The next game from the Streets of Rage 4 studio is Absolum, a new roguelike beat 'em up.
The team behind Streets of Rage 4 returns with Absolum, an action game set in a fantasy world that combines beat-em-up style combat with an ingenious roguelike progression mechanic.
Guard Crush, the studio known for its work on Streets of Rage 4, has revealed its next project titled Absolum. Instead of continuing with a well-known franchise, this time it’s an original title developed in collaboration with Dotemu and Supamonk. Absolum is a cooperative combat game set in a fantasy world that combines classic elements of the beat-em-up genre with roguelike progression mechanics.
During a 90-minute session, I had the opportunity to explore several runs of Absolum, and while I initially struggled to fully grasp its mechanics, I soon began to visualize the overall concept. This new title seems to position itself somewhere between classic brawlers and contemporary action games, providing an intersection that enriches both experiences.
On the surface, Absolum presents itself as a fairly straightforward 2D brawler. At the start of the game, the objective is to move from left to right, hitting enemies with punches and swords. Its artistic style, reminiscent of a playable comic, is a clear sign of Guard Crush's DNA. The combo chaining mechanic is smooth, although I experienced some unexpected deaths that altered the course of my experience.
The gameplay is a fusion between a typical beat-em-up and roguelike dynamics. After navigating an initial hub, I dove into my first real run. I had a pretty basic set of moves, which included regular attacks and a special ability that consumed mana. However, the depth of the gameplay was revealed as I progressed, allowing me to break enemies' guard to deal more damage.
As I advanced, I dodged monsters riding boars, and upon defeating a fight, I received specific upgrades for that run. One of them granted fire damage to my attacks. After each death, the progress cycle was reset, allowing me to level up and gather resources that I could spend on an NPC to unlock new special attacks.
Absolum also includes permanent upgrades, allowing me to advance in customizing my character. While the options were limited at first, a skill tree unlocked as I accumulated upgrades, even granting skills that revived me if I fell in combat.
The game presents layers of progression, with the ability to unlock new skills in each run. Finding a merchant activated a loyalty system that rewarded my investment, along with in-game side missions. In one of my attempts, I helped a ghost and defeated a boss, which expanded my move set.
Unlike other roguelikes, Absolum maintains a fixed structure in its routes, with no procedural generation. This may give a sense of rigidity, but the discovery of new paths reminded me that sometimes the familiar holds surprises. By the end of my session, the gameplay loop was clear: start a run, die, acquire upgrades, and try new paths in the next one.
While there are improvements to be made for the combat mechanics to feel more fluid, the concept of Absolum reflects an intelligent evolution of what the studio achieved with Streets of Rage 4. Additionally, the cooperative experience is expected to be especially rewarding. When I finished my run, I felt the urge to keep playing, as I was just one hit away from defeating the first boss. Absolum is set to launch this year on PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
