Tides of Annihilation just dropped its latest gameplay trailer during the recent Xbox Partner Preview. Read on to see our breakdown of the story, characters, the dual frontline battle system, and other gameplay mechanics.
Tides of Annihilation New Gameplay Footage Dropped
Tides of Annihilation finally returned after 9 months since its surprise announcement back in February, showing a new gameplay trailer of a boss fight against the witch Tyronoe! At Game8, we have been analyzing and dissecting the trailer to find possible lore and story connections, identifying new gameplay mechanics, and making predictions on how they may function. With that said, let’s dive right in.
Tides of Annihilation Story Analysis
We see our heroine, Gwendolyn, find her way at the heart of what seems like a flooded chapel inside a Folded Realm. As Gwendolyn, you are the last survivor of an otherworldly invasion in Modern London on a quest looking for both your sister and the shards of the artifact called the Holy Grail.
The Holy Grail is said to grant its user a wish, but as for what Gwendolyn will be using it for has yet to be uncovered. On the other hand, other figures from Arthurian legend, particularly Tyronoe, Lamorak, and Palamedes were showcased in the gameplay trailer.
Who is Tyronoe?
After entering the Folded Realm, Gwendolyn immediately comes face to face with the sorceress, Tyronoe. Arthurian legend buffs might recognize Tyronoe as one of the eight sisters of Morgan le Fay who lived in the mystical island of Avalon. They were renowned healers who tended to King Arthur after the Battle of Camlann.
However, based on the exchange between her and Gwendolyn, Tyronoe seems to be responsible for the destruction of the region called the Whitelands, a far cry from the benevolent version of the Avalonian enchantress sisters. It also appears that she was once a sorceress of the White King, possibly the ruler of the Whitelands, before she betrayed them.
It is more likely, then, that the Tyronoe from Tides of Annihilation is inspired by the nine evil sorceresses of Caer Lloyw from the Arthurian legend, Peredur son of Efrawg. These maiden-hags dressed in black used their magic and knowledge to ravage Britain. They were responsible for the murder of Perceval’s (also known as Peredur) cousin, the crippling of his uncle, and the destruction of his uncle’s kingdom.
We don’t know if this means that Morgan le Fay, Arthur’s half-sister and one of the nine sisters of Avalon, will also appear in Tides of Annihilation as a malevolent enchantress. After all, the destruction of the Whitelands was only attributed to Tyronoe in her and Gwendolyn’s exchange.
Is Tyronoe Using the Other Sisters?
Speaking of her sisters, Tyronoe summons what seems to be 6 other spectral maidens. We are not sure if these are meant to represent the other sorceresses of Caer Lloyw, but they do share many of Tyronoe’s abilities, like transforming into a winged beast, using blades, or conjuring a large fireball.
Most interestingly, it seems that Tyronoe never refers to herself as an individual in her dialogue lines, opting to use "we" and "us". This hints that the maidens are not just illusions or copies of Tyronoe, but perhaps individual spirits.
Though that would only mean we're seeing 7 out of the 9 sisters. It makes sense to leave Morgan le Fay out, as it would be odd for a prominent figure in Arthurian legend to have no major appearance in Tides of Annihilation.
As for the missing last sister, it could be either that a 7th spectral maiden is not being shown, or she could have been made into a separate character for Gwendolyn to encounter later in the story. Otherwise, it could be that Tyronoe’s spectral maidens just aren’t really meant to be the other sisters but something else entirely.
Lamorak, Enemy Turned Ally
In the trailer, Gwendolyn summons the spectral knight Lamorak to aid in her battle with Tyronoe, eventually even entering a partnered state with him and driving the enchantress to the edge. In Arthurian legend, Lamorak was a Knight of the Round Table and was referred to as one of King Arthur’s best knights.
Though he gets more focus here, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Lamorak. The spectral knight had already appeared for a few seconds in the previous announcement trailer as a boss fight.
After the battle between him and Gwendolyn, they could have struck an alliance. Tides of Annihilation's official Instagram account confirmed this in a separate post calling him the "former rival Sir Lamorak".
Tyronoe also referenced Gwendolyn’s "new ally", which could be referring to Lamorak or someone else entirely. If it were Lamorak, that would potentially place their boss fights relatively near each other in the story.
Who is Palamedes?
Another spectral knight, Palamedes, was called by Gwendolyn for a few seconds to help her break free from the clutches of Tyronoe’s bestial form. He not only successfully saved her, but he also blitzed Tyronoe through the second Folded Realm, shattering its barrier into pieces.
In Arthurian legend, Palamedes was a Knight of the Round Table. Formerly a Middle Eastern pagan, he converted to Christianity and joined Arthur, along with his father and two brothers. He was known for his unrequited love for the princess Iseult and his rivalry with her lover, Tristan. Palamedes also slew the deadly chimeric creature called the Questing Beast.
Where is Niniane?
Gwendolyn’s red-haired shape-shifting companion, Niniane, is absent in the recent gameplay trailer (at least in her human form). While certain story elements may have changed after the 9-month gap since her appearance, we can see that the sword she transforms into during the battle with Mordred shares the same design as the one that Gwendolyn uses to face Tyronoe. So she's probably been just here the entire time... getting swung like a bat.
Are Folded Realms Mindscapes or Portals to Another World?
Lead game producer Kun Fu explained that Folded Realms are a mysterious recurring story element with different types scattered throughout the game.
While we’re left to guess what they truly are, we can still glean a bit from Gwendolyn’s first line in the recent gameplay footage as she entered the torn chapel. She asks, "Another Folded Realm… Is this a memory from Lamorak’s past?"
We're not sure if "memory" means that the Folded Realm here is a literal portal into Lamorak’s memories or mindscape. If we explore this further, it's possible that Gwendolyn was sent inside by Lamorak himself to exterminate Tyronoe, who may have invaded it.
Tyronoe’s first line in the gameplay footage does seem to support this theory, "We thought all his knights were dead. Yet Lamorak sends one more. I almost admire him."
Could it also be possible that she had previously corrupted Lamorak, leading to the fight between him and Gwendolyn as seen in the previous announcement trailer?
On the other hand, it’s also possible that Gwendolyn’s use of "memory from Lamorak’s past" is an umbrella term for all the events that transpired in Arthurian legend. This would make the Folded Realms into twisted fragments of their world across both time and space rather than mindscapes. Tyronoe could have been a past foe of Lamorak’s, with no awareness that she had been frozen in time as she battled his knights.
Still, it doesn’t add up that Tyronoe can "create" these Folded Realms, as we saw her splinter the battlefield into a blue grassy plain on one side and a red wasteland on the other. There also seems to be a rule that Gwendolyn can’t pass through one during the battle, though she was able to enter the chapel Folded Realm just fine.
Are there different kinds of Folded Realms that humans like Gwendolyn can and cannot pass? Ones that are artificially conjured and ones that were created by a force of nature? We are still not sure, but we do know that they are manifestations of some kind of "memory".
Tides of Annihilation Mechanics and Gameplay Analysis
Moving on to the main attraction, the trailer showcased the Dual Frontline Battle System in action, a feature where spectral forms of the Knights of the Round Table from Arthurian legend are summoned and commanded to aid Gwendolyn in combat.
In the gameplay footage, Lamorak was summoned to interfere with the witch Tyronoe’s attack and threw his spear for Gwendolyn’s use. This spear lets her break through the mirrored barrier that was created by Tyronoe early in the battle, letting Gwendolyn’s attack reach the witch.
Synchronized Attacks and Combos During Partnered State
Sometime during the battle, Gwendolyn absorbs Lamorak, and the two begin fighting together as one unit.
In this partnered state, Gwendolyn’s dodges cover more distance as she momentarily hitches a ride on the agile Lamorak’s back, who can easily dart across the battlefield. Moreover, her attacks would be accompanied by Lamorak’s, joining her in executing combos and special attacks. In one instance, Lamorak even parries a powerful attack from Tyronoe that Gwendolyn, on the other hand, was barely able to parry at the start of the fight.
According to Kun Fu in an Xbox Wire article, knights can be summoned at any time during battle, even mid-combo. They can join in to extend the combo chains or use their abilities, like stopping time or creating a shield, depending on the situation.
Swappable Knight Sets
Kun Fu also confirmed that several different knights can be summoned in Tides of Annihilation with the Dual Frontline Battle System. This was seen in the trailer when Gwendolyn summoned a different knight, Palamedes, to help her break free from the clutches of Tyronoe’s monstrous form.
Two knights can be brought into battle with two interchangeable sets, bringing the number to a total of four spectral knights. Taking a closer look at the UI on the bottom left, it seems that the game will let players swap between the two knight sets using the left and right directional buttons.
Based on the footage, swapping between other knight sets will become inaccessible during the partnered state, as only Lamorak's icon was visible after Gwendolyn absorbed him.
Elemental Attacks and System
Though there weren't any clear indication of elemental attributes as a gameplay mechanic in Tides of Annihilation, we noticed that both Lamorak and Palamedes were given visually different special effects when using their moves and abilities.
Lamorak’s attacks look like a surging red electrical current. In some instances, he outright summons lightning strikes to damage Tyronoe as well.
In the few seconds we see him, Palamedes engulfed himself in orange flames before launching two consecutive fiery attacks on Tyronoe. Looking back further to the 11-minute gameplay footage in February, an unnamed knight accompanying Gwendolyn used ice attacks to launch enemies into the air as well.
These elemental attacks may allude to a deeper elemental interaction system that the developers have yet to elaborate on. We do see that Lamorak was able to imbue Gwendolyn’s sword with the same red electrical energy that he uses, before she struck Tyronoe.
In the February gameplay footage, Gwendolyn mainly used ice attacks, and while it wasn’t clear if this was drawn from a weapon or an ability, the unnamed ice-affinity knight may have imbued her with the element in the same way Lamorak did here.
In conclusion, different spectral knights may have different elemental attacks and can apply their corresponding elemental affinity onto Tyronoe’s own attacks and abilities. As for whether enemies are weak to certain elemental attacks is still unclear.
What’s Next for Tides of Annihilation?
Tides of Annihilation is still in active development, and it’ll likely be a while until we see more of the game before a release date is announced. Still, it’s very exciting to see how much lore and gameplay mechanics are packed into the recent trailer, considering how we haven’t even seen all of the 30 bosses and the variety of knights that are in the game.
Tides of Annihilation is preparing to release sometime in 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam and Epic Games). To stay updated on our next coverage of the game here at Game8, check out our article below!
Sources:
Tides of Annihilation | "Break the Mirror" Gameplay Trailer
Xbox Partner Preview | Breaking Down the Background and Boss Fight in the New Tides of Annihilation Gameplay Trailer
The Druids and King Arthur: A New View of Early Britain, p. 48-49
Peredur the Son of Evrawc Traslated by Lady Charlotte Guest, p.18
