In 2025, the last thing I'd expect to be surprised by is the reveal of a new battle royale game. But Arkheron, the first game from Bonfire Studios, is working a magic all its own on a genre the zeitgeist has left behind. During a preview event for press, studio founder and former Blizzard chief creative officer Rob Pardo said it was inspired by three concepts: Diablo dungeons and progression, PUBG PvP, and Dark Souls combat.
I wouldn't blame you for being skeptical, but the result looks more promising than it sounds.
Arkheron is set in a "dark, surreal world," where teams of amnesiac souls battle in a purgatorial afterlife to ascend an ever-shifting tower built from the memories of the dead. Teams enter the tower, gain abilities from memory-haunted weapons and equipment, and compete to climb higher before the current floor is destroyed until one team eventually stands triumphant at the tower's apex.
At first glance, Arkheron's isometric perspective and hellish environs loudly ring a Diablo-esque bell. But as soon as it starts moving, it's clear that it's doing its own thing: Rather than moving and positioning with mouse clicks, Arkheron uses what Bonfire calls "isometric free-aim combat"—an ARPG camera angle where the mouse or analog stick controls horizontal camera movement and intuitive combat targeting.
It's a control scheme and presentation without many comparisons. It's like something between a third person and topdown shooter, but with the melee weapons, bows, and spell-slinging implements of a dark fantasy setting and abilities with skillshot potential that would feel right at home in MOBA teamfights. And the camera's pulled in close to the character to limit peripheral vision, which Pardo said puts melee and ranged combatants "on equal footing."
Seeing Arkheron in action was one of those moments where something makes so much sense that I'm not sure how it isn't already an industry staple. The perspective and control scheme seems to lend itself to fast, flashy, and expressive fights that prioritize positioning situational awareness, but without the fiddly precision demanded by traditional shooter or mouse cursor controls.
In Arkheron, Pardo said, "what you carry defines you." Throughout a match, players will cobble together builds based on the abilities granted by the equipment they collect. A pair of weapon slots define your combat style: An enchanted two-handed axe grants a leaping attack for jumping over walls that other items might create, while a heavy mace launches a wave of slowing ice energy.
Two remaining slots go to amulets and crowns, which provide utility abilities. One amulet erects an electric energy barrier that blocks enemy projectiles but lets your team shoot through it, while a radiant crown might make you briefly invulnerable before exploding to steal life from nearby enemies when the effect expires.
While there's plenty of space for players to find their favorite synergies between relics, each piece of equipment is also part of an item set that offers a bonus if you equip two items from the same set. A set of fire-themed relics, for example, grants shorter ability cooldowns.
Having four item slots means players have the potential to mix and match up to two set bonuses. But if you find all four pieces of a set, you can instead embody the memories associated with the set and transform into an Eternal—themed hero characters who've remembered who they used to be.
Pardo hopes tying all the game's equipment to Eternal sets will provide two benefits: It lets Bonfire change up the meta by rotating out Eternals, and it gives the studio a chance to flesh out its fiction by exploring the Eternals' histories.
The words "battle royale" might not move the needle much in 2025, but it looks like Arkheron could be carving out its own space by twisting and blending genre conventions. If you're eager to see how it's shaping up, Arkheron is running its first Alpha playtest this weekend, which will be active daily from 11 am PDT to 11 pm PDT between Friday, September 19 and Sunday, September 21. Just head to Arkheron's Steam page to sign up.
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