Absolum Review – A Roguelike Beat ’em Up with Style

Absolute Review

I admit it. Sometimes I hear the phrase “roguelike adventure” and my eyes glaze over. Genre fatigue is a thing. But no matter how crowded a particular gaming niche is, there is always room for a good game, an original game, or a game that takes a fresh approach to the genre. For those who are drowning in a sea of ​​imitators, Absolute could be the lifeline they need.

Genre Hybrid (Naturally)

Absolute is a melting pot of genres. Inspired by classic 2D side-scrolling battles, it adds a roguelike structure and progression system, as well as an adventure storyline. Nothing feels out of place and all of the game's mechanics work quite well.

While it may not be the element that will make you want to play, the game's art definitely stands out. It all starts with a hand-drawn cartoon image that is colorful and well detailed. Both enemies and heroes have the appealing vibe of fantasy characters that don't take themselves too seriously. The game's varied environments, such as castles, forests and seashores, are evocative. For a 2.5D game – you can choose paths and move between background, foreground and center – there are an unusual number of little secrets and side areas to discover.

The game's combat effects, explosions, and spells are executed exceptionally well, making combat visually appealing. Speaking of aesthetics and presentation, the game's music is great, although a bit repetitive at times with frequent runs. This is a classic medieval adventure. The game's voice acting is no less effective. Each of the game characters has their own character. I didn’t necessarily like them all equally in combat, but they were all interesting to listen to. The script makes fun use of fantasy tropes and has a steady sense of humor that doesn't require much effort.

Where swords kill orcs. Combat I mean

Regarding the action in the game, I'll start with the negative that is directly related to the side-scrolling Absolum. Of course, the front-middle-back enemy placement is classic arcade mechanics. However, it was often frustrating to read the exact locations of enemies in 2.5D space, and I found myself missing many attacks. Sometimes the blows would land—or smell—right behind or in front of where they should have been. The characters' movements were not always precise and smooth. Because of this inaccuracy, runs were sometimes stopped. Another problem is that in the midst of a large battle, it is not always easy to read or control a character's facial expressions. These complaints aren't minor, but they don't detract too much from Absolum's overall fun and enjoyable combat.

Absolum is a roguelike, meaning that when runs end, the hero returns to home base with money, experience, or materials that can be used to level up skills and spells or add new ones, making subsequent attempts a little easier. Enemy placement and loot are randomized, although enemy types remain the same within a given zone. The goal, of course, is to reach the final boss of a certain area, unlocking the next part of the journey. Their mechanics are roguelite 101, and Absolum doesn't stray far from the template.

The game starts with two heroes. Karl is a dwarf who prefers to fight with his fists and shoot with a blunderbuss. Galandra is a versatile sword fighter. Later heroes include a ranged magic user, a levitating frog named Brom, and an acrobatic rogue named Cider. Each player will probably have his own favorites. I mostly played as Karl or Brom. One nice mechanic is that while each hero's spells or special abilities must be upgraded separately, the level of the player – and therefore all characters – is the same from hero to hero. However, it's likely that players will want to focus on maximizing one or two characters.

Ride a boar (literally “There are mounts”)

Roguelikes have both a built-in problem and an opportunity. If they can find the right balance between repetition and reward, the game becomes a successful “one more try.” Hades is a great example, showering the player with loot, new dialogue, and plot twists with every attempt. Absolum does a fairly good job of solving this puzzle, partly because each area is relatively short and there are a lot of things to pick up and items to discover. At the same time, enemy variety was a bit lacking, and repetitive runs began to feel awfully similar.

Absolum enters the crowded roguelike space with a refreshing and attractive art style and classic beat-em-up mechanics. You can play either alone or in a cooperative of two people. Each character in Absolum suits a very specific playstyle, and it's fun to switch between them. While character development is a bit slow and the movement mechanics are sometimes frustrating, Absolum should appeal to fans of fun action-adventure games, roguelikes, and brawlers. Absolum has something for almost everyone.

***PC code provided by publisher for review***