Absolum by Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, and Supamonks
Every once in a while, a game comes along that not only catches you completely by surprise but ends up consuming your life for days on end. For me, this year that game was Absolum, a Rogue-like and beat-’em-up hybrid published by the retro gaming wizards at DotEmu and spearheaded by Guard Crush Games, one of the main teams behind 2020’s Sega revival classic, Streets of Rage 4.
A pedigree like that comes with plenty of expectations, but somehow this game managed to completely exceed mine.
I Am the Black Wizards
Following a magical calamity that decimated the land of Talamh, the Sun King Azra has risen to power, enslaving wizards across the land and subjecting the people to his tyrannical rule. As some of the few remaining wizards to escape capture, your goal is simple: stop Azra, die trying, resurrect, and begin again.
I normally save talk about a game’s production and aesthetics for the end of the review, but a game as stunning as Absolum demands commentary up front.
Between its vivid and colorful comic book art style that looks like a Joe Madureira comic brought to life, fluid and responsive animation, and positively gorgeous score by Ori and the Blind Forest composer Gareth Coker, rarely has a Rogue-like kept me coming back so frequently just because I loved inhabiting its world so much.
This is given a huge boost by the game’s writing, which manages to contain tons of interesting lore and backstory to find without being overlong or plodding. It’s all in service to telling a story about a world devastated by disaster and tyranny, feeling more like something out of the Mistborn novels than any beat-’em-up has any right to.
Honestly, if I had a complaint at all, it’s that I wish I got to learn even more about its world and characters.
Sadistic Magician
In terms of gameplay, Absolum takes the gameplay of a classic beat-’em-up, which we’ve already gotten some great examples of this year, and melds it with the structure of something like Hades II.
Every screen features a slew of enemies for you to smash via incredibly responsive punches, kicks, and special moves.
You get a randomized reward when you’re done, you follow one of the available paths to the next area, rinse and repeat until you either die or beat the game. Of course, as a Rogue-like, the game expects you to die and restart, unlocking new moves and buffs through meta-progression upon respawning.
Absolum manages to mostly stave off the feelings of repetition common to the genre by featuring a bunch of secrets, random events, and quests to find, with quests often needing you to return to check out areas you currently can’t access, thanks to the path you’ve chosen. It works very well, with my only real complaint being that I exhausted the meta-progression of the game long before I actually found all of its content.
It helps, too, that the characters all play very differently from each other, with their own unique movesets and strengths. Oh, and like any good beat-’em-up, you can bring a friend along for the entire ride, even online. These developers get it.
The Verdict
Absolum manages to combine tight combat, compelling world-building, and an addictive gameplay loop into a stunning, must-play game.
This is one of the easiest recommendations I’ve made on this website, and as soon as I finish this review, I’m going to start a new save file and play the game over again. What better compliment can I give something than that?
Absolum is available via the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, and Steam.
Watch the trailer for Absolum below:
