A watercolor and Chinese ink-inspired action game from three French developers, featuring challenging boss fights and a combat system built around risk and reward.
Réunion, France, August 2026. French indie studio L’Atelier is pleased to announce Harmonie, an action boss rush game combining a strong watercolor and Chinese ink-inspired art direction with a combat system centered around risk, timing and resource management.
Players take the role of Xio, a warrior who has lost almost all of his senses. Unable to experience the world like other people, he relies on Astra, a mysterious living brush that helps him understand what is happening around him.
Astra is much more than a weapon. She is Xio's way of experiencing the world. Because Xio has lost most of his senses, Astra communicates with him by painting what he needs to understand. When someone speaks, she writes the essential words directly into his perception. When something needs to be shown, she can draw it for him. She does not reproduce everything. Astra only paints what she considers important, which gives the world around Xio a very particular visual language. Words, drawings, watercolor, ink and empty space all become part of his perception.This is also the reason behind Harmonie's visual direction. The watercolor and Chinese ink style is not simply an aesthetic choice. The world is presented through Xio's limited perception and the way Astra fills in the gaps for him.
Harmonie is a boss rush first and foremost. The game features seven Guardians, each with their own attacks, mechanics and story. The Guardians are protected by Light, which makes them immortal. To defeat them, Xio must use Astra to cover their bodies with ink and reduce their Light protection.The protection constantly regenerates over time, with each Guardian taking a fixed amount of time to recover their full protection. The longer players wait before cashing out their ink, the faster the protection bar fills back up. This forces players to decide when to strike and when it is worth taking the risk of building up more ink.
Once ink has been applied, Xio can strike the boss with his sword. The attack converts all the ink currently covering the boss into damage in a single hit. The more ink Xio manages to build up before striking, the more powerful the attack becomes.
When Xio uses Astra, his hearts gradually fill with ink and transform into brushes. These ink-filled hearts increase his damage, allowing him to become much more powerful. The tradeoff is simple: the more of his health he converts into ink, the more he has to lose if he makes a mistake.This creates a constant risk and reward decision. Players can play safely, or push their luck by building up more ink on themselves and on the boss before going for a devastating strike.
Defending against attacks also requires players to choose the right tool. Normal attacks can be parried with Xio's sword, while Light buffed attacks must be countered with Astra.
The Guardians are at the center of both the gameplay and the story of Harmonie. Each Guardian is encountered three times throughout the game, but these are not simple rematches. Each encounter features a different appearance, a different arena and a different way of fighting, all connected to the Guardian's story. As players progress through the game, they gradually discover more about each Guardian and what happened to them. Rather than introducing a boss once and moving on, Harmonie uses these three encounters to tell their stories throughout the game. Each new encounter therefore offers both a different challenge and another piece of the character's story.
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A boss rush focused on challenging and evolving boss encounters
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Seven unique Guardians, each encountered three times throughout the game
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Three distinct encounters for every Guardian, with different appearances, arenas, attack patterns and stories
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A high risk, high reward combat system built around ink, health and damage
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Ink that reduces a boss's Light protection and can be converted into damage with a single sword strike
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Regenerating boss protection that forces players to decide when to cash out their ink
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Two different uses of ink, allowing players to cover bosses in ink or sacrifice their own health for increased damage
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Normal attacks that can be parried with the sword and Light buffed attacks that must be countered with Astra
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A watercolor and Chinese ink-inspired art direction tied directly to Xio's perception
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A unique relationship between Xio and Astra, with the brush painting dialogue and elements of the world directly into his perception
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A narrative told progressively through the evolution of each Guardian's encounters
Harmonie is now available to wishlist on Steam : Harmonie Steam page
L'Atelier is a French independent game studio founded in 2024 by three French developers. The studio focuses on creating games where gameplay, art direction and storytelling work closely together. Harmonie is the studio's first game.
L'Atelier
Email: contact@latelier.art
Title: Harmonie
Developer: L'Atelier
Genre: Action / Boss Rush
Platforms: PC and consoles
Release Date: To be announced
Price: To be announced
Developer Location: France/ Reunion