Demon Tides '90s retro design has a surprisingly modern influence

If you're into retro-inspired 3D platformers, then Demon Turf may have caught your eye a few years ago. Published by Playtonic, also the creators of Banjo Kazooie spiritual successor Yooka-Laylee, it stood out visually for how it was a 3D platformer but had 2D character sprites, reminiscent of early 3D games such as Mario Kart 64, which used prerendered sprites. However, according to Fabian Rastorfer, founder of indie studio Fabraz, this aesthetic choice was down to technical limitations rather than for the sake of being retro.

"We had no one experienced enough with 3D character models in the team," he tells me. "With that in mind, we explored how we could still make a 3D Platformer, and after some initial experimenting, it led to this 2D sprite in a 3D world approach that ended up defining the game's entire aesthetic!"

You might assume such a defining aesthetic would continue into its follow-up Demon Tides, which again follows young shape-shifting demon protagonist Beebz, but Rastorfer says it was also intentional to leave this style behind. "The team's doubled in size since Demon Turf and we wanted to increase the game's visual fidelity," he explains. "We're now capable of doing these beautifully intricate models and this enables us to do things we weren't able to do before, including more cinematic cutscenes. It even enabled us to do gameplay mechanics that were hard to pull off with 2D sprites before."

The power of retro stylisation

In another parallel with the evolution of 3D graphics in the late '90s and early 2000s, it wasn't just about more polygons and realistic textures, as this was also the same era that pioneered cel-shading, which is what Demon Tides leans on. "The goal was to make the game feel like a warm, familiar anime," Rastorfer says. "I'm a big believer in stylised games, not just as a personal preference, but because I also think they age infinitely better than games that aim for realism."

Another benefit of moving to 3D visuals is that it also means being able to create different outfits for Beebz that players can customise. "There are tens of thousands of different outfit combinations and that would have been impossible with 2D sprites," Rastorfer explains. "The singular outfit Beebz has in Demon Turf was already made out of 1,000 individually drawn sprites!"

Given the cel-shaded look and ocean setting of Ragnar's Rock, it's probably not a surprise that The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was among Demon Tides' inspirations, though you can't really talk about 3D platfomers without also bringing up Mario: "I've been a proud Mario Sunshine enjoyer for my whole life! Bowser's Fury was also a source of inspiration when it comes to world design."

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The Elden Ring influence

A more leftfield influence was, however, Elden Ring. No, really: "Elden Ring had a large impact on us, specifically in how it manages to fill every nook and cranny with something worthwhile for the player to find. Whether it's a vista, a bit of lore, or some loot, the player is always rewarded with something for being curious. I think that's wonderful."

But where Demon Tides most stands out is what Fabraz refers to as "expressive" platforming. "It asks the question: In how many different ways can I cross the same gap? Are the combinatorial possibilities large enough that I can express myself through the movement?"

This was actually already the case in its 2D/3D predecessor, as despite an update in aesthetics, Rastorfer says that nothing about the platforming needed to be overhauled. If anything, a new boost ability allows the expressive aspect to be even more fluid, allowing you to boost out of a bat jump into a bounce, or a spin into a drilled down spin jump, and more variations that are begging to be experimented with.

Indie game reinvention

Building on its past experiences, Demon Tides is developed with Unity, but more importantly, with the studio's own custom Fabraz Framework built on top of this established game software. It's a framework constantly being refined that isn't just great for its own IP but others as well, as the studio is actually also working at the same time on Bubsy 4D.

The revival of a mascot character most of us had written off decades ago is a subject for another time, but for now, Rastorfer says that project hasn't affected the scope or ambition of Demon Tides. "The Fabraz Framework is the reason why we can work on two games simultaneously so efficiently, as it cuts down a ton of initial setup work that a project usually comes with," he says.

Whether Demon Tides will be an indie 3D platformer that can be compared with Nintendo's high bar is another matter, but Rastorfer thinks the genre is still having an indie renaissance in the genre, at least if you don't think of the pure 3D platformers. "Indie pioneers are not trying to directly compete but innovate instead. Want a souls-like platformer? Another Crab's Treasure. Want a 3D Metroidvania? Pseudoregalia. Want a first-person parkour platformer? Neon White. I think it's extremely flattering how many people consider us as part of those indie pioneers, and I hope they keep on believing in us! We're very, very proud of Demon Tides, and I can't wait for everyone to play it!"

Demon Tides releases on PC on 19 February 2026, with Nintendo Switch to follow later. Try the demo now on Steam.