Absolum: The Roguelite Beat 'em Up Review
Will the Hades formula work with a Golden Axe twist?
Absolum is a title that arrived almost on tiptoe but with the clear intention of making its mark: the work of DotEmu and Guard Crush Games – already authors of the excellent Streets of Rage 4 – experiments with the use of the Roguelite structure applied to the concept of the side-scrolling hack'n'slash beat 'em up. We are therefore talking about a sort of missing link between Supergiant's Hades and SEGA's historic Golden Axe, or if you prefer a more recent comparison, we will mention Dragon's Crown. Was the experiment successful? Let's find out together.
Absolum: four characters between redemption and revenge
The kingdom of Talamh is a magical kingdom... too magical, given that the arrogance and greed of the mages unleashed the Cataclysm of Yeldrim upon the world, devastating an entire region and releasing never-before-seen monsters and phenomena. As a consequence, Sun King Azra forbade the use of magic throughout the kingdom – with the casual exception of the members of his Crimson Order – and banned a “mage hunt” that exterminated the Sisters of the Roots, the circle of witches who protected the land. Only Mother Uchawi, despite her advanced pregnancy, was saved thanks to the assistance of four of her “children”: these four mages are tasked with stopping Azra's madness and finding a solution to the cataclysm.
The four mages in question are the four playable characters of Absolum: the Knight of Yeldrin Galandra armed with a greatsword, the dwarf Karl with his blunderbuss and mighty fists, the mysterious Cider, who is part-mechanical, and the Mowlai [anthropomorphic toad] Brome, who among them all certainly has the most “witch-like” appearance. The magical characteristic that the four have in common is the fact that they cannot die as long as Uchawi protects them with her blessing: every time they should pass away, they are instead re-summoned to the Mother's sanctuary and are ready for a new attempt.
Each Run in Absolum will therefore start from Uchawi's sanctuary and unfold in a non-linear sequence of partially random levels. We explain it better: in the game world there will be some “key” locations, including the crossroads that will lead you to choose between various paths, but for the rest, the individual locations will be randomly chosen from thematic pools. This means that even taking the same exits at the same crossroads, you will have to traverse different territories before reaching the next key location. To all this is added the fact that some locations become accessible only after completing certain side quests or even based on apparently random events that may occur during the adventure.
Absolum between brawls and spells
Regardless of the chosen character, the basic controls of the game will naturally be the same: one button for jumping, one for the standard attack, and one for the so-called ability, be it the classic “powerful attack” or another type of technique [Cider, for example, extends her prosthetic arm to grab a distant enemy]; to these is added the dash, which if executed with the right timing can become a dodge or an impact parry, while holding it down allows you to run. The repertoire is completed by the interaction button [collect, press lever, open door, throw object etc...] and the button for Arcane Art, which is the character's available “magic” technique whose use consumes a bar of the appropriate charge, to be replenished with combos. Later in the adventure, a second Arcane Art also becomes available, as well as the possibility of activating a final move by pressing the two buttons together.
As mentioned, the adventure of Absolum is made up of successive levels organized in a path that branches at specific crossroads: at the end of each level you will receive a reward, be it currency [money or crystals], items, or Rites: the latter provide significant enhancements to the character's abilities, for example causing burn on hit enemies or generating spiked turrets that target opponents with poisonous darts. The choice of Rites and items massively influences the character's build, making each Run even more different. New Rites will become available by visiting specific locations or completing side quests.
When the character is defeated, as mentioned, they return to the refuge: all money, items, and Rites possessed are nullified [crystals, however, remain] but unlocked things will remain so. Furthermore, the Splendor accumulated during the Run [practically “points”] will allow you to permanently upgrade the characters, unlocking new Arcane Arts or higher levels of unlocked Rites. It goes without saying that at the beginning of your adventure you will tend to die relatively early and often, but over time you will become more and more powerful and the final goal will not seem so impossible; but rest assured: even after settling accounts with Azra the story will not end and indeed new challenges will await you...
Absolum between Pantone and colorful effects
The graphic style of Absolum, which is entirely two-dimensional, is that of classic fantasy comics: although the story sometimes has raw and profound tones, the impact is always very colorful and pleasant, with extensive use of pastel and Pantone colors. Despite this, special effects abound and light sources or areas of shadow or fog can significantly alter the colors. The artistic care is also noticeable in details such as reflections on water surfaces or the care with which some secret areas are camouflaged. The animations of characters and enemies are very reminiscent of '80s-'90s beat 'em ups, but fluidity is certainly guaranteed even in situations of heavy traffic on the play area.
There is nothing to object to regarding the soundtrack either: the music is always suitable for the situation without ever being intrusive or repetitive; the sound effects perform their job admirably and in general, you feel immersed in the world of Talamh. Voice acting is only available in English, with good intonation and quality voices, but all texts are fully translated into Italian, all without obvious errors.
Absolum to play and replay
Absolum, in some ways, is the classic Columbus' egg: upon closer inspection, in fact, the mixture of the side-scrolling beat 'em up structure and the Roguelite structure is the most natural thing there can be! If the styles of the '80s-'90s were based on trial & error and the necessity, with each game-over, to restart games of necessarily limited duration (about 60-90 minutes), on the other hand, the idea of presenting the player with an apparently impossible challenge, making it more approachable each time and stuffing it with customization options, crossroads, and random elements, combines perfectly. But DotEmu and Guard Crush first had the intuition to see this mixture before others, followed by the skill to realize it excellently. And as if that weren't enough, it's also possible to play it in two-player co-op, both local and online.
The result is therefore a decidedly enjoyable title, with four characters more differentiated than they might seem at first glance – only two of which are available at the beginning – and Runs lasting a maximum of one hour each to be repeated again and again, trying each time to get a few steps further than the previous one. And if it takes you about 6-8 hours to defeat Azra the first time [we succeeded on the 23rd Run, but we're bad], Absolum requires at least triple that (or more) for the “true ending” and even more for 100% completion.
The final judgment on Absolum can therefore only be absolutely positive: a small gem that, without inventing anything truly new, manages to remix many known ingredients into an absolutely delicious dish.