This week, RuniQ will release its long-awaited Heroes of Mount Dragon on Steam. It’s a new side-scrolling beat-em-up with a terrific style, as well as great special attacks and, of course, co-op. Not to mention it comes to us from a team of veterans that worked on a number of notable games, including Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled.
So what’s the story behind the studio and the creation of the game? Luckily, we were able to sit down with a few of the staff to discuss how it all came together – and, more importantly, what comes next!
Joining us for the interview are:
- Stéphane Gravel: Lead programmer and producer
- Thomas Wilson: Lead designer, artist and story
- Philippe Turcotte: Designer and story writer
First off, how did the team at RuniQ first get together? What motivated you guys to form your studio?
Stéphane: It all started when we were working together at a video game studio in Québec City. After finishing up Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, we found ourselves at a crossroads: the projects ahead didn’t align with our creative passion. That’s when Thomas came to Philippe and me with his vision for Heroes of Mount Dragon. From the moment we heard it, we knew we had to make it a reality. The opportunity to build something of our own, with complete creative and production freedom, was a dream we’d shared for a long time. And RuniQ became our way to chase that dream head-on.
You bring lots of experience to the table. What was the toughest part of starting something new like Heroes of Mount Dragon from the ground up?
Stéphane: Only one? That’s a tough ask. Leaving behind a well-resourced environment meant a massive shift. Suddenly, we were wearing every hat imaginable: setting up production, chasing funding, managing a lean team, handling marketing, being “hands on” and everything in between…it was a steep learning curve. And looking back, let’s just say the timing wasn’t exactly on our side, especially given the economic headwinds. Still, it was what we needed in this stage of our respective careers.
How did you decide on it becoming a side-scrolling brawler? Does the genre still have room for innovation after all of these years?
Stéphane: Early on, we agreed we wanted to build something that friends and family could enjoy together, in front of a screen. Accessibility was key. And maybe it’s because we’re dinosaurs ourselves, but we have a lot of nostalgia for those classic side-scrolling brawlers we played at the local arcade, back in the days. But nostalgia alone wasn’t enough; we asked ourselves if the genre still had room to grow. And the answer was a definite yes. We saw opportunities to innovate through diverse fighting styles, a modern visual and gameplay polish, and perhaps most excitingly, by introducing a true competitive mode, something we felt had never really been done justice in this genre.
Was your team motivated by other brawlers of this type? Golden Axe, perhaps?
Philippe: Absolutely! Many classic brawlers were set in urban environments and revolved around hand-to-hand combat and martial arts-inspired moves. However, games like Golden Axe and Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara and Shadow over Mystara stood out by embracing a fantasy setting, complete with weapons, magic, and iconic fantasy heroes and monsters. Since Heroes of Mount Dragon aligns more closely with this style, those titles naturally served as key inspirations.
Tell us about the story behind Heroes of Mount Dragon. What’s the goal of our heroes?
Thomas: In a vision, the Celestial Dragon – the last of his kind, sees eight great heroes, with legendary potential. Each hero comes from one of the eight kingdoms of the world of Üna and faces the challenge of becoming a Dragon-Soul: heroes who can transform into dragons! They must come together to form the Dragon-Soul League and face the forces of evil.
There are four different hero types within the game. Tell us more about them and what makes each one stand out.
Thomas: There’s four at launch but we expect to have eight different heroes post-launch, each with their own fighting style. Out of the original four, there’s Ozlow, the dark elf assassin. Ozlow has a hybrid fighting style of close-range attacks with his daggers and long-range attacks with his throwing knives.
There’s Eliadora, the wood elf ranger. Although she can perform close-range attacks with her spinning kicks, her strengths lie in long-range attacks with her magic bow.
Then, there’s Grog the half-orc brawler. Grog is everything you can expect from an up-close and personal fighting style with his magic gauntlets.
Last, there’s Fenek, the felynx warrior monk. She focuses on close-range attacks with her double-bladed staff and magic chakras for long range attacks. The four additional heroes will include a barbarian, a knight, a mage and a sorceress.
The demo has a lot of promise, particularly with the gameplay. Was it hard to find that sweet balance of combat and magic techniques?
Philippe: Definitely! It was quite a challenge to strike the right balance between making the special attacks feel powerful and visually impressive —especially when the heroes transform into their dragon forms— without making them so effective that they overshadow all other moves and make the game too easy. On top of that, since the game supports one to four players, we had to test and fine-tune everything across multiple configurations to ensure it all worked smoothly. And when you’re a team of just nine developers, that’s no small feat!
How about the music? Tell us more about that.
Thomas: Right from the get-go we wanted the main musical theme to feel epic and heroic. Once we felt we had nailed the right melody and the right tone the plan was to play with the main theme and give it a distinctive flavor for each realm. The Goblin Plains has a distinctive Celtic influence with flutes and violons. The Elven Sanctuary has an eerie flavor. The Cursed Forest music is filled with tribal instruments and the Forbidden Desert has middle eastern influences. To top things off, we have heavy metal influences when our heroes are surrounded by a swarm or when facing a boss.
Have responses to the game’s demo been positive thus far? Is there a lot of excitement for the game?
Stéphane: The response to the demo has been incredibly encouraging, especially during live events like PAX and The MIX. Watching players pick up a controller and dive right in, reacting so vividly at their first dragon transformation or messing with each other in competitive mode using our curses system, was beyond satisfying. That immediate connection, that spark, is everything we hoped for. Seeing the excitement grow in real time has been both humbling and energizing.
If it’s successful enough, could we possibly see Heroes of Mount Dragon on consoles? Or are you focusing on just PC/Steam at the moment?
Stéphane: Most definitely! From day one, our ambition with Heroes of Mount Dragon has been to build an original IP with global appeal. While our current focus is on delivering the best possible experience on PC/Steam, we’re definitely thinking beyond just one platform. You can expect to hear more about console versions in the not-so-distant future. Stay tuned!
What comes next for your team once Heroes of Mount Dragon is good to go? Possible new characters? Work on a sequel, perhaps?
Stéphane: As Thomas mentioned, the Dragon-Soul League includes eight heroes, and only four will be available at launch. So, our immediate priority is to bring the remaining characters to life and make them available to players in the near future. As for what’s next? A sequel is definitely on our minds. The world of Üna has so many unexplored corners, and we’d love to take players deeper into its lore. Beyond that, we’ve got a bunch of ideas for other game genres we’d love to explore as a team. If Heroes of Mount Dragon finds its audience, the sky’s the limit.
You can pre-order Heroes of Mount Dragon here, and it releases June 25th. Thanks to the team for sitting down with us!
Want more beat-em-up goodness? Check out our classic review of the original Double Dragon!
