Slick fantasy JRPG and Metroidvania mashup takes to Kickstarter after 3 years of development, gets funded in 6 hours and triples its funding goal in days

Fallen Tear: The Ascension trailer screenshot showing a small elf-like figure with white hair and a red/gold top staring off, a blue sky behind him — (Image credit: Winter Crew)

After revealing its debut 2D platformer and dubbing it "the Elden Ring of Metroidvania in terms of map size," indie studio Winter Crew has continued to bedazzle fans with Fallen Tear: The Ascension - and now there's a successful Kickstarter campaign to boot.

Fallen Tear blends JRPG and Soulslike elements to create a high fantasy experience like no other - and judging by its developers' newly launched Kickstarter campaign, countless fans can't wait to dive straight into the Metroidvania. The Kickstarter just went up last week, but it's already accumulated almost $90,000 in total from more than 1,500 backers - that's about $60,000 over the $30,000 goal initially posted.

One glance at the game leaves the fact that its goal was exceeded so quickly unsurprising. It's got stunning hand-crafted visuals, countless interactive biomes to explore, over 150 enemies to face off against, and minigames in between all of that iconic Metroidvania chaos fans of the genre know and love. According to Winter Crew, Fallen Tear is inspired by beloved JRPG gems like Suikoden and more recent monumental releases like Breath of the Wild.

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It also draws from platform-adventure Metroidvania behemoths such as Ori and the Will of the Wisps, making for a melting pot containing elements from some of the greatest names in gaming. The more funds people contribute to the Kickstarter, the bigger and better Fallen Tear will get, too - the game is about to hit the goal it requires for full voice acting in both English and Japanese, with another goal coming at $120,000 that promises free DLC.

The platformer has been in the works now for three years, with Winter Crew targeting a release window "anytime between Q2 to Q4 of 2025." Fallen Tear is set to provide players with 20 to 40 hours of gameplay and will launch on pretty much every platform - Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, and Xbox. You can wishlist it now on Steam to keep track of updates or release date announcements directly from the devs - I know I'm going to.

Check out these upcoming indie games for more to look forward to.

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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.