Arkheron is the first game from Bonfire Studios, a fast-paced, team PvP brawler that blends isometric action with a battle royale–style funnel. Each match drops 15 three‑player squads into a surreal tower and asks a simple question: can your trio loot fast, build smarter, and hold ground long enough to reach the summit?

The pitch is intentionally classless. There are no heroes or predefined roles; what you carry is who you are. Items, called Relics, grant active abilities and passives that define your build in real time. Bonfire frames it as “items are the heroes,” and in practice that means you’ll improvise with the gear you find rather than slot into fixed archetypes you picked at a lobby screen.

How a match flows

Rounds unfold floor by floor. Early minutes are for looting chests, clearing PvE foes, and solving short quests to assemble a functional kit. Then the space constricts. Beacons spawn as the only safe zones while an encroaching storm makes the rest of the map untenable. There are fewer beacons than teams, so squads are forced into “one‑team‑takes‑all” fights to claim an elevator to the next level. Repeat that cadence—gear up, collapse in, clash—until only two teams remain for a final, tight 3v3 at the top.

Because the tower eliminates multiple teams each floor, the tempo stays high and the meta leans toward adaptability: you’re constantly deciding whether to entrench on a beacon, rotate to a less contested option, or ambush a team mid-claim.

Relics, sets, and Eternals

Your loadout is four Relics: a crown, an amulet, and two weapons. Each Relic confers a distinct ability or benefit, and you only keep that power while the item occupies a slot. Many Relics belong to themed sets of four:

  • Equipping two from a set unlocks a set bonus.
  • Equipping all four gives you a choice: stay flexible in your current form with an extra bonus, or transform into an Eternal—gaining a fifth ability but locking your build for the rest of the match.

The alternative is a “shattered” build: mix and match across sets, stack partial bonuses, and swap on the fly as you find upgrades. Team synergy matters as much as individual power; three complementary kits typically outperform three isolated power fantasies.

Combat and camera

Arkheron uses an isometric, free‑aim control scheme with a rotatable camera. It feels closer to a top‑down shooter than a click-to-target action RPG: you line up skill shots, dodge, and brawl at close range. The tighter field of view tunes fights toward cover use and positioning, and audio cues are a first‑class signal—footsteps, ability tells, and verticality noise can give away an approach before you see it.

Modes beyond the climb

  • Ascension Royale. the core mode—15 trios, beacon contests, floor‑by‑floor eliminations, final 3v3 at the summit.
  • Training. a sandbox to experiment with Relics and practice the control model; includes a sparring room supporting up to six players.
  • Bots. a full Ascension run against AI to learn routes, timings, and kit interactions without PvP pressure.

Platforms, playtest, and where to sign up

The game is in development for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. You can request access to the upcoming PC alpha on Steam. A broader overview and future updates live on the official website.

Note: Early tests are PC‑only, with controller and keyboard/mouse support; console testing is planned later.

What’s under the hood (and what isn’t)

Bonfire emphasizes an evolving world that shifts over time as stories tied to the Eternals come into focus. Expect seasonal rotations to steer the meta without burying new players in a massive item catalog—fewer, more curated Relics per season over a sprawling all‑time pool. On the PvE side, monsters and environmental hazards are present to complicate encounters rather than dominate them; enemy squads remain the primary threat.

PC specs for the alpha release

  • Recommended: Windows 10 or later, Intel i5‑9600K, GeForce RTX 2070 (8GB), 16GB RAM, 25GB SSD
  • Minimum: Windows 10 or later, Intel i5‑7600K, GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB), 16GB RAM, 25GB SSD

Why it’s different

Arkheron borrows the readability of ARPGs, the compression mechanics of battle royale, and the immediacy of arena brawlers, but its identity hinges on the item‑first design. Builds are outcomes, not prerequisites, and the tower’s beacon cadence forces repeated, decisive clashes. If you enjoy improvisational team PvP where positioning, audio awareness, and mid‑match theorycrafting carry equal weight, this is the kind of loop built to generate those “we shouldn’t have won that” stories.

If you’re curious, the best next step is hands‑on time during a playtest—the item synergies, camera feel, and beacon fights click fastest when you’re in the thick of it.