Super Mario Odyssey and Wind Waker collide in this expressive Steam Next Fest 3D platformer that's already an early GOTY contender for me

What if an ocean full of islands were all tightly designed platforming areas, sort of like if The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker had you sailing between levels from Super Mario Odyssey? That's what Demon Tides is all about, except rather than sailing peacefully across the seas you barrel over waves as a spinning snake, and these levels that hide hidden gears can be jumped through using your own customizable move set.

From Fabraz, this is a sequel to Demon Turf that largely does its own thing with a new open level structure and fresh story. The thing Demon Tides does keep, however, is demonic hero Beebz' excellent platforming move set, the foundations of which have been cleverly built upon. On a journey to learn more about her family, her and her hellish crew rock up to an ocean kingdom beset by a strange red coral, an unreachable floating castle chained to the sky. How to get up there? Tearing up these islands with wild jumping tricks, wall runs, and even a bit of graffiti may point in the right direction.

Bat outta hell

Movement in the last game very much took its cues from Super Mario 64, with a twist in how Beebz could transform into demonic forms to alter her momentum and trajectory. These all return here, with additional tweaks that give even more options, allowing you to thread together jumps almost however you could imagine. Turning into a spinning top mid hop allows you to hover and reposition before gravity takes hold, but do it before the bat form double jump and the winged form will fling itself forward to give you some serious range. Dash attacking in mid-air further boosts a jump, the direction altering depending on the form to either give you purely more distance, or perhaps a slam into the ground instead. Vertical and horizontal wall runs join the mix too, meaning some sections can feel like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's fantastic jumping challenges – all with the power to go off script as you please thanks to Beebz' powers.

Rather than simply going from A to B to finish a level, the islands in Demon Tides are a lot more freeform in how you approach them, and how many chests you want to uncover to assemble gears or unlock new abilities. Because of all the different jumps and twists you're able to pull off at speed, there's way to thread gaps even between those more obvious routes to each goal, perhaps flinging yourself from one pathway to another or skipping a chunk of stage. Able to plant down her own checkpoint flag to teleport back to by holding a button, Beebz can conquer heights with ease. These checkpoints are now slight de-emphasized thanks to shortcuts that can also be unlocked to permanently ease the exploration of a space, such as dropping down a rope to sea level.

Further allowing you to control the way Beebz jumps and moves are talismans that can alter the properties of that already expansive moveset, allowing you to get really expressive with exactly how you want to cleave through zones. Just in the demo, I get to try out a very brief glider that allows a moment of calm to extend a long leap, and another that has the mid-jump spin gain just a little bit of height as it initially hangs, saving my bacon and allowing me to reach a good couple of platforms I almost misjudge. These are earned the same way as gear – just hidden all around – with some even nodding a horned hat Demon Turf by throwing Beebz into a more linear challenge level to complete (though even there, there's often ways to use skills to skirt some of the intended routing).

Where the first game could at times be a little slow-paced, everything in Demon Tides feels so much slicker – sometimes, twitchier. It takes me a little while to get the hang of this change, but it suits the much larger scope, making it a breeze to spin, jump, and roll all over stages. As a fan of that first game, I wasn't sure at first what to make of this expansive change in direction – I was worried it may end up diluted – but that's not the case at all.

Somehow, Demon Tides is managing to feel more bite-sized and varied, while at the same time much more ambitious. With movement that's this good, and challenges open to approach how you please, Demon Tides is achieving the platformer holy grail of genuinely evolving how you move through 3D spaces. If you love a good jump sesh, you can't afford to miss this one. Demon Tides is coming to PC in 2025.

Demon Tides isn't the only jump-happy demo I've loved – Ruffy and the Riverside gave me good Banjo-Kazooie and Crash Bandicoot vibes from my favorite Steam Next Fest platformer, where you can swap water and lava to break levels. What else is next? Take a look at our new games 2025 guide