowns or charging, offering a more fluid combat experience akin to classic action games.
So, after the session ended, before the staff could react, I couldn't help but share all my thoughts with them. I knew it wasn't the most polite thing to do, but when faced with the potential of Tide of Annihilation, I found it hard to hold back — for example, the "Fist Knight" combat module, which I loved, could have been even more satisfying if it included charge skills for providing invincibility frames.
To my surprise, unlike other offline events I've attended, this might have been the closest I've been to a development team. After nodding repeatedly, the response I received wasn't the usual "we'll work on that in the future" kind of vague comment. Instead, I was presented with concrete, feasible internal alternatives like "invincibility frames," "GP judgments," and "damage accumulation enhancing skill effects." Of course, due to confidentiality agreements, I can't share the specific details, but I can say that everything I, as an action game player, could think of, Serpens Tech had already considered.