Absolum Is a Gorgeous Roguelite from the Makers of Streets of Rage 4

Streets of Rage 4 developer Guard Crush Games is erstwhile again partnering up with steadfast Dotemu for a beat-’em-up. This time, though, it’s Dotemu’s archetypal first IP, with gorgeous hand-drawn-styled animation from Supamonks and a soundtrack by decorated video crippled people composer Gareth Coker. That’s a batch of endowment connected 1 unproven project, but if my hourlong hands-on with that task – it’s called Absolum – is immoderate indication, it’s not going to beryllium unproven for precise long.

Absolum is simply a roguelite side-scrolling beat-’em-up action-RPG designed for, successful the developers’ words, “deep replayability with branching paths to explore, quests, characters, and challenging bosses.” I tin attest to each of those things being true. It’s an perfectly gorgeous phantasy romp with aggregate subordinate classes – I got to effort retired the tank-y dwarf-like Karl and the lank-y ranger-ish sword-wielding Galandra – wherever you termination evil creatures, smash up the environments (often hoping a carrot oregon different health-replenishing pickup volition uncover itself), duck into the occasional gathering to popular unfastened treasure chests oregon get ambushed by goblins, conflict bosses with gargantuan wellness bars, die, and repetition the full happening implicit again. Oh, and though I didn’t get to effort it, you tin besides play two-player same-screen co-op.

For me, idiosyncratic who has fond memories of galore a two-player beat-’em-up backmost successful 1980’s and early-’90s arcades arsenic good arsenic games similar Golden Axe connected the Sega Genesis, Absolum felt nostalgically acquainted successful a bully mode – possibly owing to its Saturday greeting cartoon-style creation and animation. And you’ve got a comparatively shallow but nevertheless somewhat layered two-button combat strategy that allows you to premix up attacks depending connected the force successful beforehand of you. But the roguelite constituent modernizes it successful a mode that gives it some an borderline and a ton of evident built-in replayability.

As you go, you’ll observe some hidden and evident power-ups – immoderate are equippable progressive weapons oregon spells that are activated by pulling 1 of the triggers and past hitting the corresponding look button, and others are passives that unrecorded successful your inventory. All volition randomize from 1 tally to the next, but not each the items are needfully desirable. Or astatine least, there’s a superior risk-reward strategy that mightiness alteration your attack successful that run. For instance, successful 1 aboriginal run, I picked up not 1 but TWO orbs that gave maine a 20% boost to damage, but astatine the disbursal of 20% of my health. So with some of them I had a frighteningly tiny wellness bar, but I could dispatch enemies beauteous quickly. Fortunately, you tin driblet immoderate point from your inventory astatine immoderate clip if you’d alternatively not woody with the trade-off of a peculiar power-up.

I did accidental this is simply a roguelite, truthful that means erstwhile – not if – you die, the realm you instrumentality to has a store wherever you tin walk in-game currency to bargain items oregon power-ups for the adjacent run. This wasn’t afloat moving yet successful the aboriginal physique I played, leaving maine astatine the whim of what amounted to a dice rotation regarding the prime of items and power-ups connected each caller run.

Because I couldn’t walk immoderate of the hard-earned golden successful betwixt runs, I had a heck of a clip with the archetypal large brag – who I sadly don’t person footage of, but astatine slightest I tin amusement you another, aboriginal brag that looks acold tougher. But excavation was a mammoth troll that swung a gigantic mace, and who’d summon smaller goblins, immoderate of whom would leap onto you and commencement biting distant astatine your look similar they were piranhas. I would’ve loved to person gotten a accidental to acquisition two-player co-op, arsenic it would not lone divided the boss’s attention, but arsenic anyone who shares those fond memories of the beat-’em-ups of yore knows, these kinds of games radiance brightest successful two-player mode. Always. Every azygous time. No exceptions.

But still, betwixt the creation style, animation, old-school side-scrolling beat-’em-up gameplay, and roguelite loop – not to notation the developer’s pedigree successful this genre – Absolum has a ton of potential, and situation I accidental adjacent a precocious probability of being good. If you’ve been lamenting the nonaccomplishment of sofa co-op games implicit the years, Absolum is astir surely 1 that’s going to stem that tide, astatine slightest for a small while. I’m precise overmuch looking guardant to playing a much polished physique arsenic improvement progresses, but for now, I’m incredibly optimistic.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's enforcement exertion of previews and big of some IGN's play Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, arsenic good arsenic our monthly(-ish) interrogation show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, truthful it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him connected Twitter astatine @DMC_Ryan.