By Rob | Geeks Vs Geeks
I has been a few weeks now since I strolled PAX East 2025 checking out all the upcoming videogames, see peoples dream projects come to live and talk to them about their passion. It was at this place, where I met up with Stéphane from RuniQ Studio, the team behind Heroes of Mount Dragon—a hand-drawn, dragon-fueled brawler that’s as colorful as it is chaotic.
"The twist or the special ability of the game is that each hero can actually transform into a dragon"
The game looks like someone stuffed a 90s cartoon into a modern 3D engine and gave it fire breath. Stéphane greeted me warmly and offered a quick co-op session before sitting down to talk about what makes Heroes of Mount Dragon more than just a flashy homage to arcade classics.
The twist or the special ability of the game is that each hero can actually transform into a dragon," Stéphane explained. "You build up your energy in combat, and once it's full, you unleash your dragon form and rain down fire on the battlefield.
Four Heroes, One Volcanic Mountain
Set on a vast continent with eight distinct kingdoms, Heroes of Mount Dragon centers around Mount Dragon itself—an ancient volcanic mountain wrapped in a massive stone dragon. No one knows how it got there, but everyone feels the power that lingers.
The world of Una is broken into four core realms at launch, each filled with different enemies. Goblins, orcs, and warriors fill the Goblin Plains. Meanwhile, dark elves, witches, and spiders haunt the Sanctuary. Each realm brings fresh enemies and combat challenges, and the story mode strings it all together through light narrative beats and dialogue exchanges between the characters. It’s a full story mode with a beginning, middle, and end," Stéphane said. There are conversations between characters. And because it's the first time they’re meeting, they learn more about each other as the adventure goes on.
Players choose from a roster of eight dragon-morphing heroes—four available at launch, with the other four arriving later in free updates. Each hero has a unique skill set, combo list, and dragon form. From Oslo the rogue (Stéphane's personal favorite) to ranged attackers and tanky warriors, the playstyles are distinct and well-suited to different preferences. We wanted players to find their own favorite, but also have a reason to try them all," Stéphane noted. "Some combos are easier for beginners, others reward mastery.
"We wanted players to find their own favorite, but also have a reason to try them all"
A Game Mode for Every Kind of Chaos
Heroes of Mount Dragon isn't just about one type of play. The game features multiple modes: story, arcade, and competitive.
Arcade mode allows players to string together up to six stages for quick, high-energy sessions, perfect for short bursts with friends. Meanwhile, competitive mode adds a little spice to your friendships with score-based gameplay and magical crates full of power-ups and curses. The competitive mode is more like friendly competition," said Stéphane . You can throw items at each other, shrink your rivals, flip their controls. It’s chaos, but still cooperative.
"We grew up with Saturday morning cartoons."
And yes—there’s drop-in, drop-out co-op. If a buddy walks in mid-game, they just press start and jump into the action with their own character. Online multiplayer is fully supported, and cross-play between platforms is planned at launch. We're launching on PC first, with consoles coming this fall, Stéphane confirmed. But the goal is full cross-play across platforms.
Visually, Heroes of Mount Dragon feels like a love letter to Saturday morning cartoons. It avoids the all-too-familiar pixel art trend and instead embraces a vibrant, hand-drawn aesthetic full of bold outlines, fluid animations, and over-the-top character designs. We grew up with Saturday morning cartoons, Stéphane told me. That’s where the visual style comes from. Our artist also illustrates the board games and novels in this universe—it’s a shared world.
The art team, based in Quebec, has deep roots in storytelling. In fact, the game is part of a larger multimedia universe that includes six fantasy novels (currently only in French), board games, and more. The events of the game take place after the novels, uniting characters from across the lore into a single shared adventure. Even if you haven’t read the books, the game is a great entry point," Stéphane re-assured us . "But if you have read them, you’ll notice lots of nods and references."
Unlike many arcade brawlers, Heroes of Mount Dragon adds progression and light RPG mechanics. Characters level up as you play, unlocking new combos, perks, and dragon abilities. Your progress is tied to each individual hero, meaning upgrades carry over from session to session. Stéphane emphasized. that you don’t lose anything, Each character progresses independently, and you keep those upgrades for the next time you pick them.
Starting at level one, you grow stronger as you complete levels. Perks expand your skill set and give you more strategic options in combat. It’s a rewarding loop, especially when combined with the chaos of multiplayer action.
"We want it to feel fun and frantic, but still meaningful," he said. "You’re always getting better, unlocking new stuff, discovering combos."
Small Studio with Big Ideas
Behind all this is RuniQ Studio, an independent game developer based in Quebec City. The studio was founded by former veterans of Beenox, with past experience on major franchises like Spider-Man, Crash Bandicoot, and Call of Duty. Their first project, Heroes of Mount Dragon, is an ambitious one—but it’s already turning heads.
RuniQ recently won the 2024 GDC Pitch Day and took top honors in the Catapulte Pitching Contest. They’ve secured funding from the Canada Media Fund and local government grants, and they’re building not just a game, but an entire multimedia IP around Mount Dragon.
Heroes of Mount Dragon releases this June on PC, with a demo already available on Steam. A console version will follow in the fall, along with cross-play, online support, and additional characters.
If you miss the days of four-player arcade cabinets but want something fresh, polished, and packed with attitude, this is one to watch. It's Saturday morning cartoons meets modern multiplayer brawling—with dragons. It's about recapturing that feeling of playing shoulder-to-shoulder with your friends," Stéphane said. And then turning into a dragon and burning everything.
And honestly? That sounds like the perfect weekend plan.
Wishlist Heroes of Mount Dragon on Steam today. Demo available now. Full release June 2025.
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