Tides of Annihilation - Spectral Knights, Massive Bosses and Why It Is Not a Soulslike

Tides of Annihilation has looked spectacular since its first reveal, but new hands-on impressions finally give us a much clearer idea of how the game actually feels to play.

Insider Gaming recently spent around two hours with a development build at Eclipse Glow Games in Chengdu, China, testing combat, bosses, exploration, puzzles, progression, difficulty settings, and several of Gwendolyn’s spectral Knights.

The result sounds more ambitious than the initial “Stellar Blade meets Elden Ring” comparison suggested. Tides of Annihilation borrows recognizable ideas from modern action RPGs, but Game Director and co-CEO Ary Chen is explicit about the studio’s intention: this is not supposed to be another Soulslike.

What Is Tides of Annihilation About?

Tides of Annihilation reimagines modern London after an otherworldly apocalypse.

Gwendolyn is one of the last surviving humans, and her journey revolves around rescuing her sister, understanding the catastrophe that shattered reality, and searching for the Holy Grail and its fragments.

The Arthurian influence is not limited to names and swords. Gwendolyn has gained the ability to manifest spectral versions of legendary Knights of the Round Table, turning them into both combat partners and tools for navigating the world.

London itself is split between recognizable modern locations and supernatural spaces. The developers have described the city almost like a tree, with different districts branching into transformed landmarks, medieval echoes, alternate spaces, and more self-contained mystical biomes.

The recent preview even included a substantial desert-like area, demonstrating that the game will not remain confined to wet streets and ruined British architecture.

Exploration includes optional paths, puzzles, hidden collectibles, environmental storytelling, documents, recordings, and fragments of the world that existed before the catastrophe.

Tides of Annihilation Is Not a Soulslike

The visual language makes the comparison understandable. There are intimidating bosses, parries, checkpoints, equipment, resource-based upgrades, lock-on combat, and enemies that demand attention.

But Eclipse Glow Games does not want players approaching it as another Dark Souls descendant.

Ary Chen told Insider Gaming that the studio’s target is accessibility without sacrificing mechanical depth. Players should be able to create stylish attacks relatively quickly, while understanding timing, Knight combinations, and advanced combat opens a much higher skill ceiling.

The demo included a Story Mode difficulty. Insider Gaming’s Grant Taylor-Hill completed the roughly two-hour session without dying, but still found enough resistance to keep combat engaging.

Other accessibility features spotted in the build included:

• Frequent restore points
• Environmental navigation markers
• Optional one-button puzzle hints
• Combat guidance
• A reliable lock-on system
• Parrying
• Guidance from companion character Niniene

The goal appears closer to an action spectacle game where mastery is rewarded rather than a game where extreme difficulty is the price of entry.

The Dual Frontline Battle System Is the Real Star

Gwendolyn is already a capable fighter, but the defining mechanic is her ability to summon the Knights of the Round Table.

The current system lets players equip four Knights at once, divided into two pairs. You can switch between them during combat and even change Knights in the middle of a combo.

That matters because the Knights are dramatically different from one another.

The preview describes abilities including:

• Freezing or dramatically slowing enemies
• Heavy frontal charges
• Powerful sword attacks
• Rapid teleporting strikes
• Defensive abilities and shields
• Combo-extending attacks

The official PlayStation listing says the final roster includes more than ten legendary Knights, so the four active slots are effectively your personalized combat formation rather than the entire roster.

Eclipse Glow calls this the Dual Frontline Battle System. The intention is to make each Knight feel more like a sidekick than a cooldown icon.

The Knights Are Also Part of Exploration and Puzzle-Solving

The Knights are not restricted to boss fights.

Palamedes, one of the Knights available during the recent demo, can smash walls and barricades or lift large objects blocking Gwendolyn’s route.

Bors has a different utility role. His ethereal bow can interact with targets and mechanisms that Gwendolyn cannot reach directly.

This creates an interesting possibility for exploration. Your Knight configuration may affect more than damage output, potentially changing how conveniently you navigate obstacles and interact with the environment.

The upcoming Gamescom demo is specifically advertised as including branching paths with different exploration and combat experiences, suggesting this flexibility is becoming a larger part of the level design.

Bosses Look Like Tides of Annihilation’s Biggest Showpieces

The latest hands-on session included several major bosses.

Geraint

Eclipse Glow described Geraint as the hardest boss in the current demo. The fight uses multiple phases and appears designed around forcing players to understand both Gwendolyn’s own tools and the timing of Knight abilities.

Mordred

Mordred is presented as something of a dark counterpart to Gwendolyn, giving the fight a more direct narrative connection than a conventional monster encounter.

Anubis

The demo then gets considerably stranger. Gwendolyn fights Anubis inside a location inspired by the British Museum.

The Egyptian mythology might initially sound out of place in an Arthurian game, but it demonstrates how broadly Eclipse Glow intends to use London’s history and collections as gateways into other supernatural spaces.

Tyronoe

Previously revealed boss Tyronoe is one of the game’s strongest demonstrations of reality-bending combat. She can transform into a huge winged creature, summon copies of herself, and create a Mirror Space Folded Realm.

During this encounter, Sir Lamorak operates inside the mirror dimension while Gwendolyn fights outside it. Lamorak eventually throws his spear across the divide, letting Gwendolyn break the barrier between the spaces.

The studio says the dimension-shifting choreography took inspiration from action sequences in Inception, The Matrix, and Doctor Strange.

What Are Folded Realms?

Folded Realms are supernatural spaces layered into the destroyed world.

Some behave like distorted mirror versions of reality. Others are much larger self-contained biomes with completely different architecture and environmental rules.

Tyronoe’s Mirror Folded Realm is particularly important because she can move between the human world and the mirrored space and draw additional power from it.

These realms seem to serve three purposes at once: storytelling, exploration, and combat spectacle.

That helps explain why Tides of Annihilation can begin in a recognizable London street and later place Gwendolyn inside surreal medieval or desert environments without abandoning its central premise.

Weapons, Armor, Outfits and Badges

The progression systems appear deliberately more straightforward than those of a traditional RPG.

In the current preview build, Gwendolyn can use:

• Multiple primary weapons
• Upgradeable equipment
• Functional armor pieces such as chest armor and greaves
• Badges that provide passive benefits
• Different Knight configurations
• Unlockable base outfits

The armor pieces affect gameplay without necessarily replacing Gwendolyn’s visible outfit. New base outfits can instead be unlocked through progression and exploration.

Earlier in development, Eclipse Glow also discussed customization for clothing, hair color, and makeup. The latest hands-on build appears more focused on curated outfits and equipment, so the exact final scope of cosmetic editing has not yet been fully confirmed.

Resources discovered throughout the world can also be spent upgrading equipment as the difficulty increases.

The Apocalypse Is Surprisingly Funny Sometimes

The tone is another area where Eclipse Glow is deliberately avoiding monotony.

The world is full of dead civilizations, frozen bodies, supernatural monsters, recordings from people who did not survive, and architecture that looks like reality itself has been torn apart.

But Ary Chen says the studio does not want players emotionally crushed for the entire adventure.

Small comedy beats provide breathing room between the darker sequences.

One of Gwendolyn’s companions is Niniene, a young character who can transform into a bird and provides guidance while exploring.

Then there is Mercury, one of the more bizarre characters revealed by the preview. Mercury is essentially represented by two snake-like arms and hands that communicate through exaggerated gestures. Despite lacking a conventional face, the character apparently has plenty of attitude and operates the game’s shop.

The contrast is intentional. The game’s world may have ended, but its characters are not expected to spend forty hours whispering about despair.

The Colossal Knights Are More Than Bosses

Some of Tides of Annihilation’s most memorable images show enormous armored beings towering over London.

These Colossal Knights are not simply background decoration or standard boss arenas.

Players will be able to climb them, explore their bodies and interiors, and confront challenges built into their enormous forms.

PlayStation describes their interiors almost like palaces, making them closer to moving levels than ordinary enemies.

The feature was also used to demonstrate the PS5 Pro version. Eclipse Glow previously announced an Enhanced Mode targeting higher resolution, ray tracing, improved image quality, and smoother 60fps gameplay through the additional GPU power and PSSR.

Tides of Annihilation Is Heading to Gamescom 2026

We will not have to wait long for more footage.

Eclipse Glow Games has confirmed a new Tides of Annihilation trailer for Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, 2026.

Then, from August 26 through August 30, Gamescom attendees will get the game’s first global public hands-on test.

The demo will be available in Hall 6, Booth B-050 at Koelnmesse and will feature branching routes, different combat and exploration experiences, important environments, and major set pieces.

This is particularly significant because the enthusiastic Insider Gaming preview comes from a controlled session held directly with Eclipse Glow Games. Gamescom will be the first opportunity for a much larger group of players to test the same basic combat philosophy independently.

Gwendolyn Has a New Voice Actor

The Gwendolyn heard in earlier trailers will not be the final English performance.

Jennifer English stepped away from the role in July 2026 for health reasons. Eclipse Glow Games confirmed that she remains involved in an advisory capacity and helped the studio select a replacement alongside other members of the cast.

The new actor is already recording and the updated performance will be heard in the Gamescom 2026 demo.

The studio says the change has been carefully managed and development remains on schedule.

You can read the full background in our Jennifer English leaves Tides of Annihilation report.

Recent speculation has linked Angela Sant’Albano, known for portraying Grace Ashcroft in Resident Evil Requiem, to the role after new footage appeared to feature a different voice. However, as of August 20, Eclipse Glow Games has not officially announced the replacement’s identity.

Tides of Annihilation Release Date and Platforms

Tides of Annihilation does not currently have an official release date.

Steam continues to list the game as “Coming Soon”, while PlayStation says the release date is to be determined. Players should therefore treat store listings that assign a specific 2026 date as placeholders unless Eclipse Glow announces a window itself.

Tides of Annihilation is a single-player game. Its Knight system is intended to recreate the feeling of fighting alongside teammates without turning the adventure into multiplayer.

For earlier footage, read our Tides of Annihilation Mirror Combat trailer analysis.

The game is also featured in our most anticipated games guide and our State of Play reveal recap.

Games to Play While You Wait for Tides of Annihilation

Tides of Annihilation itself does not currently have an active marketplace listing we can recommend. These games hit some of the same notes: stylish character action, huge bosses, mythology, and demanding third-person combat.

Tides of Annihilation FAQ

Is Tides of Annihilation a Soulslike?

No. Eclipse Glow Games explicitly describes it as an action-adventure rather than a Soulslike. It contains familiar mechanics such as parrying, bosses, equipment, checkpoints, and difficult combat, but also includes selectable difficulty levels and accessibility features.

How Many Knights Can You Use in Tides of Annihilation?

You can currently configure four Knights at once in two pairs and swap between them during combat. The full roster contains more than ten legendary Knights.

Who Are Palamedes and Bors?

They are summonable Knights with uses in both combat and exploration. Palamedes can break obstacles and move heavy objects, while Bors can use an ethereal bow for ranged environmental interactions.

Is Tides of Annihilation Open World?

The developers have not described it as a conventional seamless open-world game. Current demonstrations show large exploration spaces, branching routes, transformed London districts, Folded Realms, and sizeable separate biomes.

Does Tides of Annihilation Have Difficulty Options?

Yes. The recent hands-on build included a Story Mode designed to provide a more forgiving experience, while harder settings are available for players who want greater combat difficulty.

Is Tides of Annihilation Multiplayer?

No. It is a single-player action-adventure. The spectral Knight system is designed to create the feeling of fighting alongside allies without requiring other players.

When Does Tides of Annihilation Release?

No official release date has been announced. Steam currently lists it as Coming Soon, while PlayStation lists the date as to be determined.

When Can Players Try Tides of Annihilation?

The first global public hands-on demo will be available at Gamescom 2026 from August 26 to August 30 in Hall 6, Booth B-050. A new trailer will premiere during Opening Night Live on August 25.

Not Another Soulslike, and That Might Be Its Biggest Advantage

Tides of Annihilation has enough familiar ingredients to make comparisons easy. The devastated world evokes post-apocalyptic action games. The lock-on combat and huge bosses resemble modern action RPGs. Gwendolyn’s speed and spectacle invite Stellar Blade and Devil May Cry comparisons.

But the spectral Knights are beginning to give the game a much clearer identity of its own.

Combining four summonable fighters, exploration abilities, Folded Realms, cinematic boss mechanics, Arthurian mythology, and an absurdly detailed supernatural London could make Tides of Annihilation substantially stranger than its first trailers suggested.

The next real test comes at Gamescom. If the public demo feels as good as the Chengdu preview looked, Eclipse Glow Games may have something much more interesting than “Stellar Blade meets Elden Ring” on its hands.