Saros was perhaps the “One More Thing” of the State of Play of February 12, 2025, the fact remains that the game that was able to capture all the attention of the players, it was Tides of Annihilation, a game out of nowhere, but which is already classified among the most monitored games of 2025/2026, we do not know its release date yet. In the meantime, Tides of Anihilation, it is the work of a Chinese studio, out almost from nowhere, responding to the name of Eclipse Glow Games, which is based in Chengdu in the Sichuan region, where is also developed Wuchang Fallen feathers I told you about a long time a few days ago. After the attractive trailer of the State of Play who will tell us about the Arthurian legends seen by China, it is the gameplay’s turn to reveal itself through 11 minutes of pure gameplay in 4K.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBTF9JTIZZ
What is the annihilation? It is a game that is presented by its creators as a narrative solo game, inspired by the Arthurian legend. This is why the game takes place in London, but in a broken, sorry, tavagé, reimagined London, because the city was the land of a supernatural invasion. We will therefore play Gwendolyn, this famous warrior “too good” for some and it is alongside knights of the blond table, but in the form of specters, that we will have to save the world, but also his family. The developers indicated that they have joined the most famous monuments of London by incorporating fantasy elements from another world, while taking the basics of Arthurian legend, to offer something that is both familiar and new, especially for People who are interested in British and chivalrous culture. This is for the pitch.
Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Behind the scenes, Tides of Annihilation is the work of the Chinese studio Eclipse Gues, based in Chengdu, in China, and which has made you wish in the international AAA market. To do this, the studio decided to recover veterans from the industry, having worked on games such as Yakuza, Assassin’s Creed, Persona, For Honor and Prince of Persia. Inevitably, when we hear the names of all these games, we say that these are Western developers who have decided to go to China to see if the grass is greener there. But no, not at all, the veterans in question are Chinese developers who previously worked for the satellite offices of Ubisoft, SEGA and even 2K Games. Because in Chengdu, there are many satellite Chinese studios from all these great Western publishers. That does not prevent these Chinese developers have been in the video game industry for over 20 years and that working on AAAs, they know how to do it, don’t worry. At present, there are a hundred Chinese developers to work on the game for several years. That was the little parenthesis developed.
Stellar Blade x DMC X FF XVI X Valkyrie Elysium
Otherwise, it is quite obvious that Tides of Annihilation draws his influences almost everywhere, whether it is Final Fantasy, from Formsoftware productions or on the side of Fumito Ueda for the gigantism of certain creatures, but if we had to do A visible comparison, I would say that the game is placed in the same category as Stellar Blade. Beyond embodying a beautiful woman, it is the construction of her world and the way in which her gameplay will be around which makes me think that we are closer to a Stellar Blade than a umpteenth souls-like. We know that the trend is to take up the best ingredients from the from Formsoftware, but we must not forget that Hidetaka Miyazaki has invented anything.
Tides of Annihilation also reminds me of Stellar Blade in its platform phases, which were not the fort of the Korean game, but in Tides of Annihilation, there is this desire to create dynamic and more interesting bridges between areas of play, like this passage where Gwendolyn must run along with buildings that deform, recalling the Films Inception and Dr Strange. There is this notion of great spectacle and contemplation, because Chinese developers also want to highlight their graphic know-how. Another detail that pushes me to believe that Tides of Annihilation also recalls Stellar Blade is also through this animal, a kind of mystical hawk that constantly accompanies her and with which she is constantly speaking. Difficult indeed not to think of the drone of Eve de Stellar Blade.
‘Meurs, knight!’
Regarding the combat system, this is where Tides of Annihilation stands out from Stellar Blade and all these so-called Souls-Like games, since it has a much more speed, more dynamic approach. No parade or timing perfect to make, but attacks to be avoided through a dash system, sometimes dizzying jumps and powers to try to make a maximum of combos. In truth, we are halfway between Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden in execution, with this little mechanics in addition, the possibility for Gwendolyn to invoke the knights of the round table, which appear here in spectral form. Each knight is distinguished by their build of course, also a color, but above all powers linked to the elements. We see it very clearly on this sequence, but Gwendolyn can invoke several at the same time to make spectacular combos. There is the massive knight who ravages everything in his path, the service tank, the one who is a bitter to swing arrows, the classic warrior and his sword who punctures the custody of the enemies and I imagine that we will be able to make them evolve Throughout the adventure. Difficult not to see there a mixture between Final Fantasy XVI and Valkyrie Elysium, where invocations become real Swiss knives both during fights but also in exploration, since Gwendolyn can call on them to catch items.
Tides of Annihilation clearly has unstoppable assets to become one of the next AAAs that may smash everything, especially since the game has also treated its plastic, its staging and its entire sound part, whether it is Music and sound design. Add to that sumptuous characters that make you dream, a well-active artistic direction that enhances the Arthurian legend, all in a London post-apocalyptic universe, there is something to place it among the most promising games to come. No release date is to date revealed, the fact remains that the game will be available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series, with we already know, a version that will be PS5 Pro Enhanced.