Fallen Tear: The Ascension is a new, colorful Metroidvania that features tons of action, puzzles and a magical fantasy world.
Fallen Tear: The Ascension is a Colorful 2D Hand-Drawn Metroidvania from the Philippines
Metroidvanias have been all the rage quite recently, especially now in2022. Just this year we’ve caught wind of some special, unique takes on the beloved genre. One quite unique take is “The Last Case of Benedict Fox” which is said to be quite narrative-heavy. This is somewhat unusual for the genre as it usually has the players piece together the story on their own. Another isCrowsworn, a high-actionMetroidvaniathat is the perfect blend of Hollow Knight and Devil May Cry. We also got a look atBo, a super colorful take on Japanese folklore.
Of course last year we got the game that defined the genre, Metroid in its newestDreadentry. Next year, we’re potentially gettingHollow Knight: Silksongafter quite a long wait.
Right now though, we’ve seen a new game entering the arena. Budding game studio Winter Crew coming out from the Philippines is bringing its debut game, Fallen Tear: The Ascension.
The Story of Fallen Tear
Fallen Tear: The Ascension follows the footsteps of magical boy Hira. Apparently, this boy has the potential to change the world of Raoah. This land is a beautiful, magical place filled with wonderful beings and landscapes. However, the region is at its tipping point. A careful balance is maintained by the land’s many gods.
Corruption, however, has started to rear its ugly head. Certain gods of the pantheon have started to fall from grace, plunging the world into chaos. It will be up to Hira and his shrouded past to tip the scales back into order.
Much like other Metroidvanias, Fallen Tear will have a large number of explorable maps with tons of variety. It looks like this game will be a bit more “open” than others in the genre, as it encourages players to seek out their own paths. However, just like other Metroidvanias, there will be locked passages that will require some backtracking once the player obtains certain abilities or powerups.
Hira and His Fight
Hira is an expert combatant, and thus Fallen Tear will feature a ton of combat scenarios. His primary weapon will be the Enchanted Korr Blade, a magical blue longsword. Players will be able to use various attacks to launch Hira’s enemies into the air, juggling them and prolonging airtime. He can even teleport behind enemies in a sort of Blink-Strike, backstabbing foes for critical damage.
Of course, there will be tons of upgrades available to Hira. As it stands, it looks like there will be around 6 “abilities” aside from basic attacks. From the official gameplay trailer, we can see a dash, an uppercut that can break rocks, a double jump, a slam attack, a super punch, and possibly the aforementioned blink attack. Each of these moves can be augmented as well. Dash, for example, can be upgraded to leave a trail of fire in your wake whenever this move is activated.
Lastly, due to Hira’s unknown past, his ultimate ability is called “Overgrowth”. This causes Hira to enter a furious rage and unleash the beast within. Hira will transform into his bestial form, becoming quicker and stronger.
The Friends in Raoah
Hira will not have to go through his adventure in Fallen Tear alone. Throughout his travels in the land of Raoah, he will meet various people that he can choose to befriend. Aside from providing companionship and story dialogue, these friends will have combat applications.
The people you meet are called “Fated Bonds”. Once unlocked, these characters will unlock new abilities for Hira to make use of. Some can be as simple as granting cooking skills or creating maps of the land. Others can even join you in battle, by either dealing large amounts of burst damage, buffing Hira, or disrupting the enemy. All in all, Hira will have 22 Fated Bonds associated with him.
Ori and the Hollow Tear
Fallen Tear: The Ascension definitely takes some inspiration from other Metroidvanias that came before it. Of course, this is never a bad thing. It looks right at home with the likes of Ori and the Blind Forest and Hollow Knight. This is especially impressive as this looks to be developer Winter Crew’s first game under their belt.
The game is only currently planned to release onPC via Steam. Hopefully, they make a Nintendo Switch port as well, since that looks like the perfect place to play it.
For more news, check outThe Ascent New Story DLC “Cyber Heist” Announced, Releases August 18th,Harvestella Begins to Grow on Us With a New Feature Showcase, andTactics Ogre: Reborn Coming to PS5, PS4, Switch and PC November 11th.
