Last Updated on Aug 31, 2026 @ 14:02:31 PM.
Gamescom 2026 has been and gone, and amongst many AAA and indie appointments, I went and finally got my hands on Ritual Tides, a game that I’d happened to run into on socials some two, three years ago by sheer luck. After that, I knew it was something special and kept an eye on it. Fast forward to now, and I went way over my allotted appointment chatting to Vertpaint Games’ CEO James Macleod about all things Ritual Tides, and I have some thoughts.
Intentionally vague for the longest time, the premise and idea of Ritual Tides was somewhat up in the air, but now with more trailers and hands-on coverage, we know quite a bit more. Set on the fictional, but very British island of Hortus, the game takes you on a survival horror adventure that’ll test even the hardiest of players. There’s tension, a few jump scares, beautiful visuals and a surprisingly understated audio design that kicks your arse without you even realising.
It’s a game of scarcity. Ammo is not plentiful, enemies are, and there’s a limit on everything, making it feel Metro-coded, in that respect. You’ll need to pick your shots carefully and ensure you’re aiming true with the melee weapons. I got to see the musket-like weapon featured heavily in the trailers, a single shot, bolt-action rifle that packs a serious punch, but if you miss, you’re in trouble close quarters wise; and the shovel, which regularly made me laugh thanks to the satisfying audio design behind the ‘bonk’ it makes. With multiple ballistic weapons still to be shown, and four melee weapons (currently), there’s going to be some variety in the final game for players to choose how they deal with the frankly terrifying and twisted creatures in front of them.
The environments are as oppressive as they are impressive constructed. I spent my time walking around a beach surrounded by enemies, climbing rock walls and more, and I was as impressed by the look of the game, with it being mysterious and moody and brilliantly brought to life, as I was with the design of it all. Despite being in a smallish room with the noise and din of 380,000 people milling around me, I was transported to another world, and this was all just a dev build, as the planned demo was unavailable that day.
Macleod also explained to me how they plan to avoid letting players ‘cheese’ the game in certain ways, with a new bit of technology created that’ll allow the enemy models almost adapt to their surroundings. Whereas in previous games you’d be able to run around a table and avoid enemies, reloading, healing and the like, before resuming your attack, this won’t be possible here.
Instead, after a certain amount of time, Macleod said, the character models assess the terrain and environment between them and us, the player, and find a suitable animation based on their own moveset, that’ll bring them closer to us. This was my absolute favourite revelation of my hands-on, and one that left me wondering why it hasn’t been done before. It’s definitely going to shock and surprise players when they find out they can’t do exactly what we’ve all done for years, in horror games at least.
There’s still a lot more to be seen in Ritual Tides, and with the new trailer showcasing a range of environments and areas, there looks to be quite the variety in what we can experience when it launches. The Lovecraftian horror mixed with British ‘charm’ and intimidation is a mixture that I personally can’t get enough of, and upon leaving the booth, had me thinking about what other surprises there was in store for everyone.
Vertpaint is a pretty small studio, one where Macleod was eager to impart that everyone tends to get involved where needed, and everyone has a creative need for the game to be everything they envisioned. I came away excited for Ritual Tides, now with a clear vision of what the team behind it are aiming for, and desperate to get my hands on it again. The enthusiasm from Macleod was infectious and the man loves his game, as evidenced by every single second I was in that booth. More CEO’s and developers need to take a leaf out of that book.
Ritual Tides is in development for Steam, and due to release in 2026. No console launch date is known, but it is following soon after.
For your next read, check out our previews on Warlock, the upcoming game from Wizards of the Coast, or Cosmo Tales, the cartoonishly interesting game where you play as a flying car.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
