There are two things I love in videogames: dark, dreary worlds and intense PvP action. While most of my nights are taken up grinding through League of Legends, when I’m not stomping fools on The Rift I’m plowing through Mephisto’s hordes in Diablo 4 or wading through the Deep Roads in Dragon Age: Origins. Mysterious new multiplayer game Arkheron promises to be a blend of both of these, mixing frenetic PvP action with the dark fantasy feel of Diablo, and you can sign up to playtest it right now.
“Heroes are dead, their echoes are eternal,” reads Arkheron‘s website – somewhat ominous. The background is a seemingly endless group of spectral hooded figures, akin to the Nazgul from Lord of the Rings, illuminated by a glowing turquoise crystal in the center of their chests. A closer look at these shards shows a ghostly face screaming – is this a group of said fallen heroes? Are these the ‘echoes’ Bonfire is talking about?
Set in a world that, aesthetically, reminds me of Shadow Isles from League of Legends (yes, I do play other games, I swear), Arkheron is described as a PvP-focused multiplayer game “where combat creativity empowers your ascension.” Aside from its dark fantasy setting, that’s all we know at the moment, but it’s enough to pique my interest.
Bonfire’s press email describes its combat as something the team is “still figuring out exactly how to describe,” but notes that it’s “dynamic and fast-paced.” We’ve seen a few games shake up the traditional ‘acquire items, get stronger’ system in the past few months – Supervive is the prime example – but the “creativity” part of Arkheron’s slogan is what interests me.
Oftentimes in PvP games, you’re given a set of abilities that synergize with each other and are left to work out the best combinations. In contrast, Arkheron feels like you’ll be creating your own builds a la Diablo or Path of Exile, and that you’ll earn more ‘points’ for thinking outside of the box. It reminds me a little of the tiered ranking systems we see in action games (Devil May Cry comes to mind), and feels like it’ll be a nice departure from just ‘buy items, do things.’
Headed by former Blizzard CCO Rob Pardo, who served as lead designer on Warcraft 3 and World of Warcraft, as well as executive producer on Diablo 3 and chief creative officer at Blizzard, it feels like Arkheron may just be the PvP experience I’ve been looking for. You can sign up to playtest it here.
In the meantime, however, World of Warcraft’s Plunderstorm mode is back, so now’s the perfect time to dive back into the classic MMORPG. Alternatively, if you’re looking for something equally as magical but without the grind, here’s our list of the best fantasy games.
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