Chances are that very, very few of us will ever solo circumnavigate the globe by sea. But if you’ve ever wondered what it must feel like to sail alone around the world – with nothing but your resilience and resourcefulness; your vessel; vast, humbling surroundings; and the fickleness of Fate – then FAR: Changing Tides is the video game for you.

It’s not that FAR: Changing Tides is a hardcore survival-at-sea sim, but this atmospheric side-scrolling adventure captures that sense of man alone and adrift in an immense nothingness, peppered with vistas of jaw-dropping wonder. Remember the bioluminescent scene in Life of Pi? FAR: Changing Tides offers players a similar moment, where you’re encouraged to abandon the never-ending chores on board your vessel, drop sail and dive overboard to float for a few magical minutes.

From Swiss developers Okomotive, FAR: Changing Tides is set in the same post-apocalyptic universe as their acclaimed 2018 release FAR: Lone Sails. While not a straight sequel, Changing Tides adopts sequel mentality, bringing back many of the same successful ingredients as its predecessor, introducing some key differences to freshen up the formula, and just generally offers “more” – increasing scope, length, and creative ambitions in general.

In Lone Sails, you played as Lone, a young hero who trundles along a parched planet surface in a unique, heavily modified vehicle. Over the course of 3-4 hours, Lone follows the tracks of a collapsed civilization, looking for something; anything. That means keeping your vehicle fuelled and well maintained. You also frequently have to disembark and remove obstacles in your path, which introduces puzzle solving to the gameplay mix.

You make a similar journey in Changing Tides as new hero Toe. Except, instead of a desiccated universe, you’re in a flooded world as visually striking as you would expect. Your explorations and experiences, now as much above water as below, uncover a wordless account of the Ancients that passed before you – a people that first tried to build higher to escape the rising waters, before switching to floating or submerged settlements, before, well… 

Every location in FAR: Changing Tides is saturated with a Pripyat-grade sense of abandonment. That said, the mood of these ghost settlements is almost always more mournful than dark, making the title accessible to younger players. 

Much like Monument Valley, FAR: Changing Tides is the type of game that you’re likely to replay to immerse yourself in its pleasurably poignant mystery and sense of quiet desolation. The effect is underscored by a soundtrack from returning FAR composer Joel Schoch, which breaks the game’s usual muted sound design to dynamically respond to player and environmental actions. Discoveries and puzzle achievements hit emotionally hard in FAR: Changing Tides.

The game’s length encourages its replayability as well. Although longer than Lone Sails, Changing Tides still clocks in at a modest 5-6 hours, so it’s possible to complete the game in a single sitting. That’s not advisable, though, as the stretches of sailing gameplay do feel overlong at times. You should treasure your time in Changing Tides, not find it tedious.

So, you can’t complain that you don’t have time to appreciate the hand-painted locations in the game. That said, Changing Tides is rarely plain sailing. You have a lot to do, and keep an eye on, if you thought you could just cruise along. 

For example, when you’re on the water’s surface, harnessing the wind requires you to continually adjust the angle of your sails, as well as watch out for overhangs that can damage your vessel. Enough collisions and you’ll be forced to use an ultra-precious repair kit.

As an alternative, you could travel by engine power, which removes the need to drop your sails and mast in an eye blink. However, for that you must light the ship’s furnace and keep it going with whatever salvaged fuel you can find. That means regularly venturing out of your vessel to hunt for supplies. 

For the record, FAR: Changing Tides isn’t the type of game to leave you high and dry, so to speak. If you’re running short on burnables, salvage typically will appear on the seabed. That said, there was one notable instance in my playthrough, combined with a puzzle, where an entire level reload was required after extra materials did not spawn.

Generally, it feels smarter to preserve engine power for submarine episodes, which requires the player to master a buoyancy system to sink and raise your craft – one of the satisfying new ship mechanics introduced for the FAR sequel.

Ultimately, “satisfying” is the best word to describe FAR: Changing Tides. A few chore-centred frustrations and overlong interludes aside, it nails the feeling of being a lone explorer on a stunning voyage of discovery  – a post-apocalypic adventure in the vein of Jules Verne – that isn’t easily forgotten.

FAR: Changing Tides is available now on Epic, Nintendo, PlayStation, Steam and Xbox. It’s also playable with Xbox Game Pass as a day one release.


FAR: Changing Tides review

One part sailing sim, one part puzzle game, and all parts special, FAR: Changing Tides is an emotionally impactful adventure for explorers at heart. Best experienced in shorter play sessions to avoid fatigue, it takes players on a memorable, visually striking voyage of discovery.

 8.5
FAR: Changing Tides was reviewed on Xbox Series X