In Arkheron, developed by Bonfire Studios and published by DRIMAGE and Bonfire Studios, 15 teams of three are pitted against each other in top-down view combat. They try to ascend a mystical tower filled with threats and treasures. They will have to fend off monsters, discover loot, and fight for space in the beacon portals that transfer teams to the next level of the tower, until only one team remains.
Every element of Arkheron feels instantly familiar, and yet alien at the same time. As you explore its systems and mechanics, each step initially makes you want to go, “Oh, that’s like that game,” only to realize that a critical twist has been added to the concept, making it feel far less familiar than it looked at a glance. This creates an experience that is recognizable enough to many gamers to feel welcoming, yet interesting enough to compel further exploration in repeat matches.
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Each match in Arkheron starts the players on equal, empty loadout footing.
The core of moment-to-moment gameplay can best be described as Diablo, but as a twin-stick shooter. Putting a spin on the time-honored isometric view of action-RPG dungeon crawlers, Arkheron gives the player the ability to pivot the camera around as they explore the tower’s many passages and rooms. This not only enables more thorough exploration of the many twisting passageways, but also creates opportunities for gameplay with far more skill expression.
Twisting the camera around to line up an AOE skill or keep eyes on a foe as they duck around a corner gives the game’s action a more lively feel, as well as making it so that hitting powerful combos isn’t just a matter of sequencing button presses. Although, hitting your abilities is only possible once you’ve actually found them.
At the start of each match of Arkheron, each player has nothing but a generic attack at their disposal. The only difference between characters is purely cosmetic. To gain abilities and weapons, players must loot chests and their fallen foes in order to build out their kits.
These kits will eventually include two weapons that can be swapped out, each with its own special ability, an amulet, and a crown. There are generic entries for each option, like shuriken and shields, but the most exciting items belong to named personalities called Eternals.
Arkheron’s Eternals come with unique gear sets, but fully kitting isn’t a sure path to victory.
Eternals are the legendary characters of the game world. Thier unqiue sets of gear provide complete packages that form a cohesive kit for players to use. And, if a player can manage to acquire all four pieces of gear from a single Eternal, they can transform into that character for the remainder of the match. This unlocks a special fifth ability as a bonus to their kit’s theme.
While managing to build a full kit is exciting, and the extra perk is handy, the developers who spoke at the preview I attended made it clear that fully kitting a single eternal isn’t a sure path to victory. Finding combinations of powers from different sets can give a player more versatility than a single Eternal build can, and it may also help them fit in better with their squadmates.
All the traditional roles one expects from team-based multiplayer games are present throughout Arkheron‘s myriad options for abilities. Tanking, dps, healing, crowd control, and others are all active within the game. Mixing and matching, finding comps that bring out the best of your gear, feels fun and exciting. And the developers at Bonfire Studios already have plans in place to keep the game feeling fresh long after you successfully ascend the tower.
The loot system helps balance kits throughout the entire game.
There are currently 12 Eternal kits available in the game. However, only ten of them will be active in matches during any given time period. That means that the swapping out of Eternals can instantly shift a meta. New combinations can be explored, and options that felt underpowered when a particular ability was in the pool will become far more effective when its oppressor vanishes for a while. And it didn’t sound like these would be the only Eternals in the game.
One aspect I really like about the loot system is how they balance kits throughout the entire game. Rather than have a set number of each item throughout a floor/tower, any item can potentially appear an infinite number of times. Each chest, when opened, randomly distributes items based on its rarity level. However, only one player per team can have a certain item equipped. A couple of duplicates can be used to upgrade that player’s copy, but that’s it.
This sounds like an elegant way to allow lots of players to freely get the gear they may be hoping for. By not having set numbers, players won’t feel like they must mad dash to the rarest chests before X piece of gear disappears.
The game map fills with iconography to help make sense of the melee at foot.
At the start of the match, players will see a map of the first floor of the tower. Littered across it is iconography for various elements like shops, special locations, and the dreaded Destroyer, an unkillable monster who, once activated, will terrorize anyone it comes across until the battle leaves its floor. Several small yellow circles will appear across the map and slowly grow. These spheres represent areas where players can start. As teams drop in, their positions will appear on the map as well.
Once on the ground, teams will fight small groups of monsters, and potentially each other, as they explore and open chests, building out their kits. There are also side quests that can be taken on and special keys that can be found that open unique doors. Both, if followed through on, reward players with rare chests.
After a short time, however, players will be warned that the beacons have appeared and their time on this floor of the tower is running out. Players can see where the beacons have appeared, as well as whether or not they are empty, occupied, or currently being fought over.
Even once the timer runs out, a beacon will not transport players to the next level until only one team remains inside. If players are caught outside a beacon when the timer runs out, a poisonous fog will sap their health until they die.
Arkheron’s biggest fights happen when you’re trapped together until only one team remains.
This is where Arkheron‘s biggest fights happen. Trapped together until only one team remains, the slowly shrinking beacon quickly turns into a meatgrinder as players levy every ability, skill, and health potion they have to remain on their feet.
If you do go down, all hope is not yet lost. Your teammates have a small window to revive you before you are gone for good. Enemies can execute you as well, though the animation the action triggers can leave them open to attack.
If the battle runs on long enough, and one player has really been dealing out the damage, they can become empowered. Signified by a fire effect on their health bar, this gives the character increased damage output, as they try desperately to turn the tide of battle.
Once the timer is done, any beacons containing only one team will send their occupants to the next floor. Teams still in combat will arrive later once they have cleared their beacons. This further adds pressure to clear your fights quickly. Don’t want your foes scoring all the good loot.
Arkheron looks like a unique fusion of game types and play styles.
As you would expect, each subsequent floor gets smaller until only two teams remain. Once that number has been reached. A fixed room is used for the showdown. Players have a chance to stock up on supplies and heal before a dividing curtain opens, and the final clash begins.
It’s the big fights that catch the eye and linger in the memory most, but a lot of smaller details go a long way to both enhance the game experience, as well as showcase the devs’ determination to make Arkheron as good as possible. Footsteps echoing and a drop off in the background music herald the approach of enemy teams. These awesome effects help the game build tension in the moments before battle.
Another detail that caught my eye concerns loot. If you are the last team standing in a beacon, and there is the loot of fallen foes spread out around you as the timer runs out, anything within a short radius will teleport to the next floor with you. This eliminates the risk of missing out on a fantastic item that was left behind.
The final element I’m sure you are wondering about is pricing. While no number was given, it was stated that the game will have an upfront price tag and not be wholly free to play. What that means for the balance of post-purchase microtransactions wasn’t clarified.
Arkheron looks like a unique fusion of game types and play styles, promising tons of customization and replayability. I walked away thoroughly impressed after a couple of matches, having enjoyed my time fighting my way to the top of the game’s ominous tower. Here’s hoping Bonfire can bring it all together to deliver a polished product that fans will enjoy.
An Arkheron demo is coming to Steam as part of Steam Next Fest from February 20th until March 2nd.
