Absolum review: How I learned to love a co-op beat ‘em up roguelike

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The team behind popular beat ’em ups like *Streets of Rage 4* and *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge* – Guard Crush, Supamonks, and Dotemu – is now introducing *Absolum*, their first original game. It’s a roguelike, meaning it features randomly generated levels and challenging, replayable gameplay.

Okay, so I’m playing this game, *Absolum*, and it’s set in a really cool fantasy world, but magic is totally illegal. This emperor has taken over and is killing anyone who even *thinks* about using it. You play as one of the last rebels, going around trying to take down the emperor’s strongest generals and basically break his hold on everything. What’s really neat is that when you inevitably die – and trust me, you *will* die – your magical patron swoops in and brings you back to life. It’s not just a gameplay thing, it’s built right into the story and makes the whole roguelike aspect feel perfect!

Balancing Repetition

Mixing the fast-paced action of beat ‘em up games with the replay-focused nature of roguelikes can easily become repetitive. I recently experienced this firsthand while playing an old X-Men arcade game at a friend’s house. It was enjoyable, but frustratingly, there was no way to save progress. My friend told me he’d played the first few levels countless times with different people. This is a frequent issue with these types of games – the gameplay often feels stuck on repeat, and even when you move to new levels, there isn’t much variety beyond facing a different boss.

Roguelikes are games I’ve enjoyed a lot, and each one tries to offer something new with every playthrough. However, even the best roguelikes can become repetitive. While they usually have some random elements, you’ll often encounter similar challenges and fight the same bosses repeatedly until you figure out the winning strategy, get the right upgrades, or just get lucky.

While *Absolum* isn’t perfect and does have some repetition, I was impressed by how much changes with each playthrough. As you play more, you’ll encounter new enemies, side quests with different objectives, and more varied environments. There’s a main story throughout the game, but each run can feel unique depending on how you choose to play. That said, you’ll still see familiar enemies and locations often. The number of different boss fights does increase as you progress, but some of the earlier bosses can feel a bit repetitive. Despite these expected issues, they aren’t as problematic as they could have been.

An Eclectic Cast

In *Absolum*, you can play as four different characters. You begin with Galandra, an elf-like warrior who fights with a sword, and Karl, a strong dwarf who uses a musket and his fists. Having these two available from the start is great for cooperative play, letting each player choose a unique character. You’ll then unlock Cider, a mysterious character with a prosthetic leg and a grappling hook hand that she uses to pull enemies closer. Finally, you can unlock Brome – a frog wizard, which is as amazing as it sounds!

Each character has two main attacks: a quick, basic attack and a more powerful one. For instance, both Galandra and Karl start with punches, but Galandra follows up with a sword attack, while Karl uses a headbutt. These attacks build up energy for even stronger attacks, which will expand into different choices as you improve your characters. These stronger attacks can be either wide-area damage or focus on a single enemy, depending on who you’re playing as. You’ll also unlock a powerful ultimate attack, but you can only use it a limited number of times during each playthrough. While your core attacks are set, like in most roguelikes, you’ll find temporary upgrades and new attack options to help you along the way.

Okay, so like most brawlers, you *can* get pretty far just by holding right and hitting buttons. But honestly, this game, *Absolum*, really pushes you to learn your character and their combos. It makes a HUGE difference. Unlike other beat ‘em ups where you can just jump right back in after losing a life, this one is way more punishing. For a lot of the game, you basically only have one life. You *can* upgrade to get a second, but you’ll come back with low health, so you really want to save it for the end-of-level boss. It’s a strategic thing – you don’t want to waste those revivals!

Absolum cleverly uses the roguelike gameplay to create a captivating story. In the world of Absolum, also called Talamh, players are aided by a magical patron who can revive them after defeat. This resurrection magic is exactly what the enemy is trying to destroy, making each revival both helpful and a defiant act against the villain. The game begins with a mission to rescue the player’s patron, Uchawi—a constantly pregnant being with the power to rebirth those she protects whenever they fall in battle.

PROS:

  1. A compelling fantasy world with a story that ties well with roguelike mechanics;
  2. each run manages to feel unique and fresh;
  3. combat is easy to learn, but challenging to master;
  4. visually fantastic with great character, enemy sprites, and dynamic environments.

CONS:

  1. Basic character upgrades, like more health, must be unlocked;
  2. singleplayer is enjoyable, but not as fun as co-op;
  3. certain elements can sometimes feel repetitive.

The Problem with Progression

One thing I didn’t love was how the game handles progression. Even though I generally enjoyed playing and was surprised by how varied it was, *Absolum* uses a common roguelike mechanic where permanent improvements are locked behind in-game currency. This means you have to complete runs to boost your character’s health, increase damage, and unlock new skills. Personally, I felt this was a slightly artificial way to control the game’s difficulty.

As a fan, I have to say it’s a little frustrating starting the game at a disadvantage instead of having a fair shot right away. It feels like the game *wants* you to learn as you go, and I get that’s probably intentional for the story they’re telling – it must have been tricky to get that balance right. Still, even understanding the design choice, it just doesn’t feel good to have to *unlock* more health. I suppose a really skilled player could avoid taking damage altogether, but it feels a bit artificial.

Okay, so this game *will* kick your butt eventually. It’s not super hard to pick up, and even if you’re new to this kind of game, you can probably get to the first boss. But each run takes a while, and that damage really adds up. There are ways to heal, and you can improve those heals later, but it’s not enough to completely save you. Honestly, that wasn’t even the biggest issue. The developers did a great job of avoiding the usual problem with roguelikes – making each run feel different. If I had to replay the same sections over and over just to grind for upgrades, *that* would have been incredibly annoying.

Final Thoughts

I had a really awesome time playing *Absolum*. I enjoyed the demo at Summer Game Fest, but honestly, the full game blew me away! The developers did a fantastic job of mixing a compelling story with tons of new stuff to keep me engaged as I leveled up and progressed.

Beyond the exciting battles, *Aboslum* is a beautiful game. All the characters and creatures are incredibly detailed, and the environments are also impressive. The map is designed with clear, branching paths, making it easy to see where you are, even from a single glance. This helps keep the game from feeling repetitive, even when you revisit familiar locations.

Absolum is a great game for two players, whether you’re playing together in person or online. It launched on the Nintendo Switch, which is a perfect fit thanks to the console’s easy local co-op and portability. It’s also available on PC and PlayStation, and if you don’t have a Switch, it works wonderfully on the Steam Deck for on-the-go gaming.

Overall, *Absolum* is a really enjoyable game. The combat is incredibly addictive, and the optional side quests add a lot to the exploration. I found the world fascinating and wanted to discover everything it had to offer. I wholeheartedly recommend *Absolum* to everyone – even if you’re not usually a fan of roguelikes or beat ’em ups, this game might just surprise you and change your perspective.

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2025-10-10 14:04