You've crashed onto the shores of Ragnar's kingdom, and the path to his castle stretches across three vast oceans filled with Golden Gears, deadly bosses, and secrets tucked into every corner. Demon Tides throws you into an open-world platforming adventure where smart use of checkpoint flags and strategic gear collection separates smooth sailing from frustrating restarts. This walkthrough breaks down everything you need to conquer Lokitana, Shiverbeaks, and beyond.
How Do You Survive the Opening Shipwreck?
Beebz wakes up on floating wreckage after smashing into a red reef, and your first task involves rescuing scattered crew members while learning the movement fundamentals. The path forward stays linear here, so focus on mastering the basics.
Follow the wooden platforms straight ahead from your starting position, then turn right and jump across the line of planks. You'll meet DK first, who explains that rescued crew members get "phased" back to safety automatically. No escort missions here, just touch them and move on.
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The shipwreck section teaches every core movement mechanic. Take your time practicing jumps and boosts before rushing through.
Continue along the platforms until you find Luci standing beside a flag. This introduces the checkpoint system that will save you countless hours throughout the game.
Demon Tides Early Game Walkthrough
What Makes Checkpoint Flags So Powerful?
The manual checkpoint flag lets you drop a respawn point almost anywhere on solid ground. When you die or manually warp, you return to that flag instead of a distant auto-checkpoint. Stop thinking of it as a save point and start treating it as a personal rewind button.
Smart flag placement strategies:
- Plant before any series of risky platforms
- Drop one immediately after completing a long climb
- Place flags at the start of tricky shortcuts to practice without penalty
- Your most recent flag becomes the active respawn point
After meeting Luci, keep moving forward to find Midgi transformed into a barrel. Let the scene play out, then use your boost move to smash through the cracked barrier nearby. The game prompts the correct button for your setup, whether that's B on controller or your keyboard equivalent.
How Do You Repair the Ship at Makeshift Camp?
Once you emerge from the tutorial section, you'll arrive at the makeshift camp, your first safe hub. Talk to Midgi, and he'll ask you to scavenge four ship parts scattered across nearby platforming routes.
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Hold B on controller or 2 on keyboard to ping the direction of your next objective. Beebz literally points toward what you need, saving tons of wandering time.Four paths lead out from camp, each ending with a ship part. The platforming stays gentle with basic jumps, slightly longer gaps requiring boosts, and some vertical climbing. The real trick involves minimizing repeat runs when you mess up.
Drop a checkpoint flag just outside camp before committing to each path. If you fall halfway through, you'll restart close to that path's entrance instead of back at the camp center.
Once you've collected all four parts and returned to Midgi, he repairs the ship and hands you your first world map. He circles a rough area where Runa might be hiding, but Beebz insists on detouring to Radio Towers first.
What's the Best Strategy for Radio Towers?
Radio Towers serves as your first real level, teaching exploration structure, side objectives, and reward chests in one go. When you arrive, you'll spot a leaderboard boat, a chest, and a Lokian NPC further in.
Talk to the Lokian first. He explains the radio station needs power and guards some rewards until you fix things. Near him sits another chest that reveals a glowing ring high on one of the towers when you try to open it.
Demon Tides Early Game Walkthrough
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Don't rush straight for the ring and ignore the radio equipment. You'll climb all the way up, complete the challenge, and realize the tower wasn't powered, so the chest still won't open.
Follow this order instead:
- Work through the level toward the tower with the highlighted ring
- Plant a checkpoint flag at the tower base or halfway up
- Reach the top and interact with the radio bank first
- Wait for confirmation that the tower is now live
- Only then interact with the ring to start the challenge
How Do You Clear the Ring Challenge?
Once you touch the starting ring, a route of rings appears leading around and off the tower. Follow them in order without missing any. If you mess up, the sequence resets.
Before triggering the starting ring, drop a flag right beside it. Failed attempts let you warp back instantly instead of reclimbing the entire tower.
Ring challenge tips:
- Don't rush the first few rings while learning boost jump distances
- Commit to a rhythm since pausing too much throws off timing
- If one ring feels barely reachable, plant a flag just before that section
Completing the challenge and powering the tower unlocks both chests. You'll receive your first Golden Gear and first Talisman, setting up your early progression nicely.
Where Is Runa's Village and Why Does It Matter?
With Radio Towers complete, return to your ship and chase the mark Midgi drew on your map. Runa's village sits on the eastern side of that circled area in Lokitana. Look for a small settlement with docks and cliffs behind it.
Climb the path up the cliff to your right, and you'll find Runa overlooking the area. She explains how Golden Gears tie into progression and marks the Jester's location on your map.
Demon Tides Early Game Walkthrough
To leave Lokitana, you need both 10 Golden Gears and defeating the Jester. The boss fight becomes available after wrecking all three of his facilities.
How Do You Defeat the Jester Boss?
The Jester operates three facilities across Lokitana: the Minery, Juicery, and Hatchery. Destroy all three to unlock the boss battle.
Jester's Minery
The Jester guards crystals being mined by three cranes. Disable each crane using levers reached by completing nearby challenges. Once all three cranes stop, a chest near the leaderboard unlocks containing a Golden Gear.
Jester's Juicery
Located in the southeast region, identifiable by the purple hue surrounding the island. Make your way to the top using escalators with crystals, then pull the lever on the elevated platform to halt operations.
A Gearserker guards this location. Wait for it to smash its hands on the ground, then use boost attacks on the spikes behind its hands. Hit both hands to make it vulnerable, then attack three times for the kill and another Golden Gear.
Jester's Hatchery
Find eggshells with goo being poured into them. Grab bombs from nearby boxes marked with bomb icons and throw them at the two eggshells to destroy them. The first sits near a chest with two locks, while the second hides inside a tower structure deeper in the area.
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Use boost attacks on bomb boxes to make them generate bombs faster instead of waiting for the automatic respawn.
Demon Tides Early Game Walkthrough
The Jester Boss Fight
During battle, the Jester spins a prize wheel determining his attacks. You can only deal damage during two specific attack types.
Prize wheel attacks:
The bomb attack and mask clone attack are your damage windows. After four successful hits, the Jester transforms into a gigantic cloud shooting lasers. Dodge the beams, wait for the bomb attack, kick the rocket, and finish him off.
Victory grants an extra Talisman slot, expanding your ability loadout for tougher challenges ahead.
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You cannot fast travel until reuniting with your crew, so chase that smoke immediately.
Runa arrives to explain that Tridentarius, an evil scientist who created the Gearserkers, rules Shiverbeaks. Defeating her is optional but grants another Talisman slot. Your main goal remains collecting 20 Golden Gears to unlock Thuintir.
Inside the Gearserkium
Navigate past presses, wall runs, and a maze section with a top-down camera. Follow yellow-painted paths through the maze to find each gate. After the third gate, you'll face a Treaded Snake Bomber Gearserker.
This Gearserker has cannons for arms and spits poison in a cramped arena. Wait for bomb shots, avoid them, then pick up unexploded bombs or boost attack them into the enemy. When its chest opens revealing the gear inside, boost attack for true damage. Three hits defeat it and drop a Golden Gear.
Tridentarius Boss Phases
Phase One: She chases you in a mecha. Run away while avoiding attacks. Glass tubes emerge from walls periodically. Boost attack both tubes to make the mecha malfunction, then chase her until she trips and boost attack her head.
Phase Two: The mecha flies and spews fire. Same strategy with the glass tubes, but she's airborne now. Break both tubes, chase, and attack when she trips.
Phase Three: Jump across platforms while avoiding rockets. Reach her position, and Beebz finishes the fight automatically.
Victory grants another Talisman slot. Now explore Shiverbeaks for the remaining Golden Gears needed to reach Thuintir.
Key Takeaways for Your Journey
Demon Tides opens up dramatically once you understand its core systems. Smart checkpoint flag usage eliminates frustration from missed jumps. Strategic Golden Gear collection prevents hitting progression walls. Boss fights follow predictable patterns once you identify damage windows.
The path to Ragnar's Castle runs through 35 Golden Gears and three defeated generals. Take your time exploring each ocean, follow this guide, chat with every NPC for personality-filled quests, and remember that the freedom to tackle obstacles your own way makes this adventure uniquely rewarding.