Description

Bearers is a co-operative, souls-inspired, action RPG where players craft their own unique playstyles by capturing the Abilities and Equipment of their defeated foes. No levelling, no loot grinding, no inventory management - just play.

History

Prototyping for Bearers began in June of 2022 in response to a late onset quarter-life crisis; I withdrew from my academic career trajectory and dove headlong into developing the game of my dreams: working title Ability Battle (AB) and a simple mission statement, “make a spiritual successor of Guild Wars 1.” Scope be damned.

In 2024, despite Bearers being a disparate collection of systems and ideas at the time, I set the goal of showcasing Bearers at PAX Melbourne. In the months leading up to PAX I managed to get Bearers to a playable state that showcased the core combat and some of the design intent of Abilities and theorycrafting Builds in a PvE scenario. Although it was not a complete representation of the game's full vision, it gained a lot of positive feedback. James joined the team as Community Manager in the lead-up to PAX 2024.

Following the successful PAX 2024, our 2025 goal was feature completion and a PAX 2025 showcase. We worked diligently on the game, its brand, and community. A key addition was "Syphon," a mechanic allowing players to capture Abilities and Equipment from defeated enemies, which has become central to Bearers' horizontal progression. Significant infrastructure changes included switching the primary distribution platform, refining core mechanics, developing a tutorial world, and major UI updates. PAX 2025 was a success, offering a clearer vision of Bearers’ design and local co-op. Bearers attracting significant player interest at PAX 2025. We are now targeting a public demo release in Q1 2026.

Features

• Craft your playstyle from 8 Professions, hundreds of Abilities, Weapons and Armor. Run your favourite Build, hard counter your upcoming challenge, or fill a role in your squad; experimenting is the heart of Bearers.
• Play solo or cooperatively with a party of up to 4 Bearers.
• Claim the Abilities and Equipment of defeated enemies through Syphoning. You can see all possible Syphon options in range, but can only Syphon once between each rest at the Shrine, so choose wisely.
• Forget the busywork - Bearers foregoes XP grinding, loot grinding and inventory management for a Collection system. Unlock Abilities and Equipment to have them permanently unlocked in your Collection.
• Each Weapon has a moveset, and your Ability Bar allows you to have 8 Abilities at your disposal. Master souls-inspired Weapon combat, or theorycraft the perfect Ability Bar, your style is your own.
• Create your character and Customise your look with styles inspired by Aetherpunk and high fantasy aesthetics
• Set in a high fantasy world in the midst of a power struggle between gods and a magic-infused industrial revolution, players will play a key role in protecting the free people of the Celestial Isles from the Sky Pirate scourge, and be the ones to uncover the truth in a world of wonder and deceit.