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The Long Way Up
A text-forward cultivation roguelite. Climb a tower of one thousand floors that never repeats the same climb. Falling is not death, it is tuition: keep your realm, lose your altitude, and climb again with Moye, a sword spirit who remembers every fall you take.

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Features
Single-player
Steam Achievements
Family Sharing
Steam is learning about this game 
Languages:
Interface Full Audio Subtitles
English ✔ ✔

Coming Soon To Early Access

The developers of this game intend to release as a work in progress, developing with the feedback of players.

Note: Games in Early Access are not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“The climb is complete and stable: falling, rebirth, tribulations, sects, the bond with Moye. Early Access is for building the post-summit Nine Boundless Heavens content deeper, tuning tribulation difficulty, and adding sects and curios based on how people actually climb, instead of guessing alone.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“Roughly six to twelve months, with content and balance updates through that window. No fixed exit date until the post-summit content is where it should be.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“More Boundless Heavens content, more sect storylines and rival arcs, Steam Cloud, and balance passes from Early Access feedback. The core loop will not change. Falling stays central. (Steam Achievements ship at Early Access launch.)”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The full thousand-floor climb, falling and rebirth, tribulations, sect life, Moye's companion arc, and New Game+ are all in and playable now.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Yes. We plan to gradually raise the price as we ship new content and features. Buying now locks in the lower price.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Every review and forum post will be taken into consideration, especially in the first weeks. Balance and new-content priorities follow what players actually report from real climbs.”
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This game is not yet available on Steam

Planned Release Date: Aug 12, 2026

This game plans to unlock in approximately 2 weeks

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About This Game

A text-driven cultivation roguelite. Climb one thousand floors. Fall without dying. Climb again, stronger.

The tower does not kill. It collects.

Every cultivator alive has stood at the foot of the Ascension Tower. One thousand floors above, the summit grants a single wish. Between you and it: trials, tribulations, rival climbers on their own roads, and the long fall that ends every climb but the last one.

Falling is not death. Falling is tuition. You keep your realm, your arts, and everything the tower taught you, and you start again at the foot, stronger and one year older. The climb is the roguelite loop; the falls are the progression; the story is what happens to a soul who refuses to stop.

The Long Way Up is in Early Access. The core climb is complete and playable today: falling and rebirth, tribulations, sect life, Moye's bond across lives, rebirth across many lives (New Game+), and the Nine Boundless Heavens above the summit. Early Access is where more sects, more curios, deeper post-summit content, and balance get built with players climbing alongside.

FEATURES

- A tower that reweaves itself. No two climbs share a road. Doors open that were never there before; the tower notices how you climb and answers.

- Moye. A sword spirit nine hundred years old, dry as an anvil, who has outlived eleven wielders and remembers every fall you have ever taken. Her bond crosses rebirth. She does not comfort; she counts.

- Wuxing combat with real teeth. Five-element counters, drafted curios that stack into builds, and manual boss duels where guardians telegraph move-cycles you can read, bait, and break.

- Failure is the path. Tribulations at every realm's summit: survive the lightning, then face the heart-demon wearing your own doubts. Fail, fall, spend the comprehension, climb again deeper.

- A living world. Rivals race you floor for floor and resent the tower for saving you. Sects recruit, feud, and go to war. The fire-talk at every sanctuary carries news of a world that turns whether you climb or not.

- Rebirth, and what survives it. Ascend, wish, and begin again (New Game+) with Heaven's Trials, chasing deeds and a codex across many lives. Or press on past the summit, into the Nine Boundless Heavens.

- Original ink-wash art and audio made for this game, over a pure, deterministic core: same seed, same climb, every time.

The heavens leave room for only one legend. The long way up is the only way there.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

Many scene illustrations were generated with AI image tools, then selected, edited, and integrated by hand. Every image in the game was individually reviewed and curated by the developer.

System Requirements

Windows
macOS
    Minimum:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Windows 10 64-bit (Windows 11 supported)
    • Processor: Dual-core 2.0 GHz (Intel Core i3-6100 / AMD equivalent)
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Integrated graphics with hardware acceleration (Intel HD 520 or better)
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Storage: 1 GB available space
    • Additional Notes: 64-bit only
    Recommended:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    Minimum:
    • OS: macOS 12 (Monterey) or later
    • Processor: Apple Silicon or Intel (universal binary — runs native on both)
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Any Mac from 2015 onward
    • Storage: 1 GB available space
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