Some years after the original release, Ark Island Studio has decided to give its strategic fantasy Tears of Adria a second chance, releasing a new launch trailer decidedly out of the ordinary and taking advantage of the Swedish game sales promotions on Steam.
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The team didn’t miss an opportunity to mock the game’s 2023 launch, calling it a success of... absolute silence.
"Naturally, we interpreted it as encouragement. In hindsight, perhaps the issue was tactical," joked Jakob Köster, co-founder of the studio.
The developers say they published the game on Steam waiting for the public to discover it spontaneously, perhaps thanks to divine intervention or some mysterious algorithm error. As expected, however, this never happened. For this reason, Ark Island Studio has decided to take a stand again with a new trailer that, rather than explaining the game, aims to "disturb the silence in the right way".
But what exactly is Tears of Adria? It’s a particular strategic real-time RPG inspired by the formula of Heroes of Might and Magic, in which battles are managed through an autobattle system while the true weight of victories and defeats rests on the player’s decisions. Each run begins with a single hero who must gradually build their own team by selecting companions, equipment, and upgrades in a semi-random fashion. Like every good roguelite strategy game, each run will require constant adaptation of your strategy, deciding when to invest everything into a particular build and when, instead, to completely change your approach after a brilliant initial plan has turned into a valuable life lesson.
The title can be played solo in single-player or multiplayer for up to four players, with PvP and co-op modes. However, the developers don’t abandon the humour that defines the game’s communication, clarifying that co-op “works technically,” even if it rarely remains cooperative for long. Meanwhile, Tears of Adria has received an important update that has significantly improved the overall experience, addressing gameplay pacing, visual impact, and the early hours of the adventure.
The new trailer, titled Miscast, perfectly captures the spirit of the project. The narrative begins as every classic fantasy adventure does, with prophecies, fate, and the reassuring idea that the chosen hero will arrive at the right moment to save the world. Then comes the small, fundamental correction that defines the entire philosophy of Tears of Adria.
At times, the wrong hero is all you have.
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