Arsonate is a red-hot card game that’s Buckshot Roulette if it were to burst into flames

As a game inspired by Buckshot Roulette, the Arsonate announcement stood out for being packed with adrenaline and mixing the unpredictability of luck with the development of strategies. It’s a card game where fire spreads with the flip of every card, and the more turns you take, the closer you are to death.

We’ve got a breakdown of all the key Arsonate features, so you have an idea of what you’re going up against before you take a seat at the table.

What is Arsonate?

As a psychological horror, Arsonate gameplay locks you in a dingy fire tower with an opponent known as the Host. You must battle it out in a deadly card game against the Host, where survival means freedom, and losing results in death.

The playing area in the Arsonate demo consists of a single room that contains lockers for utility items that grant abilities and can be used each turn. There’s also a large enough playing table for the 54 Acre cards that are split, shuffled, and dealt face down. The back of every Acre card has a tree symbol that represents a forest, and the forest fire starts on the card in the very centre of the table and spreads with each flipped card.

Moreover, both you and the Host have a singular tower card, which you must stop the fire from reaching, or it’s game over. With that said, Arsonate gameplay involves you choosing where the fire spreads with each turn, but you can only flip a card that’s on your side of the table, so you can’t simply move the fire closer to the Host. Remember, the victory condition is to survive, so defense of your tower card is the key to victory. 

Arsonate gambling mechanics also mean you can flip cards that trigger events, such as being granted another turn or earning a random piece of utility. Once a card is flipped, you can stand, or if you’re feeling confident, you can double down to take a chance on flipping a second card at random for a higher reward.

As you flip utility cards, the random equipment you earn can be used instantly or stored away in your locker for later on in the game. What’s handy is that you can see the utility items in the Hosts locker, too, allowing for better planning. The utility items in the Arsonate demo include a fire extinguisher that replaces a burned card on your side with a new card, a Crowbar used to steal a utility item from the Host, and a Spyglass to peek under unburned cards.

Apart from the high-stakes conditions of the Arsonate game, tension is raised by the fire not only spreading through the cards and towards your tower, but fire begins to engulf the room you are trapped in, coinciding with what’s happening on the table. This intensifies the endgame, which has three endings.

Who is the developer of Arsonate?

The Arsonate developer goes by the name of Nash, and the game’s origins lie in a Pirate Software Game Jam, where Arsonate placed first for artistic style. Another horror game Nash is developing is >HAL_4, which focuses on puzzle-solving and escaping death traps with gravity boots. >HAL_4 is coming soon to Early Access on Steam, with the release of additional chapters and gameplay elements planned in the future.

When will Arsonate be released?

The Arsonate release date has yet to be announced, but it will be playable on PC via Steam and Itch.io. 

Despite the Arsonate demo being restricted to single-player against AI, the full game will have online multiplayer, so you can face off in fiery duels against friends. 

How long is the Arsonate demo?

A single Arsonate game should take no longer than 30 minutes, but there’s plenty of replayability. The demo has two difficulty levels: Fair, which puts you on a level playing field with the Host, and Normal, where the Host can cheat.

Additionally, Arsonate features three possible endings; two are considered bad endings as you fall victim to the game, and the good ending sees you defeat the host and acquire the key you need to escape through the door.

How does Arsonate compare to Buckshot Roulette?

Since the Arsonate game draws on Buckshot Roulette, many similarities can be identified between the two. Both games play on the feeling of being isolated and fighting for your life in a dangerous game against a mysterious figure. They encourage you to try and fail because the games are easy to pick up and play, and matches can be completed in short bursts.

However, the main difference lies in the core mechanics. Arsonate gameplay is based on a deck of cards that’s used to advance a spreading fire. Buckshot Roulette is more akin to Russian roulette in the way it’s based around a shotgun loaded with live and blank rounds. 

Although Arsonate gambling mechanics require you to manage strategy and luck, that’s only until you reach one of three endings. In Buckshot Roulette, you can continue challenging your opponent in double or nothing to see how long you can survive.