Demon Tides News

An open world platformer where you express yourself with different movements, Demon Tides looks like a lot of fun and it just had a huge demo upgrade.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/07/try-the-big-demo-upgrade-for-demon-tides-an-impressive-looking-open-world-3d-platformer/

• [p]All systems have been majorly overhauled for massive performance improvements across the board.[/p]
• [p]The game will now attempt to calibrate graphical settings automatically on first startup.[/p]
• [p]New graphical presets have been added: Ultimate and Minimal, that incorporate all the new graphical options.[/p]
• [p]New graphics option: Ambience Particles, turn off for reduced particles and improved performance.[/p]
• [p]New graphics option: Post Processing, turn off for no post processing including color grading for better performance.[/p]
• [p]New graphics option: Dynamic Animations, turn off to remove any additive dynamic animations for better performance.[/p]
• [p]New graphics option: Enhanced VFX, turn off to lower visual effects quality for better performance.[/p]
• [p]New graphics option: Environment Outlines, turn off to remove outlines on environment assets for better performance.[/p]
• [p]New graphics option: Minimal Character Outlines, turn on to remove outlines on characters during gameplay for better performance.[/p]
• [p]New graphics option: Reduced Environmental Density, turn on to remove assets like small flora & rocks for better performance.[/p]
• [p]New graphics option: Max Culling Distance, adjust to render less objects at a distance for better performance.[/p]
• [p]New graphics option: UI 3D Models, adjust the quality of models inside menus for better performance.[/p]
• [p]New graphics option: Snow Quality, adjust the quality of snow for better performance.[/p]
• [p]Water Quality: Now has more options to lower water quality and enhance performance further.[/p]
• [p]Cloth quality: Now has more options to lower quality of cloth simulation or turning them off entirely to enhance performance further.[/p]
• [p]NPCs now step their animation at a distance for improved performance.[/p]
• [p]The Steam Deck now has further optimization advice found in the settings.[/p]
• [p]The Steam Deck preset has been tweaked to allow for higher fidelity visuals.[/p]

• [p]Skipping cutscenes now features cleaner camera cuts.[/p]
• [p]Legs of characters no longer twitch during cutscenes.[/p]
• [p]Volumetric clouds no longer stutter during travel in the open world.[/p]
• [p]The camera no longer clips into the arm during selfies with certain outfits.[/p]
• [p]The camera now handles vertical obstructions better and moves more smoothly.[/p]
• [p]2D talisman has been overhauled and looks/runs much better.[/p]
• [p]Beebz now leans further in over time during a long fall.[/p]
• [p]The camera now tracks Beebz when she's on the phone on a moving platform.[/p]
• [p]Certain phone calls are now "mandatory" and will trigger again after a while if the player didn't pick up before. They are also shorter.[/p]
• [p]There's now a dedicated ledge hop animation and it's applied more consistently.[/p]
• [p]Exiting climbable ladders now has a more notable hop.[/p]
• [p]Decreased the likelihood of accidentally entering bat form during wall jumps.[/p]
• [p]Placing checkpoints is now a bit faster.[/p]
• [p]Collectable arrow now detects between golden gear pieces and eyetems and will appear in different colors.[/p]
• [p]If there's nothing left to collect we throw some confetti now instead of showing the collectable arrow.[/p]
• [p]Improved wall running when going across different colliders.[/p]
• [p]You can no longer exit snake when in confined spaces.[/p]
• [p]When resetting back to a checkpoint the camera angle switches to what it original was when placed.[/p]
• [p]Your checkpoint properly despawns now instead of floating alongside with you when traveling the open world under certain conditions.[/p]
• [p]Recentering the camera in snake form now acts like it should.[/p]
• [p]You can now enter a wall run from a initially grounded boost jump.[/p]
• [p]Lowered the chances of being able to clip through the ceiling by abusing transformations under certain conditions.[/p]
• [p]Cancelling selfie mode no longer keeps Beebz cross eyed under certain conditions.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted some animation transitions to make movement snappier.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted the side jump momentum.[/p]
• [p]Snake jump velocity has been slightly reduced.[/p]
• [p]Snake turn speed in water is now a bit sharper.[/p]
• [p]Rail grinding has been adjusted to make it clearer that boosting is a held input.[/p]
• [p]Super jump values have been slightly tweaked.[/p]
• [p]Ricochet off enemies now has more consistent momentum.[/p]
• [p]Checkpoint flag no longer has any collision.[/p]
• [p]You can now look up further with the camera.[/p]
• [p]You can now zoom the camera further out.[/p]
• [p]Climbing vfx retrigger correctly when exiting/entering a climb quickly.[/p]
• [p]You no longer "warp" across the map when touching walls under very specific conditions.[/p]
• [p]Beebz now faces the right way when entering a mint void zone.[/p]
• [p]The camera no longer behaves differently depending on if you started the game with or without mouse movement first.[/p]
• [p]Spin now breaks eyetem crates as well. [/p]

• [p]Animations in gear menu have been improved.[/p]
• [p]Spawned items in the gear menu no longer stick around under certain conditions.[/p]
• [p]Tab colors now match button colors when it comes to being selected or not.[/p]
• [p]Game's font no longer has occasional artifacts under certain conditions.[/p]
• [p]All talismans now have unique icons.[/p]
• [p]Total game timer no longer stops working in the tutorial level under certain conditions.[/p]
• [p]Added more turning control for Beebz in the gear & shop menu when using the gamepad.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a typo in the disclaimer message.[/p]
• [p]"M" on keyboard now opens up the map/gear menu in addition to tab.[/p]
• [p]You can no longer accidentally swap between the gear and map menu when viewing talismans or outfits in a submenu.[/p]
• [p]Three digit numbers no longer scale awkwardly in the totals menu.[/p]
• [p]Opening the directory during photo mode now opens the folder properly.[/p]
• [p]Steam Deck now utilizes Steam's photo library when taking pictures and selfies.
  [/p]

• [p]Viewing graffiti's is now always the lowest priority interaction to ensure talking/opening chests etc. remain easy to do.[/p]
• [p]Scaling on gamepad has been changed to bumpers.[/p]
• [p]Graffiti can now be reported and will be removed from the server after a certain number of reports have been reached.[/p]
• [p]Graffiti can now be flipped.[/p]
• [p]You can now see the graffiti ID when viewing it in-game.[/p]
• [p]You can now delete your own graffiti while viewing it in-game.[/p]
• [p]You can now place graffiti's in the tutorial, they simply won't upload.[/p]
• [p]Graffiti is now harder to place on top of chests and characters.[/p]
• [p]Graffiti's are now immediately removed when turning off graffiti in the settings.[/p]
• [p]You can no longer tag while swimming.[/p]
• [p]Getting interrupted while making graffiti, like being attacked, no longer leads to a softlock in certain conditions.[/p]
• [p]New graffiti graphics have been added.
  [/p]

• [p]Languages: Added the option to change languages. (Currently only English is available.)[/p]
• [p]Mute phone calls: Added the option to mute all phone calls.[/p]
• [p]DLSS is now correctly enabled on Nvidia devices when accessed in the title screen.[/p]
• [p]Streamer name no longer resets when starting a new save.[/p]
• [p]You can now rebind the map input.[/p]
• [p]You can now unbind any type of input.[/p]
• [p]You can now rebind the secondary jump input as well.[/p]
• [p]Rebinding time has been lowered.[/p]
• [p]Resetting inputs no longer lead to a softlock under certain conditions.[/p]
• [p]Made the "toggle walk" input have no binding by default[/p]
• [p]Input binding is now properly remembered when exiting and reentering the game.
  [/p]

• [p]Resetting a run during mint void no longer removes the mint void.[/p]
• [p]Leaderboard hint calls no longer happens in areas without leaderboards.[/p]
• [p]Viewing leaderboard without internet doesn't lead to the leaderboard menu being stuck for a lengthy time anymore.[/p]
• [p]Retrying leaderboards/ghost runs no longer lead to an error under certain conditions.[/p]
• [p]You can no longer upload to leaderboards if certain accessibility options are enabled.[/p]
• [p]Certain accessibility options no longer break after doing a leaderboard run.[/p]
• [p]Quitting the game during a run no longer enters you back in it if you restart the game.
  [/p]

• [p]Drone mode can not be entered during certain conditions anymore.[/p]
• [p]Switching modes during drone mode no longer allows you to switch into regular gameplay under certain conditions.[/p]
• [p]Bat Dive Arrow talisman now works as intended and remains a straight line.[/p]
• [p]Rising Boost talisman now has a harsher wall cooldown to stop you from climbing infinitely and is not affected by slopes.[/p]
• [p]Paraglider talisman no longer has sound effects sticking around under certain conditions.[/p]
• [p]Certain talisman effects no longer stick around under certain conditions.[/p]
• [p]You can no longer clip underwater when using the whirlwind talisman under certain conditions.
  [/p]

• [p]Some areas now feature camera overrides for better wall jumping segments.[/p]
• [p]Some new NPCs have been added to the demo region of Lokitana.[/p]
• [p]Some new tutorials have been added to the demo region of Lokitana.[/p]
• [p]Some black artifacts seen in the water across Lokitana have been fixed.[/p]
• [p]The tutorial has several minor tweaks to its layout for a better gameplay experience.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted the occurrence of certain ocean events like seagulls. [/p]
• [p]The water effects around the giant chains are now less intense to avoid clipping.[/p]
• [p]Sailing ships now properly appear across the demo region of Lokitana.
  [/p]

• [p]Cutscenes have received new & improved animations.[/p]
• [p]Some secret cutscenes have been added to the demo region of Lokitana.[/p]
• [p]Some dialogue has been tweaked to make clear DK is received as cringe in-game too.[/p]
• [p]Mr. Mint now has new dialogue when beating his challenges.
  [/p]

• [p]Already collected eyetems won't be recollected when starting the game in certain levels.[/p]
• [p]Landing in bat form no longer always produces sand footsteps.[/p]
• [p]Music no longer overlaps in final demo cutscene under certain conditions.[/p]
• [p]Some objects don't appear floating in the air next to you anymore when exiting the floating fashionista.[/p]
• [p]The final demo cutscene no longer during the chest menu.[/p]
• [p]Collision on rings has been removed.[/p]
• [p]Improved some LODs that were set too low.[/p]
• [p]Removed a tiny white pixel on the game logo.[/p]
• [p]Steam app icon has been improved.[/p]
• [p]Music has been rebalanced.[/p]

It’s rare that a video game pumps actual joy into my shrunken, leathery heart, but I definitely felt a certain springtime stirring when I first jumped in 3D platformer Demon Tides. Hit the button again exactly when you land and you’ll be rewarded with a higher, twirlier jump. Hit it a third time and you’ll be treated to a triumphant, arcing somersault. Yes, this is the stuff! This is the old N64 Mario magic I’ve been missing.

Nostalgia is the enemy of critical thinking, you say? The games industry is a flat circle of corporate iteration, is it? A stifling quAAAgmire from which not even moderate oddballs like New York-based developers Fabraz can escape? I know, I know, but please, let me have this. Let me do the “let people enjoy things” meme, just this once. Look, I can turn into a bat as well. I can turn into a fat little frisbee with ground-pound functionality. I can turn into a spindash-capable snek.

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