Of Peaks and Tides

Overview

Of Peaks and Tides is an open-world crafting survival game developed by Shanghai-based indie studio CyancookGames. Built on Unreal Engine 5, the game is set in a shattered mythological realm called Everland, where players explore a vast landscape shaped by ancient divine conflict. The game supports solo play and online co-op.

Of Peaks and Tides draws from Eastern mythology and folklore, blending survival mechanics with freeform crafting, environmental combat, base building, creature taming, and physics-driven interactions. The game was announced on August 14, 2025 from Shanghai and first shown publicly with a playable demo at Gamescom 2025 (August 20 to 24, Cologne, Germany). It is planned for PC release, with no confirmed release date beyond 2026.

Media outlets have compared Of Peaks and Tides to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Valheim, Princess Mononoke, Ark: Survival Evolved, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Shadow of the Colossus, and Monster Hunter.

Setting

The game takes place in Everland, a once-prosperous world torn apart by the war between heaven and man. Divine forces of wind, thunder, water, and flame, once revered by mortals, turned into destructive calamities that shattered civilization. Players take on the role of a member of the Nolands, the remnant human people, tasked with rebuilding and uncovering the truth behind Everland's ruin.

Core gameplay

Of Peaks and Tides centers on four interlocking systems: combat, crafting, base building, and creature taming. Combat is designed to move beyond traditional stat-based systems, emphasizing terrain, tools, and unconventional strategies with no single correct solution. The crafting system follows a "craft without limits" philosophy, letting players fuse nearly any combination of items to produce tools, weapons, siege engines, and landscape-altering devices.

Players build custom bases on mountainsides, cliff faces, or atop tamed creatures. Creature taming operates on a bond-based system where animals serve as mounts, combat allies, or mobile base platforms. The world responds to a dynamic seasons and weather system, bringing floods, sandstorms, blizzards, and shifting tides that change navigable paths.

Physics and technology

The game's physics system is a core design pillar. Everything in the world reacts and can become a resource; any item can be picked up and used. Players gain direct control over elemental forces including wind, thunder, water, and fire to reshape the landscape. CyancookGames built a custom physics editor within UE5 to support these interactions.

Multiplayer

Of Peaks and Tides supports single-player and online co-op for up to four players. Family Sharing is enabled on Steam. No player-versus-player mode has been confirmed as of Gamescom 2025.

Development

CyancookGames is a Shanghai-based indie studio founded by Ted Cao, a former Tencent Games producer. Team members have credits on titles including Naraka: Bladepoint and Diablo Immortal. Of Peaks and Tides is the studio's debut project. The team has stated publicly that no AI-generated art is used in the game. Stride PR handles public relations for the title.

In February 2026, the studio revealed four new enemies and confirmed that offline playtests would take place during 2026. A Chinese New Year poster was also released in February 2026.

Key details

Supported languages

System requirements