Tidewake is out on Google Play - and the islands fight back

The tide brought you here. Survival is up to you.

Tidewake: Survival RPG is now live on Google Play, and I want to use this first devlog to show what is actually inside the build - and what is coming next.

What shipped in 1.3

Seven biomes, one archipelago. You start on a beach and work outward through forest, mountain, swamp, desert, storm plateau, and finally the Endless Depths. Each island asks for a stronger answer than the last.

Survival that keeps its teeth. Hunger, thirst, stamina, and a warmth meter run alongside four seasons of eight days. Weather turns from rain to storm to fog to snow to blizzard. A blizzard is not decoration - it changes what you can carry and how far you can walk.

Build a base worth defending. Walls, floors, storage, campfires, beds, workbenches, furnaces, and turrets. Then upgrade tools, armour, and weapons as the map stops being generous.

Combat with readable intent. Every creature telegraphs what it is about to do. Bows, spears, a crystal sword and charm slots let you answer differently: kite, trade hits, or break line of sight. Bosses, elemental hazards, and a lighthouse that has been waiting longer than anyone remembers sit at the end of that curve.

A ten-chapter story with two endings. Five islanders with unfinished business, a buried treasure, a lost cat, and a raft you have to actually build. You can sail home, or relight the lighthouse.

Three difficulties. Relaxed, Normal, and Hardcore. Fully offline, local saves, no account.

Behind the build

The world scenery and UI sprites are repacked into their own atlases, so licensed and new art never overwrite each other. That kept the whole game small enough to ship comfortably on a phone without cutting the sprite work.

Controls were the hard part. One thumb has to gather, build, fight, and menu without the screen turning into a cockpit. The rule I kept: at arm's length you should be able to tell a boss from a crab, and a campfire from a workbench.

What is next

Next up: more interior variety per biome, a fishing log that tracks what you have caught where, and quality-of-life passes on inventory sorting. If you hit a bug or want a specific system deepened, tell me in the discussion below - I read it.

Free to start with banner ads and a one-time US$4.99 Remove Ads purchase. Your saves stay on your device.