Absolum Preview – Just When I Thought I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In
They can't keep getting away with this.
It’s hard to get excited about roguelikes and roguelites when every other game from a smaller studio seems to be one. I’m not saying some of these aren’t competently made, but it’s becoming a bit much when you can tell a game is a roguelike within seconds of seeing it.
However, it seems the developers behind Absolum peeked inside my dopamine receptors and created a rogue-lite that’s hard for me to resist playing one more run of. I had a chance to check out a good chunk of Absolum and came away extremely impressed with what’s on display.
Wizard ‘Em Up
Absolum is developed by Guard Crush Games, the co-developers of Streets of Rage 4, one of the finest modern beat ’em ups you can play today. It’s no surprise that Absolum is brimming with the same level of care in its combat, where each character feels distinct, responsive, and full of momentum with every blow.
Each character has a light and heavy attack, which you can chain into combos. Additionally, a special attack, which you can unlock different variants of, is mapped to your right trigger and uses mana to perform. There’s a parry-like move, but it isn’t just an answer to everything; you can perform a counter after dodging, wear down enemies, and unload on them. It’s a classic beat ’em up setup with an added layer of combat depth and customization through boons you pick up during the run.
These are elemental: fire, wind, ice, and water—you get the idea. It’s not just a fancy visual effect either; each element has a unique utility that can influence your build and gameplay approach. For instance, one boon allowed me to leave a trail of fire whenever I dashed forward, making positioning crucial for maximizing damage. Suddenly, I’m dashing in the opposite direction around the arena like Alucard, setting everything ablaze.
The core combat feels great both mechanically and visually. Each strike has a nice hit-reaction, sound effect, and animation to sell the move. It doesn’t feel like you’re punching air or slicing away through enemies without any resistance. Enemies fall, hit the wall, and bounce back; it’s all very familiar but executed with a high degree of polish.
I don’t think there is anything particularly unique about the rogue-lite structure, but it never feels needlessly complicated either. There are some permanent upgrades, and the map isn’t procedurally generated (from what I can tell), which means you can explore content at your own pace, and death isn’t exactly a bad thing.
There are secret areas within the path, useful loot to collect, and merchants to meet. You can also hire mercenaries during a run for some added support, and I appreciate how you can speed up animations of sections that would become tiring on subsequent runs.
Finally, the art direction is superb. The level of detail in each area, the way characters move, attack, and react. It’s spellbinding and a very big draw here.
The hand-drawn art is something you’d expect from a big-budget animated show, and the character designs in particular are a standout.
Overall, I think the pairing of high-quality beat ’em up action and smart use of the rogue-lite formula makes for a compelling case, and Absolum delivers on it with a lot of polish. I’m a sucker for action games that can still stand on their own if you strip away the rogue-lite elements, and Absolum is just that. The fundamentals are so strong here that the added layer of randomness only adds to an existing combat system that feels great to mess around with.
Where can you play Absolum?
As luck would have it, Absolum’s demo will be available today on Steam as part of the Steam Next Fest.
From the description, I think it’s essentially the same build I was able to try out, and features three characters as well, including the recently revealed Cider. Absolum is coming to PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PS5 sometime this year.
