As a huge fan of the roguelike genre and of titles from both Dotemu and Guard Crush Games, I was eagerly awaiting the chance to get my hands on Absolum, an original beat-’em-up and a new property from the minds behind Streets of Rage 4.
Absolum is a medieval fantasy roguelike beat-’em-up featuring Dotemu’s distinct, inky and bold comic book–like aesthetic, which forgoes pixels in favour of punchy, high-fidelity art. The Steam Next Fest demo for Absolum, which I was given access to, ran for about an hour—roughly equivalent to the first major zone of the game world. Although still far from complete, the narrative in Absolum already feels compelling, with the core story focused on a world where magic has been exiled following a cataclysmic event. Players face off against the oppressive rule of the Sun King Azra, hoping to restore the world to its former magical glory.
The Absolum demo features three playable characters (with the final build promising to bump that up to four),... Read more