I’ve played Rogue-lites that have mixed with several other genres, whether it be ARPGs, deckbuilders, or even brick breakers. But one genre that has seemingly gone untapped is the beat-em-up. Quarter-munchers from back in the day have seen continued success in the spirit of River City Girls, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, and even resurgences of classics like TMNT. So, to institute permadeath into a game where your health bar is as big an enemy as the fighters on the screen sounds like the antithesis of a recipe for success. Can Absolum, developed by beat-em-up legends Dotemu, prove this wrong?

Rogue-lites are already typically challenging, so with Absolum adding another layer of difficulty in brutal encounters where enemies can overwhelm you, one would think only beat-em-up experts need apply. Thankfully, learning the ins and outs of this genre isn’t required reading for newcomers: Absolum does a fantastic job of getting you up to speed in mere minutes, teaching you how to avoid getting damaged, and how to make use of skills, abilities, and combos to come out the other side without a scratch if you’re willing to learn from your mistakes.

With four playable characters and tons of in-run item/ability choices, Absolum caters to all playstyles whilst encouraging the player to experiment through its meta progression. After each time you get knocked down, you’ll be rebirthed and ready to start a new run in seconds. Spending your accumulated currency lengthens your health bar, empowers you when you use a mount, and tons of other moment-to-moment buffs that genuinely made me think, “oh, I should probably use mana here now that I have this” or, “now that my dash is better, I can approach this next fight differently”.

They say everything is better with a friend, and Absolum is no different. Matchmaking with someone a few weeks after release was a breeze, and the strong netcode ensured I didn’t experience a second of lag, even during intense boss battles. The companionship I felt with a stranger who risked taking hits to revive me truly immersed me and kept me going longer than just bailing in seemingly no-win situations. It was to the point where the game started to drag after I exited a run and tried to go it solo, to its unfortunate detriment.

Absolum is a smashing good time, and its high difficulty results in a pulse-pounder that rewards players who master dodging/countering whilst punishing button mashers that avoid the nuance of beat-em-ups. Absolum would be a sure thing if it could translate the fun factor from its co-op to single-player runs, but the latter is still strong enough to ensure a recommendation for roguelite fans and those brushed up on beat-em-ups who want something different. With an “overwhelmingly positive” review score on Steam a month removed from release, there’s a great chance you won’t regret diving into the lore-heavy, rollicking adventure that is Absolum.

A PC review copy of Absolum was provided by Dotemu for the purposes of this review.

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Absolum

$24.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Crunchy, Satisfying Fighting Action
• Smart use of Meta Progression
• Marvelous Art Direction

Cons

• Steep Difficulty Curve
• Way Better in Co-op