Philippines-based Studio to release Fallen Tear: The Ascension in 2025
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We attended a closed-door ID@Xbox event featuring new gameplay footage of the Metroidvania platformer Fallen Tear: The Ascension and learned a lot of new information about the game that is said to aim for a 2025 release.
It’s clear from past gameplay footage and what we saw in this digital event that the blueprints of Fallen Tear’s concept aimed to be a traditional Metroidvania platformer, with designs and art styles inspired by other titles such as Wakfu and the Ori series, as said by the studio during their presentation.
What’s surprising was the amount of content they are working on, as they stated that the game will have 26 biomes with environmental hazards, 150 different enemies, mini-games, and shapeshifting abilities that allow the protagonist to take on different forms in the game.
Bond System, Bounty system, and other activities
For Fallen Tear, the character’s abilities are based on the characters in your party through a system called Bond, as the characters that join your adventure will serve as a skill you can trigger, acting as if you are summoning that character to do a particular action to help the player. You can have a maximum of four characters in your party, effectively giving you four skills to utilize in combat, and as your bond with these characters grows, you get to unlock new abilities. There will be 22 Bonds when the game launches, so that means 22 fully voiced characters you can recruit and bond with as you progress through the game.
CMD Studios also quickly showcased the game’s bounty system, which seems typical of other games, where you hunt specific monsters on the map, serving as one of the game’s side activities They also hinted at Fallen Tear having mini-games but they didn’t specify how many we can expect at release.
Here’s a quick rundown of the key game features of Fallen Tear: Ascension from the developer:
Key Feature
Compelling Story: Follow Hira's journey to uncover their forgotten past and restore balance to the world.
2D JRPG Metroidvania: Explore a vast, interconnected world filled with secrets, challenges, and mysteries.
Dynamic Combat: Battle dangerous beasts and confront corrupt gods with fluid, skill-based combat mechanics.
Bonding System: Forge meaningful relationships with fully-voiced characters to unlock new skills and abilities.
Hand-Drawn Art: Immerse yourself in lush, hand-drawn environments that react to your choices.
Player Choice: Every decision shapes Hira's destiny and the outcome of the game.
Modern Innovation: Classic gameplay mechanics revitalized with modern flair for an engaging experience.
Exclusive Feature
Innovative Combat Mechanics: Fluid combat system blending traditional JRPG elements with modern action, offering diverse strategies.
Profound event Choices: Decisions influence not only Hira's journey but also the fate of companions and the world, offering a deeply personalized experience.
Evolving Metroidvania Elements: Discover hidden paths, secrets, and challenges as the world dynamically transforms in response to player actions.
Rich Artistic Experience and traditional animation: Hand-drawn artistry breathes life into a visually stunning world, immersing players in its captivating atmosphere.
Unique Puzzles and Challenges: Encounter intricate puzzles and obstacles tailored to each area, requiring both wit and skill to overcome.
From what we saw, the game is shaping up to be an appealing indie platformer that I can see a bit of inspiration from other Metroidvania games, but the Ori series is what I saw in Fallen Tear thanks to the art style. The combat seems fluid, and I’m hoping that it will be the case when we get our hands on it, as the ease with which players can traverse the environment and seamlessly maneuver and utilize the character’s abilities will be a big factor in the game’s overall enjoyment.
This is developer CMD Studio’s debut title and is going big based on what was mentioned during the digital event. Only established in 2020, the studio will be releasing Fallen Tear: Ascension on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC sometime in 2025.
It’s easy to describe Animal Well as a puzzle-focused Metroidvania eschewing traditional combat, where nearly every room is a puzzle room, but that falls so far short of describing just what this game is and how expertly it defies genre and classification that it feels like a disservice. Animal Well is a paragon of the art form, a game that simply must be experienced.