Key Preview Takeaways:This Arthurian-legend action-RPG leans into its King Arthur inspirations in a really impressive way.The two boss fights in my demo were extremely satisfying combat encounters.Despite the combat being fun, Gwendolyn's movement controls still need some fine-tuning.In Tides of Annihilation it isn’t just London Bridge that’s falling down, it’s the entire city that’s been razed to ruins by an unknown presence invading from a mysterious otherworld, and you’re the only human survivor left to stop it. This action adventure heavily inspired by Arthurian legend made a serious splash when it was announced early last year, but I was initially concerned that the fast-paced slash ‘em up from first-time developer Eclipse Glow Games may have been all style over substance. However, after spending roughly two hours of hands-on time with a preview build at a recent event, I’m happy to say that Tides of Annihilation feels just as exhilarating to play as it is utterly dazzling to watch.While previous Tides of Annihilation trailers have depicted a broken-down Big Ben and lopsided London Eye, during my hands-on demo my investigations into its blight-riddled version of Old Blighty were restricted to a ruptured reworking of the British Museum. Referred to as the Great Russell Museum, presumably for boring legal reasons, this iconic piece of architecture has been torn asunder, buckled and blown apart by twisting branches and rivers of red running through it. It’s a unique and captivating experience to wander around a modern structure that’s been so significantly warped by otherworldly forces. It feels a bit like you hopped on the tube at Waterloo station but accidentally got off somewhere in Elden Ring’s Lands Between.This section was apparently several hours into the adventure, so the only context I had for why protagonist Gwendolyn had arrived inside the museum’s artifact-lined walls was that she was in search of a shard of the Holy Grail. Assisting in her hunt was Niniane, a young fairy with the ability to transform into a bird. She basically served as a shapeshifting signpost pointing to the next main objective, gliding away to perch on a piece of scenery in order to subtly indicate the way forward, but I’m told by the development team that she’s an extremely important character to Tides of Annihilation’s story. I also met a bizarre pair of snake-like creatures with hands for heads that seemed like they’d slithered straight out of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, but almost everyone else I encountered was desperately trying to kill me.Waves of MutilationThankfully, Gwendolyn is supremely well-equipped to conquer any contenders that stand in her way. In addition to a fairly standard suite of sword-slashes, dodges, and parries, Gwendolyn has a pair of spectral knights that can be triggered with a well-timed button press to beam in out of the ether with a series of strikes that powerfully punctuate each of her attack combos. Initially, my use of these Round Table knights was less Camelot and more spam-a-lot, as I gleefully button-mashed my way through the less intimidating hordes that greeted me after my arrival at the museum, but by the time I found myself being tested by the demo’s first boss I’d really started to grasp the subtleties of Tides of Annihilation’s setup.Initially, my use of these Round Table knights was less Camelot and more spam-a-lot.You can modify Gwendolyn’s strikes by holding a shoulder button to uppercut enemies and juggle them in the air, perform charged attacks to deal heavier damage, trigger devastating execution moves when you’ve lowered an enemy’s stagger meter, and once you’ve successfully landed enough blows, you can unleash a spectacular ultimate skill attack that rains down electrical bolts that pulverise everyone in their path. Everything feels supremely responsive to pull off, and the silky smooth animations keep it all flowing fluidly from one combo to the next.You can also get strategic in terms of which knights you want to employ. Gwendolyn can have two pairs of steel-covered soldiers to choose from at any one time, mapped to the left and right buttons of the D-pad so you can switch between them on the fly. As your stable of spectral sidekicks grows by unlocking new knights from defeating certain sub-bosses, you have the freedom to mix and match these pairs in order to create a loadout that best suits your personal playstyle. You might want to pair the short-range specialties of the scythe-wielding Bedivere with Gawain’s ability to teleport straight to targets, for example. Or perhaps you’d prefer to partner the guard-breaking attacks of Palamedes with Kay’s ability to temporarily freeze opponents and buy you some breathing space during a battle. There were five knights available in my demo, but the developers told me that was just a small sample of the roster that will be available in the finished game, and I’m excited to see how creative the combat can become as Gwendolyn’s gaggle of guardians grows. Although it might sound like quite a lot to manage, Tides of Annihilation’s greatest magic trick is that it puts you in charge of this spectral horde of King Arthur’s cronies without ever bogging down a fight with any form of fiddly micromanagement. Its combat is consistently uptempo, never sacrificing any speed in favour of strategic flexibility.Getting your combinations of knights right and efficiently employing their support skills is crucial in order to overcome Tides of Annihilation’s beefier boss encounters, and there were two main story villains to overcome in my demo. After battling my way to the museum’s Egyptian wing, I was suddenly teleported into a sandswept desert realm and pitted head-to-head with the polearm-toting Anubis, who unleashed devastating tornado attacks upon a perilous pair of platforms that made up a giant set of scales. Later on I faced off against the surprisingly nimble Mordred inside the museum’s library in an extremely cinematic multi-phase fight. Mordred filled me with more dread when she eventually emerged from the earth atop a dragon big enough to intimidate a Targaryen, forcing me to take evasive measures as she swooped down and engulfed the combat arena in purple flames. Both of these battles absolutely popped with visual flair and challenged me to continually mix up my approach as each boss intensified their assaults. Paths of ExplorationGwendolyn’s armour-suited allies aren’t just handy friends to have in battle; a number of their unique strengths and abilities can also be employed while exploring the world around her. The archer, Bors, can be used to fire rope arrows in order to create new paths with ziplines, or to fire a cleaving bolt to tear through ropes that may be suspending treasure chests from a ceiling. Meanwhile, the burly Palamedes has more useful functions than a smartwatch, since he can punch through cracked walls or lift heavy doors to open up hidden rooms, as well as drag stone columns or raise heavy crates to create a platform towards objects that are otherwise out of reach. The implication is that each spectral knight that Gwendolyn recruits to her cause will open up new methods for navigating Tides of Annihilation’s environments, potentially leading to a Metroidvania-style structure where you’re consistently given reasons to revisit earlier areas in order to unlock secrets that were previously inaccessible. Exploring off Gwendolyn’s path of destruction also rewards you with optional combat challenges and even additional boss battles. When I wandered into the museum’s Chinese Gallery I got a cryptic clue from an NPC about a cursed fiend prowling the building’s halls, and by tracking him down I was eventually drawn into a fierce battle against a samurai surging with electricity. Later on after I’d shifted into the desert realm, I explored the sands surrounding the museum only to be set upon by a particularly tough tormentor who was able to tear portals through time and space in order to perform devastating darting attacks that ambushed me from opposing sides of the arena. Elsewhere there was the odd environmental puzzle to pause and ponder over, including a pretty novel brainteaser that involved manipulating the pieces on a giant doublesided chess set. Aside from being fun in their own right, completing these optional puzzle and combat-oriented challenges earns Gwendolyn everything from more damaging swords to sturdier sets of armour, as well as special badges that can be equipped to grant her additional buffs. When I was felled during a gravity-defying platforming section right at the climax of the Mordred encounter, I was certainly glad that I’d equipped the badge that brought Gwendolyn back to life with half her health so that I was able to keep calm and carry on with the rest of the fight. While Gwendolyn’s suite of controls felt supremely responsive and flexible for the most part, I did sense some minor restrictions with her movement that I hope are remedied ahead of Tides of Annihilation’s eventual release. Namely, her sprinting speed feels in need of a substantial boost, since shifting from a walk to a run only feels like a fairly modest change in pace. Similarly, her agility in the air appears in need of some tweaks because at present she’s a bit too beholden to the bounds of gravity. I wouldn’t say that Gwendolyn even has a double-jump; it’s more like a one-and-a-half-jump at best, and that made some platforming sections feel ever-so-slightly stiff as a result.I wouldn’t say that Gwendolyn even has a double-jump; it’s more like a one-and-a-half-jump at best.However, my biggest complaint after my short time with Tides of Annihilation is that I honestly wish it had lasted for longer, and that can only be a good sign. Especially since so many of the awesome encounters that have been teased in previous trailers, including the looming Shadow of the Colossus-inspired giant knights that double as both intense platforming challenges and breathtaking boss fights, were completely absent from this hands-on build. Indeed there’s clearly still much to learn about this alluring action adventure that’s currently in development for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, including its release date. (It’s yet to be officially announced, and if I had to guess I wouldn’t expect it before mid-2027 at the earliest.) But if this fantastic first taste is anything to go by, then Tides of Annihilation seems likely to grip me harder than a knight trying to pull a sword from a stone. While you're here, check out these previews of other big upcoming games we've played recently!Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2Star Wars: Zero CompanyMarvel's WolverineTristan Ogilvie is a senior video editor at IGN's Sydney office. He travelled to the Tides of Annihilation event as a guest of the organisers.