A player before me destroyed a bridge in this Steam Next Fest demo, so I had to build it again in this narrative adventure where your choices have consequences for others

Tides of Tomorrow isn't like any narrative game I've played before, though it does play with expectation. We've all reached the end of something like Telltale's The Walking Dead and gleefully thumbed through the pages that show what could have happened if you made other decisions, comparing the shape of your own journey to that of other players. Were our decisions with the majority, or the minority? Tides of Tomorrow takes this element and asks 'what if that was the whole point?' Here, you're always in the footsteps of other plays, reacting to the world they leave behind – which I get a taste of in my Steam Next Fest demo.

Tides of Tomorrow is developed by Digixart, who is no stranger to crafting narrative-focused journeys thanks to the excellent Road 96 and its sequel. Set on Elnyd, an ocean planet that's been ruined by plastic dumping, you play one of many Tidewalkers who are slowly re-emerging from suspended animation below the waters in the wake of a Great Flood. As a plastic-borne illness takes hold, you'll need to figure out how to survive as you navigate harsh flotillas filled with people living in the shadow of the same sickness. Existing on the brink of the end, will your decisions carve out a path forward just for yourself, or towards a new future for all? You can get a taste of it yourself in the demo (check out our Steam Next Fest guide for more on how to do that).

Waving back

After connecting me to the recorded actions of another player, Tides of Tomorrow opens having me literally swim to the surface after being awoken, pulled out by Nahe, a kind researcher. Visions show me Nahe interacting with the player I'm 'following', but the conversation I have with her afterwards makes it clear this is no glimpse into a parallel world. Nahe has literally just saved that other player and sent them on their way right before meeting me.

I'm not just the one following another player – my decisions will have an impact on those who end up following me, as well. Suffering a plastemia attack, Nahe offers me an Ozen bottle to keep it a bay, a gaseous medicine that's in limited supply across Elynd. And this is her last bottle. Take it, and she won't be able to offer it to players coming up behind me. Obviously, that has little impact on my own playthrough, but still, I can't bring myself to scoop it up. What if someone else needs that Ozen more than me? I push on.

From there, the game skips me ahead to Marketland, a floating trade town controlled by Obin, an unscrupulous chap who rules over the Ozen supply that moves through the location. Which also makes it the perfect place to score big with a little bit of thievery, teaming up with Reclaimer and party animal Eyla, who's also suffering from the plastic poisoning. But, it's clear even minutes after stepping off my boat and onto the dock that I'm in for a quite different experience than the player before me, with some parts of the plan made easier by their meddling, and others tougher.

Tides of Tomorrow informs me that guards are on edge as another Tidewalker previously stole some Ozen already. But, through visions I can see, the player before met with harsher resistance in the form of a fully barbed-wire enforced lockdown, forcing them to sneak in through a side entrance. After a simple bit of distraction, I'm able to actually make it through the main gate myself unimpeded, however. Searching through the market and quizzing the locales, I spot the ghostly trail of the same player who had to sneak through it using vents as they ended up pursued.

At another point, I need to cross from one part of the market to another, but the player before me had to destroy a makeshift bridge to evade guards. Which means I have to part with valuable scrap to repair it. Taking the sting off, though, a nearby resident passes some scrap forward to me after the player before had kindly shared resources with them.

Even so, during the heist proper, stealth isn't easy thanks to constant patrolling guards. Hiding spots mean I can avoid their gaze, but some of them have become too obvious thanks to the player ahead making certain hideaways now appear out of place. After we nab the loot, I have a window of time to hide some additional Ozen around the hideout for other players to find and keep before the final getaway.

Tides of Tomorrow makes me really feel connected to the adventures of other players, and I love the idea of inverting the now classic narrative gaming hook of seeing what other players did. Here, you get to actually experience those diversions alongside your own choices, and have it affect you in real time instead of just being nosy at the end. It's not quite Death Stranding 2 levels of co-op world building, but in a way the focus on storytelling impact in Tides of Tomorrow makes you feel closer to those you're matched up with.

On the other hand, after playing only one proper sequence it's still hard to see how the shape of Tides of Tomorrow will shake out in the long run. Knock-on effects from player decisions are intriguing in the broad view, but there's also a sense that at times you're railroaded through no choice of your own. Feeling quite reactive to what the player did before me, I didn't feel like I had to grapple with many important choices of my own, even if I'm told at the end that some big diversions are possible, like having a face-off with Obin himself. But for now, jump on in, and choose your own path.

Tides of Tomorrow launches on PC, PS5, and Xbox on February 24, 2026

With plate Tetris, dog-spinning, and limb-tangling smooching, Consume Me perfectly merges narrative and mechanic design to warmly tackle heavy themes