Vienna-based indie studio Follow the Feathers has released a free playable demo for Weaving Tides, the upcoming textile-themed adventure that’s currently funding its final push on Kickstarter. You can get the demo right now from itch.io, and it will soon be available on Steam, as well.
Taking place in a magical, woven world, Weaving Tides tells the story of Tass, a young boy raised by dragons with the power to repair the damaged fabric of the world—”Weavers”. As the only human in this world, Tass sets out on a journey to find out more about who he is and where he comes from. Through that, Weaving Tides looks to explore a “rich and emotional narrative about family, identity and the blurred lines of morality.”
The Weaving Tides demo will let you get a taste of the “Zelda-like” puzzles that the game sees you solving through the Weavers’ unique abilities—for example, by stitching magical patterns, repairing torn pieces of fabric, and pulling objects around. Enemies similarly designed around creative use of weaving, and while combat is designed to be laid-back and fun rather than overwhelming, there’ll be optional difficulty modifiers for those wanting a greater challenge.
There will also a “Playground Mode” in the full game, in which players can freely create their own digital embroidery using a variety of different ribbons found throughout the game.
“Weaving Tides lets us explore the possibilities of textile crafting mechanics, the creativity and also the cozy aspect they naturally provide,” said creative director Verena Demel, whose background in fashion design feeds into the world and story of Weaving Tides.
“Every puzzle, every enemy and every challenge in the game can be overcome by utilizing the Weavers’ ribbons and their stitching abilities in clever ways. And whenever you use your ribbon to patch up the world you also add something new to it and leave your mark.
“We hope our community will leave a mark they’re proud of in the development of Weaving Tides.“
According to Follow the Feathers, development for Weaving Tides is about 75% done. The Kickstarter campaign is funding the final push before release: gameplay polish, more art assets, scriptwriting for minor characters and bug squashing. At the time of writing, it’s raised €12,147 of a €18,000 goal, with 23 days to go.
Weaving Tides is planned for release in northern autumn / southern spring 2020, for Switch, PC, and Mac.