- Open-world survival crafting with creatures from Chinese mythology
- An open-world sandbox where you tame giant creatures and utilize natural disasters
- Combining Survival, Exploration, Building, and Combat… Latest Build Unveiled at Shanghai Experience Event
Chinese game developer Cyancook Games has unveiled new information about its new open-world fantasy survival crafting game , ‘Of Peaks and Tides,’ based on Unreal Engine 5.
Having solidified its foundation over the past year since its initial reveal, Scion Cook Games presented an expanded vision for the game through this announcement. In particular, it drew attention by introducing a wide range of key features that will serve as the core of the game, including a unique world inspired by ancient Chinese mythology and bizarre creatures, as well as faction systems, exploration, crafting, and combat systems.
‘Of Peaks and Tides’ is a sandbox adventure game that organically combines survival, exploration, building, and combat. It boasts high interactivity where the surrounding environment and situations change in real-time based on the player’s choices and actions, and aims for a high degree of freedom in gameplay where players deviate from standardized routes to find their own diverse solutions.
Awakening at Everland, a World Abandoned by the Gods
‘Of Peaks and Tides’ is set in ‘Everland,’ a vast world inspired by Eastern mythology.
Everland, which was once connected to the gods, was shattered into pieces as the connection was severed by the collision of heaven and earth, and the civilization left behind by humanity also turned into ruins.
The player awakens as ‘Nolands,’ a being with nothing, and begins a journey of survival and exploration. In the process of gathering resources, constructing buildings, and battling various creatures, they must discover traces of a forgotten civilization and uncover the secrets of the world.
As the journey continues, the player encounters the existence of gods who abandoned humanity, and the journey to find the truth of the lost civilization unfolds in earnest.
Physics-based gameplay where even natural disasters and giant creatures become weapons
The game puts forward ‘boundaryless creativity, imaginative combat’ as its core philosophy. It is characterized by a design that utilizes Unreal Engine 5’s physics system to allow the surrounding environment itself to be used as a gameplay element.
Natural environments such as sandstorms and blizzards influence combat, and it is possible to use plants to trap giant creatures or manipulate their movements. The game also supports constructing mobile bases on tamed creatures or traveling across the world riding giant flying creatures.
Everyday objects can also be utilized in unexpected ways. New combat styles can be created through the combination of the surrounding environment and objects, such as unique weapons like a strawberry hammer or a honeycomb hammer proving effective in battles against powerful bosses.
Creatures Stepping Out of the Shanhaijing, a Living, Breathing Ecosystem
Various creatures inspired by the ‘Shan Hai Jing,’ an ancient Chinese geographical and mythological text, appear at Everland.
Representative examples include the Buzzer (Fuzhu), Little Taotie, Mischievous Monkey, and Giant Xi. These are not merely enemies that attack the player, but are implemented as part of the ecosystem that react to their surroundings and exhibit independent behaviors such as hunting and hiding.
Various biomes are featured throughout the world, including the Cangmu Source, dense forests, vast deserts, and snow-capped mountain peaks. One of the game’s enjoyable elements is that distinct environments and life forms appear in each region, offering new challenges and discoveries during exploration.
Tencent and developers from ‘Naraka’ and ‘Diablo Immortal’
Scien Cook Games is an independent game development company based in Shanghai, China. It is composed of veteran developers, including personnel from Tencent, who have experience developing games such as Naraka: Bladepoint and Diablo Immortal.
Founder Ted Cao, a former producer at Tencent Games, stated his goal, saying, “We plan to showcase immersive games that users want to experience firsthand through a creative development approach that responds quickly to changes in the market.”
‘Of Peaks and Tides’, Developed for a Year, Holds Experience Event in Shanghai
Since the game was first unveiled last year, the development team has focused on improving the game’s quality for about a year, based on the interest of players and media around the world.
The latest build adds more dynamic environments, enhanced visual effects, expanded environmental interactions, and large-scale boss battles. The overall scale of the game and interactive elements have also been expanded compared to the initial reveal.
Over 500 local players participated in the two-day offline experience event held in Shanghai. On-site, attendees were able to experience the latest builds firsthand, including crafting, natural disasters, and road and bridge construction systems, and gameplay videos filmed by the participants were shared through the local community.
However, specific release schedules, such as the exact launch date and price, were not disclosed in this announcement. A PC Steam version is currently under development, and additional information is scheduled to be released in the future.
Information regarding ‘Of Peaks and Tides’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | CyancookGames (based in Shanghai) |
| Genre | Open world survival crafting, action adventure |
| platform | PC (Steam, Under Development) |
| Release date | Undecided |
| characteristic | Based on Unreal Engine 5, online co-op for up to 4 players, based on Eastern mythology (Shan Hai Jing). |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
