Platform: PC
Genre: 2D, Metroidvania, Action

I’m always hankering for a new search action game, especially one that is 2D, has a distinct art style, and some new mechanics to keep the backtracking and action fresh. What really sets the wheat apart from the chaff is how good it feels just traversing through the sprawling map. Or if that fails, just have some intuitive fast travel options.

Fallen Tear: The Ascension has a few neat ideas to spice up the Metroidvania formula, though it does has some issues. God bless the Filipino team Winter Crew Studios for trying.

Shed One Out

In the fantasy world of Raoah, you play as the hunter known as Hira, who is given the task search for four different elemental points to save his land. At the same time, he has to make friends to form bonds, which help get him special Bond points to earn traversal and search action-savvy skills. Yes, you can form your own three-support-one-active-unit party, each with their own skills, buffs, and passives. The dancer can regenerate health while also performing a special spin attack, while the chef throws a big fire wheel that can burn obstacles. You also have your own hub in the form of an ancient temple where your recruited friends from your travels can reside.

Quests-wise, there’s a lot to do and a huge number of resources to collect to power Hira up. You can buff him up with Masteries, which require a lot of blue crystals you find by killing enemies. Killing minibosses all across the map (via accepting the Hunting Mark contract) lets you earn Hunter points for unlocking Hunter Skills. Ascensions are from the aforementioned Bond points by finding friends and recruits to aid you in your world-saving quest. That’s honestly too many systems to keep track of when it could have all been streamlined better. Hunting Marks only open up when the story advances, while it takes too long to gather blue crystals for the expensive amount needed to get Masteries.

At the very least, the enemies and boss fights are fun, mostly because Hira controls and plays well. Hira can do quick slashes, dodge at the last moment and then do a hard-hitting counterattack, dive kick, double jump (when unlocked), dash and air dash (also when unlocked), and summon his assists. Enemies get challenging as you get further into the 5th or 6th hour of the game, but it’s a good kind of difficulty curve that’s manageable. Keep in mind that this is an Early Access build, so it’ll end on a short note.

Having said that, I do wish the traversal and fast travel options were more improved on. Hira moves fine, especially with the air dash, but the overly huge map could mean that mid to late game backtracking will be a huge slog. Search action makers should take cues from developer Ladybug and last year’s game Blade Chimera, which has the best feature to solve tedious backtracking. Either Winter Crew Studios could take that idea for the 1.0 build, or just promise players to give Hira better movement options ala the Ori or Metroid series (Ori’s moveset and Samus’ Super Run for example). As it stands, the game’s current exploration loop is standard; nothing that’s going to rock your world like a Silksong or the aforementioned Blade Chimera.

So far in my 6-hour playthrough, Fallen Tear: The Ascension shows promise. It is a solid 2D Metroidvania effort from The Philippines, boasting lovely visuals, crispy controls, and occasionally fun action with a lengthy progression to go along with all its needlessly convoluted systems. I also didn’t find anything noteworthy about its music, its story, and how it handles backtracking.

Still, what lies is a pretty solid foundation with good boss fights that keep you on your toes. “A” for effort, at least until we see some significant improvements in the eventual 1.0 release.

Not-So-Final Score: 60/100

Early access version provided by publisher.