It can be tough to play through a Metroidvania that’s taking the Early Access route. You start the game, get invested, and then have to hold off to explore the rest of the world. Obviously, this breaks up the flow of the game and going months without playing it can leave one somewhat discombobulated. Fallen Tear: The Ascension has just entered Early Access, which it’s set to stay in for at least the rest of the year. The game’s got hours of content, sure, but it’s still only a fraction of the entire thing, so the question stands: Is Fallen Tear worth it in Early Access, or should you wait for it to release in full before purchasing?
Fallen Tear tells the story of Hira, a young boy who has finally joined a hunter’s guild while following in the footsteps of his brother Ravyn. The two of them go out so that Ravyn can show Hira the ropes, but a red moon rises shortly after Hira fells the monster he was searching. He sets out to return to their town to meet back up with his mother and brother, only to collapse for a time. When he wakes up and makes it there, he finds the place damaged, his family missing, and the townfolk all very cross with him. A man in the village instructs him to take an item from his mother’s workshop and set out toward a temple.
Shortly after, he meets a woman who tasks him with helping her friend before instructing him to travel to the four corners of the map to seek an audience with four gods so that he can continue on his journey. There’s a lot of dialogue in Fallen Tear, and most of the important stuff is fully voiced in English, lending the game some surprisingly strong production values. In addition, the hand-drawn vector graphics are absolutely lovely, as they look highly professional as opposed to that sloppier, low-budget look many indie Metroidvanias have.
By default, Hira can walk, jump, swing his sword, and do a backdash at the cost of a stamina charge. Naturally, it doesn’t take him long to find his first upgrade, which allows him to scale certain walls. The combat is fluid but not particularly complicated, as Hira attacks swiftly. Backdashing out of the way of an enemy attack at the right time lets him use a strong counterattack, plus you’ll meet other characters and forge Bonds with them, which allows Hira to use special skills provided he has the mana. These characters also grant passive buffs, such as letting him see enemy life bars.
Enemies have a stun gauge, which leaves them completely vulnerable to successive hits. These foes will sometimes drop red orbs that can strengthen Hira’s healing ability, which uses a single chunk of mana. One thing that’s interesting is that you can gain new abilities by using a currency. You’re given a choice when you go to grab the first of these; you either get a double jump or the ability to dash. I think the latter is more useful early on since it lets you move faster as well as lets you air dash. Plus, you can take on quests to fight powerful monsters, which will let you increase your hunter’s rank, letting you acquire more combat skills, such as extra hits for your main combo or a dash attack.
Fallen Tear is currently only about a third complete, but this first act of the game is actually as long (if not longer) than many complete Metroidvanias. Therefore, if you buy it now, you’ll still get well over a dozen hours of playtime out of it before you catch up to the current end of the story. The game looks and sounds great, plus it has solid controls and a lot to see, so I’d say it’s worth it if the above sounds like a good investment to you. The price is set to increase down the line, too, although I do doubt that it will only remain in Early Access for the better part of the year.
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