Chinese action game are take over the video game industry by storm . These games revel in their maximalist legal action that instantly catches the musician ’s eye and offer major power fantasy . Black Myth : Wukongwas one of the intimately - sell game of 2024 , while other Taiwanese games likeLost Soul AsideandPhantom Blade Zeroare some of the most anticipated upcoming action game around . Another Formosan action mechanism biz that ca n’t be ignore isTides of Annihilation , which garner a tidy sum of attending following its reveal atSony ’s last nation of Play .
tide of Annihilationis an activity plot based on Arthurian legends . player control Gwendolyn , who is reinterpreted as the sole subsister of an otherworldly attack on London , and fight in cheap , combo - found battles with the assistance of Knights found on Arthurian Legends . While it ’s make grow by a Chinese studio , this premise feel like it could ’ve come from a British developer . That shows just how far Chinese secret plan exploitation has number in late years .
At GDC 2025 , I verbalise to Ary Chen , Co - CEO and COO ofTides of Annihilationdeveloper Eclipse Glow Games to learn more about the formation of the studio , this late wave of Formosan action mechanism games , and how Eclipse Glow has gone about creating a game arrange in London while working in a studio ground in Chengdu .
A cosmopolitan action game
The sudden inflow of Chinese studios make eminent - quality console game might appall some westerly gamers , who closely associate China with Mobile River , MMO , or free - to - dramatic play game . In world , plot likeTides of Annihilationare examples of Chinese studios finally taking advantage of the experience biz developer in the area have gained by work with other well - screw westerly studio . Chen explicate that developers at Eclipse Glow Studios have experience sour at companies like Sega and Ubisoft on franchise such as Like a Dragon , For Honor , andAssassin ’s Creed .
Of naturally , these Chinese studios still need to find ways to appeal to Western gamers , who are n’t typically as tender of the literary genre and styles of games historically popular in China . This has been done through a choice of gameplay musical style , as westerly audiences have attached themselves to this moving ridge of action game , take up from the likes of Dark Souls , Devil May Cry , and Bayonetta . Tides of Annihilationtakes thing further by stimulate an remarkably Western circumstance .
We need to in truth respect the British culture and the legends of King Arthur .
WhereBlack Myth : Wukongembraced China’sJourney to the Westmyth , Tides of Annihilationembraces Arthurian fable . Players are explore a fantastical version of London , torn between realities and fighting with the help of knights from Austrian legends . From the moment the game was revealed , Baldur ’s Gate 3voice actress Jennifer English was already cast and delivering a strong performance as the main character , Gwendolyn . It ’s a bold swinging for a Taiwanese studio apartment to tell such a Western story , and Chen admit that this coming issue forth with its own challenges and requires a fortune of attention and research on Eclipse Glow ’s part .
“ Because the caption of King Arthur is a Western story , as a Chinese studio , we demand to think about how to reinterpret the culture and how to tell a good story with it , ” Chen tell Digital Trends . “ That is something we are constantly working on . We want to truly respect the British civilisation and the fable of King Arthur , so so as to separate a right fib , we ’ve been referencing a lot of books and materials and confabulate with experts in these fields . Last twelvemonth , the squad in reality proceed to London to do a humble - scale playtest and they also did sightseeing to actually see these historical locations . ”
From what I ’ve seen from the reveal poke and extended gameplay footage , Eclipse Glow seems to have done a solid task of adapting these legend respectfully while still putting its own spin on thing . And that setting might beTides of Annihilation’ssecret weapon when it come in to successfully hinge on this wafture of Formosan action game hype . Chen aver game likeTides of Annihilationhas been in development for three years , so Eclipse Glow was n’t directly inspired by its winner . That said , Chen did admitBlack Myth : Wukong’swarm reception has made theTides of Annihilationteam sure-footed in what it ’s creating .
“ We recognize that there are a fortune of action game in this genre achieving vast success , and I cogitate that create a lot of confidence in Chinese biz makers and , for this studio , that we are on the right track , ” Chen explained . “ I would n’t say that [ Black Myth : Wukong ] was an influence because our objective lens never changed since the outset . The end was that we want to do action - risky venture games because we are all immense fans of the genre , and we want to institute a raw perspective to this genre . ”
Tides of Annihilationis in development for PC , PS5 , and Xbox Series X / S.
