A brand new ARPG mixed with a battle royale game just dropped, and it’s taking the world by storm. Arkheron, a fast-paced, dynamic PvP game made by Bonfire Studios, just unveiled its official reveal trailer, but also announced that you can jump into the open beta for Arkheron this weekend!
What is Arkheron?
Arkheron is a blend of several different themes, genres, and aesthetics, but it somehow pulls it off beautifully. Rob Pardo, the studio founder and former Blizzard chief creative officer, said it was inspired by three concepts: Diablo’s dungeons and progression, PUBG’s PvP, and Dark Souls combat. It sounds like a lot on paper, but it looks very promising.
Arkheron is a surreal, dark fantasy world where squads of three battle it out against 15 total players to gather Relics and ascend an ever-shifting tower built from the memories of the dead. Teams must enter the tower and gather equipment and weapons, which are infused with haunted memories that grant their users new abilities. However, time is of the essence, as you must climb higher and battle against other teams to ascend to the tower’s peak, where only one team remains victorious.
What Is Arkheron’s Gameplay Like?
At first glance, Arkheron, combat, and perspective do pair comparisons to Diablo’s, but that’s where some of these comparisons will end. Rather than moving and repositioning with mouse clicks, Arkheron uses what Bonfire calls “isometric free-aim combat.” You may be familiar with this style of combat if you play SUPERVIVE, or played Battlerite back in the day (shoutout to the 400 people that remember that game).
However, for those who haven’t, it’s akin to a hybrid between a third-person and top-down shooter, featuring weapons, melee, and spells set in a dark fantasy world, along with abilities and skillshots reminiscent of MOBAs.
What You Carry Defines You
In Arkheron, the Relics you mix and match define your playstyle and build. Pardo once again puts it best, “what you carry defines you.” Your goal throughout the match is to gather Relics, but your character can only hold up to four. Two weapons, an amulet, and a crown. Each Relic gives your character a different spell, movement ability, or weapon style, allowing you to make your own approach to combat.
Build your character to be an effective ranger, or an overpowering barbarian, or maybe both, with a mixture of magic. You can freely swap Relics whenever you like, so your build can evolve across a match. Plus, having four item slots allows players to mix and match up to two different set bonuses. Or if you get lucky and manage to find all four pieces of a set, you can instead embody the memories of that set and transform into an Eternal, at the cost of staying locked into that build.
Arkheron’s Open Beta
If this sounds like it’s right up your alley, or you just want to have a crack at it, the open beta is this weekend too! The alpha test will be active from 11:00 a.m. PDT to 11:00 p.m. PDT between Friday, September 19, and Sunday, September 21. All you need to do is head to Arkheron’s Steam page to sign up.
In the meantime, keep an eye on our latest news for future Arkheron updates!
