Fallen Tear: The Ascension finishes its climb on Steam
Winter Crew Studios' hand-drawn Metroidvania Fallen Tear: The Ascension leaves Early Access today with a 1.0 launch that roughly doubles the game, new regions, five main bosses and a 10% launch discount on Steam.
Winter Crew Studios' hand-drawn Metroidvania Fallen Tear: The Ascension has left Early Access and launched in full on Steam, bringing the journey of Hira, a mysterious child fated to stand against ancient gods, to its conclusion. The 1.0 release arrives seven months after the game's Early Access debut in March 2026, which earned a Very Positive player rating on the platform.
Set in the high-fantasy world of Raoah, Fallen Tear: The Ascension blends traditional hand-drawn animation and full voice acting with fast, skill-based combat and JRPG-inspired storytelling. The centrepiece is the Fated Bonds system: forge relationships with allies, and each one brings distinct combat and traversal abilities that reshape how you fight and explore.
The 1.0 launch roughly doubles the content available during Early Access. Players get 10 additional major regions with interconnected areas, five new main bosses and 16 optional side bosses, alongside 11 new Fated Bonds with their own abilities and story moments. Hira's progression tree grows too, with three additional Ascensions, six new Hunter Skills, four new Elemental Imbuements and 16 Mastery Skills spanning Tiers III and IV. The studio puts the full release at 35 to 40 hours of story, and more than 80 hours for completionists.
What it costs and where to get it
Fallen Tear: The Ascension is available now on Steam for $24.99 / €24.99 / £21.99, with a 10% launch discount running for 14 days. Audio is English, with text localisation for English, German, Brazilian Portuguese and Simplified Chinese at launch; Spanish, French, Italian, Turkish, Korean and Japanese are promised after launch. The game is published by CMD Studios.
Winter Crew Studios is the original development team under CMD Studios, based in the Philippines and founded in 2020. “Fallen Tear: The Ascension has grown tremendously through the support and feedback of our Early Access community,” said Stephen Manalastas, creative director at Winter Crew Studios. “Their input helped us refine the combat, deepen the Fated Bonds and shape the journey we wanted players to experience.”
Our opinion
A seven-month Early Access run that ends by roughly doubling the game is the rare kind of payoff that justifies the model, and a hand-drawn Metroidvania with full voice acting at £21.99 is quietly aggressive value next to the £50 blockbusters of the season. The 10% launch discount is a rounding error, but the 80-hour completion ceiling and a Very Positive rating suggest Winter Crew has earned the benefit of the doubt. If you bounced off the Early Access build, now is the moment the story actually ends.