FAR: Changing Tides

Far: Changing Tides isn’t going to be for everyone. But if the idea of a quiet, lonesome adventure about keeping your boat moving forward puts wind in your sails, you’ll love it. There’s a wonderful soundtrack to enjoy, and the puzzles it presents to you are engaging and well thought-out. But sometimes it’s just a little too barren for its own good, and the awkwardness of controlling your ship can...

A delightful adventure powered by toys and fun, but with a heartfelt warning. FAR: Changing Tides is a little more barbed that its predecessor, but there's hope - and surprises - to be found.

Traverse a drowned world in this atmospheric puzzler.

The gameplay and design of Far: Changing Tides are reminiscent of Playdead's Limbo and Inside, featuring a beautiful setting that really draws you into the world without ever saying a word. If you like puzzle games and are looking for a quick and scenic adventure, then Far: Changing Tides is going to be just for you.

Far: Changing Tides may be familiar to those who played the original, but it's just as soothing and enjoyable a trip as ever.

The mystery of this broken world and the wordless, yet varied means by which you explore it makes FAR: Changing Tides an excellent follow-up to Lone Sails. The vessel is incredibly enjoyable to operate and maintain, and the music and world around it make the journey a compelling and satisfying one. It’s not a long game and the adventure arrives at the credits before you know it, but for what it ha...

FAR: Changing Tides is a mysterious, intriguing game. It builds off the inventive mechanics of managing a ship, the adventure you face taking on a vaguely unsettling tone at times. It's also fairly short – I finished it in about five hours – but that means it also doesn't try and stretch out its ideas until it outstays its welcome. This is an original and artistic game that deserves a little appre...

Game length is about right and although there is very little narrative, the story does come full circle and has a satisfying conclusion. If you are looking for a chilled-out, unusual puzzle-solving game I heartily recommend this one.  It has been available to play from day one on Game Pass so there is no reason not to jump in and check it out.

Far: Changing Tides largely sticks to the same recipe as its predecessor, making its vessel more complex and sending players on a journey through a different world. Its description as a companion game is fitting – although you will get slightly more out of it if you play the series in order – and while I loved the original, the sequel didn’t grab me as much.

Much of what is present in Changing Tides is plainly fantastic, but it is a shame that the game goes on for too long until it itself runs out of fuel and sputters across the finish line.

FAR: Changing Tides is an indie game about a journey through a devastated world. And while it is pretty, it could have been much better.

The sequel to FAR: Lone Sails scours off the rust and polishes the rest to an acceptable shine. It’s a well-oiled machine that runs for twice as long, with a lot more adventure hiding under its hood to compensate for the series’ shortcomings.