Fallen Tear: The Ascension Preview
Fallen Tear: The Ascension is a tribute to classic JRPGs in the form of a Metroidvania. This combination works better than you might expect. However, the game still has some major flaws–ones I hope will be addressed in the final release.
In a quiet village, a young boy named Hira dreams of becoming a Hunter like his older brother Ravn. But when their first hunt goes wrong, the village burns down, and Hira’s cast out for something he can’t remember.
He finds refuge in a rundown temple. There, the priestess of a dying god asks for his aid and charges him with defeating four corrupted deities. It’s a big task, but he won’t be embarking on his quest alone.
If Hira is to succeed, players must guide him to meet and befriend many NPCs across the land of Raoah. The people he chooses to bond with will lend him their power and guide the way he fights.
Oldschool Charm
Fallen Tear: The Ascension is a lovingly animated hand-drawn Metroidvania filled with colorful characters. Hira unlocks new abilities as he journeys across the land of Raoah. This allows him to venture deeper into classic JRPG-inspired locales like old ruins, lost civilizations, and deep wilderness.
The main gimmick of Fallen Tear is that Hira can befriend and form bonds with characters across the land. Forming a bond with a character allows Hira to add them to his party and interact with them in the hub. You raise affinity to unlock new skills and change the way Hira plays.
You can also unlock optional boss fights by paying for information about a certain monster. These fights range from challenging to brutally unfair depending on the difficulty. Speaking of which…
The game currently offers a relaxed Story Mode and a challenging Fallen Tear Mode. These then offer more nuanced difficulty selections. You can customize your experience, but I found the game still pretty hard even on Normal Story Mode.
Fallen Tear: The Ascension is Beautiful but Confusing
Fallen Tear: The Ascension takes place in the decaying magical world of Raoah. This enchanted land is brought to life through gorgeous hand-drawn animation and filled with colorful characters. And the soundtrack is lovely.
The choice to leave most characters’ eyes blank is interesting. It forces the player to listen closer to their expressive voices. Most of these voice actors are doing a good job, though some are very cartoony.
This is a pretty good Metroidvania with the relaxed and sometimes aimless feeling of a particularly charming oldschool JRPG. The core gameplay loop is compelling and it feels nice to play. Hira’s movement is pretty slick, especially when you start unlocking new abilities. However, there are some major problems with this build of the game.
Can’t Stop Getting LostÂ
Fallen Tear: The Ascension has a problem with its scope. Every area is massive, and the map isn’t always detailed enough to make it easy to tell where you are. I miss the ability to mark up the map that many Metroidvanias feature.
Because the maps are so large and the game’s Journal doesn’t always indicate the next main quest, it can be hard to figure out where to go next. This sort of aimless exploration works well in a less story-driven Metroidvania where the player is expected to spend most of their time wandering about. However, it feels odd in a JRPG-inspired, narrative-driven game where Hira is explicitly on a quest to challenge and defeat the corrupted gods.
After a certain point, I had no clue how to progress and the game did nothing to enlighten me. I had to run around and check every scrap of the map to figure out how to move on. I then went and got myself stuck in another area with no idea how to escape or move on.
There are some typos in the dialog. Timed puzzles can be incredibly grueling, even on easier difficulties. But the biggest issue is that I often can’t tell if I’ve softlocked myself or missed the way forward.
All in all, the world of Raoah is beautiful but not very welcoming. Fallen Tear: The Ascension seems like it’s going to be a great game, but I might need a guide to get through it.
***Steam code provided by the publisher***
