A new god game has hit the market in a genre that has been lacking in recent years with Tidal Tribe. After being announced earlier this year, solo indie developer Sepia Rain brings one of the most tranquil and serene gaming experiences that this writer has had in his gaming career.
Right out the gate upon launching the game players will see the game has three different modes. Story mode has five missions with several side missions or quests. Challenge mode currently includes four challenges that are time and score based with more to come. Last is the Free Game mode for those who want to play without any pressure in randomly generated world.
But that is not all that one will notice at the game’s launch. The ambient sound of waves crashing on shore and a full original musical score will calmly wash over the player only to emphasize the tranquility of Tidal Tribe.
Upon jumping into Tidal Tribe, regardless of mode choice, players will want to start manipulating and modifying the terrain to control the flow of water as the various waves crash upon the shore. By trapping the water into various lakes, ponds, and river systems that player’s create will allow of a plethora of various flora to sprout. Some examples of flora in the game include Cocoa that provide pleasure to the island’s residents and Watermelon that aids in dealing with thirst.
In addition to the different types of flora various animals and insects will appear. During my gameplay several species of birds and butterflies were seen.
As the gameplay continued and resources became more abundant the village residents began to upgrade their homes. This can be aided by two means. The first is by collecting resources yourself and delivering them to homes that need them.
The second method lets one dive into the expansive Myth system which provides a series of upgrades to almost everything imaginable on the island. Upgrade unlock parts of a myth or story associated with that upgrade. An example is upon unlocking the first of five upgrades for more cocoa unlocks the start of The Seven Days to Enlightenment story. Each upgrade reveals another part of the story where the whole tale is revealed on the final upgrade.
Players who skip out on the initial tutorial will want to visit the Wiki section in game. There useful information is available to players in a funny way that includes win conditions, information about the island which is named Anutanis and it’s residents, and a very important plant guide. In the plant guide all the critical details on where and how certain types of vegetation grow are provided.
Speaking of funny, this writer highly recommends playing through the tutorial and not skipping it. First off besides teaching all of the important controls and how to use them, such as flying around, there is a lot of fun or humorous little moments and information. It becomes apparent early on that the NPCs and player character have quirky personalities and other fun traits that makes the dialog interesting and far from bland.
The NPC AI is a fun thing to sit back, listen to the hours of original music, and watch. In good times the triangle-head stick figure villagers will collect fruits and spend their free time relaxing. They might toss a coconut up in the air, fly a kite, or play with a toy boat in the water. However, in bad times, the NPCs will steal, fight, and even wage war. Depending upon their stats and needs, which can be viewed for each NPC, they will emote and act out accordingly. Love, desperation, and even anger will become evident.
Tidal Tribe is a game that is highly recommended for fans of the god game genre as well as any player looking for a relaxing and serene gaming experience. For this writer who is happy to be shooting away in most FPS games, Tidal Tribe provides a calm, fun, and tranquil break from the fast paced mayhem of other games that will provide hours upon hours of quality entertainment.
Tidal Tribe is available now at the Humble Bundle store and on Steam for Windows PC for $14.99 USD with special launch promotions running until July 25, 2019. Mac and Linux versions may appear at a later date. For more information visit the Tidal Tribe website or join the Tidal Tribe Discord.
Sepia Rain (@Sepia_Rain Twitter) also known as PowPit is a solo developer ran by Pit Gennari. Based out of Luxembourg, Gennari after finishing his CS degree in 2013, sat out to create a god game inspired by classic titles such as Populous, Doshin the Giant, and From Dust.
By clicking the Humble Bundle link, Nano Gaming News may receive a small share of any sale made through this link.
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