Tears of Vanfell sets September 25 for its four-player climb

The structure begins with a procedurally generated Mountain. Players climb through its areas, defeat bosses and collect abilities, weapons and equipment, with hack-and-slash combat wrapped in a roguelike progression loop.

Online co-op supports teams of up to four. Solo players are not forced to make the climb completely alone, either: the game allows another member of the camp to join them. That camp expands as explorers and specialists are discovered during the journey.

Weapon swapping is part of the run rather than a decision permanently locked in before departure. Lazy Cat Games has repeatedly highlighted the ability to change weapons midway through an expedition, allowing a build to move with the equipment and abilities the group actually finds.

A long demo phase changed the co-op systems

The public builds have been more than promotional samples. The current Steam demo contains the entire first chapter, four playable characters and its final boss, with the studio estimating more than five hours of content. Four-player online multiplayer is included as well.

That gave Lazy Cat Games room to revise systems before the main release. Cooperative rewards were changed so everyone receives a share after clearing a room rather than leaving the group to fight over a single pickup. Armor progression was redesigned around gradually enhancing equipment instead of constantly replacing pieces.

Shrines were added as another risk-reward choice. Activating one grants a buff while also waking the petrified enemies nearby. The developers have also worked through multiplayer bugs and possible disconnects, added voice lines for important bosses and rebuilt cutscenes with a more cinematic presentation.

Early Access begins with two chapters

The Early Access plan is larger than the launch build. Lazy Cat Games says the finished game is intended to contain seven chapters, with each planned to be at least as substantial as the first. Some chapters are expected to introduce playable characters and NPCs, while others will emphasize enemies and exploration.

Chapters 1 and 2 are planned for the initial Early Access version. According to the studio's Steam description, those sections are complete and already contain most of the mechanics currently intended for the game.

The second chapter also expands several systems beyond what is available in the demo. Lazy Cat Games has mentioned additional NPCs and playable characters, broader Potion and Talent mechanics, a Status Buildup system, a shop appearing midway through adventures, more enemies and further story progression.

The studio currently estimates roughly a year in Early Access, but explicitly treats that as a flexible target. Its pricing plan is similarly provisional: the price is intended to remain unchanged throughout Early Access, with a possible small increase for the full release.

New Beginning is making way for the main game

Tears of Vanfell: New Beginning, released free on Steam in June 2025, served as another public step in the project's development. In July 2026, the developers announced that its separate Steam page would be closed as they prepared to launch the complete project through the main Tears of Vanfell listing.

That history makes the September release less of a first public appearance than a consolidation. The game has already spent considerable time exposing its opening chapter and multiplayer systems to players; Early Access is where Lazy Cat Games intends to build the remaining chapters around that foundation.

Steam currently lists Windows and Linux support, full Xbox and PlayStation controller support, and nine interface and subtitle languages including English, French, Japanese, Korean and both Simplified and Traditional Chinese. At the time checked, the store still described Tears of Vanfell as unavailable and September 25 as its planned release date, so the date should not yet be confused with a confirmed live unlock.