Arkheron is the debut title from Bonfire Studios, a video game developer co-founded in 2016 by the former Blizzard Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Rob Pardo. The game is billed as an isometric PVP looter brawler with a dark fantasy aesthetic. It puts an emphasis on build variety, offering plenty of flexibility to players who like to experiment.
The Best War Games recently saw a preview of Arkheron in action. The fast-paced brawler pits teams of three against each other, as a total of 15 teams bid to make their way to the top of the tower in which the game is based. This tower itself is formed out of the memories of the game's characters, who are known as echoes. These ghostly apparitions are unable to move on due to unfinished business in life. The nature of the tower's construction means its appearance alters and shifts between layers, making for some wildly different environments.
Best Isometric ARPGs You've Probably Never Heard Of
Overshadowed by titans like Diablo and Path of Exile, these lesser-known loot-centered isometric ARPGs can perfectly scratch the same itch.
Arkheron Presents a Unique Take on Isometric Combat
While on the surface it looks similar to other isometric games like Diablo, Arkheron actually puts a new spin on this perspective by offering a camera which allows for free-aim combat. Players must manually adjust the camera to line up abilities and shots, much like they would in a first or third person game.
Bonfire is confident that this will help Arkheron to differentiate itself from other isometric titles on the market.
The game will be socially competitive and offer a high skill ceiling for those who choose to master its mechanics, but first and foremost, Pardo and his team are aiming to ensure fun is at the game's core. Rather than having 'hero' characters that have their own abilities and builds like in other PVP games, Bonfire Studios instead points out that Arkheron's items are its heroes. What a player is carrying at any given time will define their build and play style.
Build Variety in Arkheron is Vast
Each match will see players form teams of three, and create a character build from scratch by collecting loot as they ascend the tower. Players will be able to equip four items in total, which Arkheron refers to as Eternal Relics: two weapons, a crown and an amulet. Each weapon comes with its own ability, such as a leaping slash attack, which the player only has access to while the weapon is equipped. Crowns and amulets activate numerous buffs, such as creating defensive barriers around the player and their teammates or generating smoke which makes it difficult for opponents to see them. Carefully selected weapons and items can result in teams being able to chain abilities together to devastating effect, adding layers of tactical strategy to battles.
The Best War Games saw a couple of interesting-looking weapons, such as the Icebreaker Mace, which produces an icy mist when swung, slowing opponents down, and the Flaming Lantern, which gives players access to a powerful AOE fire attack. Each Eternal Relic belongs to a set of four, meaning players can collect and equip all pieces from one set. Equipping two or more pieces of the same set grants players a set bonus which varies depending on which set the player equips.
That being said, these set bonuses will never flat-out increase the player's damage output, as Bonfire Studios wants to ensure the most skilled players win the fight, not those who have upgraded damage output. All these equipment options mean that there will be hundreds of potential build combinations, giving players access to a diverse set of play styles. Should a player equip all four pieces of the same set, they will transform their echo into an Eternal, a powerful character that is as close to a 'hero' archetype as Arkheron gets.
How a Typical Match Works in Arkheron
Matches take approximately 30 minutes in total, and see players battle in their teams to ascend the tower. After spending a couple of minutes looting each layer, beacons will appear dotted across the map. Players have 90 seconds to get to a beacon and avoid being damaged by an advancing electrical storm. The twist, however, is that there may well be other teams waiting at the same beacons, which results in some chaotic fights playing out. Only when one team is safely at an uncontested beacon will they ascend to the next floor, which will also revive any deceased teammates.
Each floor of the tower is littered with monsters and chests filled with rewards, as well as quests given out from NPCs that will often result in rare loot drops. Teams don't necessarily have to fight each other if they aren't contesting over a beacon, and sometimes a tactical retreat is the best option depending on the team's loadout and circumstances. The tower has been crafted very much with PVP in mind, meaning there are plenty of opportunities for ambushes and other strategies, with variables like unkillable roaming monsters thrown into the mix to spice things up even further.
As the studio's debut title, Bonfire Studios is hoping that Arkheron will make a strong impression among fans of PVP games, and the fact that it doesn't fit into any single genre could be key to broadening its potential audience. No two games of Arkheron will be the same, and a combination of skill and the right balance of builds across the team will be needed to emerge victorious.