Tides of Annihilation's Boss Fights will not punish you for losing

Eclipse Glow Games' Tide of annihilation has already drawn a lot of attention for the scale and flash of its boss encounters, but what may stand out even more than that is how it approaches the idea of failure during these fights. In most action games, defeat is treated as a pure reset, forcing players to restart the encounter, but Tide of annihilation it looks like it's going against that loop. From what has been revealed about it so far, the bosses are large, cinematic and appear to be mechanically tight, but they may be more welcoming than players might expect from a title with such a dramatic presentation.

In a recent interview with Game Rant, Tide of annihilation Producer Kun Fu hinted that the game's boss battles would not be built around consistently punishing mistakes but about finding ways to propel players forward despite failure. According to what Fu hinted during the interview, the development team designed the boss fights to invite players to try again without feeling like they've been pushed too far back. While he wasn't clear on what that ultimately means, it's safe to say that those expecting a more soul-like experience from Tide of annihilation might actually get something tipped in the opposite direction – or at least soften the blow.

Tides of Annihilation is filled with boss fights, but shouldn't feel punishing

Tides of Annihilation two characters in boss fight

Tides of Annihilation has tons of boss fights waiting for players

Despite not being a soul-like game, as Kun Fu and Eclipse Glow Games have made clear many times before, Tide of annihilation is still full of boss fights. Players will still explore a reimagined version of London that sits somewhere between modern London and a medieval fantasy world built on Arthurian influences, but they'll have plenty of boss encounters along the way. As Fu said during the interview:

“We have a large number of boss encounters, and each boss is carefully crafted. But their roles in the story differ, so how their story is presented – and how much the story plays into the battle – varies from boss to boss.”

So, Tide of annihilation may not be a boss-rush game, but it is clearly boss-forward in its design. Also, rather than making each of these boss fights as relevant to the story as the previous ones, some can drive the plot forward while others only serve as skill checks or tempo resets. However, that doesn't mean the latter won't be grounded in the world's lore or the overall story.

If nothing else it seems Tide of annihilation perhaps taking the route that many action-adventure games like it too, where boss encounters that are absolutely necessary to the story act as gatekeepers to the story, while all or many of the remaining boss fights are optional and reserved for those who explore off the beaten path every now and then.

Tides of Annihilation's Boss Encounters seem built for the player's success

But that's not necessarily where things get interesting for Tide of annihilationgreatest battle encounters. While some aspects of that design seem a bit business-as-usual for the genre, Eclipse Glow Games' action-adventure title may have a few tricks up its sleeve to help players experience the game without being overwhelmed by the challenge of its boss encounters. When asked how Tide of annihilations boss battles deal with failures, Fu began his response with:

“For each boss, we have very clear design goals, and we build the encounters around the pacing of that part of the game. We pay close attention to how repeated attempts feel to players, and we try to minimize unnecessary repetition while maintaining the narrative and continuity of the fight.”

Perhaps what's most remarkable about how Eclipse Glow Games has designed their boss encounters is not just how they feel about players, but how they feel about players who are on their tenth and twentieth attempts. While soul-like games in general seem like they don't have much regard for the time and emotional energy it takes for players to finally defeat a boss, Tide of annihilation is to “pay attention to these feelings” to ensure that things do not repeat themselves unnecessarily. Fu didn't reveal any definitive results of this design philosophy during the interview, but he did reveal one more surprising detail about the game's boss fights that should be encouraging to those intimidated by their sheer spectacle:

“For longer boss encounters, we'll introduce reasonable breakpoints where players can recover or reset cards. We'll also reward players based on their performance to keep the experience encouraging even during repeated attempts.”

For a long boss fight in any game, it makes sense to occasionally give players a chance to take a break, either with a short dialogue sequence or an opportunity to save the game and refill health—even if some games don't offer such conveniences. But where Tide of annihilation may differ in how it handles retries. Based on what Fu said, players will be “rewarded” for their performance over multiple attempts. Whether this means they'll get an in-game buff to help propel them forward or perhaps a chunk of EXP according to how long they lasted, it can mean the difference between a player sticking around and quitting.

While details on this are lacking at the moment, if this is the direction Eclipse Glow Games has taken, then Tide of annihilation can end up offering boss fights that feel challenging without alienating players. Nothing is certain until people can sit down with the full game, but the ideas Fu outlined suggest a combat experience that moves players forward rather than wears them down. At the very least, it points to a design philosophy that wants people to stay engaged long enough to see what the game is trying to say, and that alone could make every encounter with its bosses worth pursuing, even fights that have to be sought out rather than stumbled upon.