Absolum
A beat'em up with roguelike elements set in the fantasy world of Talamh.
Absolum is a side-scrolling beat'em up released in 2025 that blends roguelike mechanics into its brawling combat. It was developed by Guard Crush Games and Supamonks, published by Dotemu, and launched on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
In the game, players choose from four character classes, each with a distinct fighting style. Karl is a dwarf who relies on guns and fists; Galandra, an elf, wields a massive sword; Cider is a quick assassin with twin daggers; and Brome is a frog wizard who can surf through the air on his scepter. Every character has light and heavy attacks, and landing consecutive hits builds combo meter and mana. Mana fuels "Arcana," powerful special moves. Players can dodge or sidestep to avoid damage, and timing a dodge or attack just before an enemy's hit lands will deflect it, stunning the opponent.
Roguelike elements shape each run. Before starting, players equip "Rituals"—passive bonuses that modify attacks. Clearing combat encounters unlocks more Rituals, but all equipped ones are lost if the character dies. Level layouts are fixed, but players choose their path; the Rituals found in each level are randomized. Upon death, players return to a hub realm where they can heal, shop for upgrades, and unlock permanent improvements before attempting another run. Defeating a boss may unlock "Inspirations," active combat skills. The game also includes side quests, diverging paths, and two-player cooperative multiplayer.
The story takes place in the fantasy world of Talamh, ruled by the tyrannical Sun King Azra and his Crimson Order zealots. Sorceress Uchawi leads a resistance of four warriors—Galandra, Karl, Cider, and Brome—who fight through Azra's forces and defeat him. It is then revealed that Azra's true goal was to contain a powerful interdimensional being called Absolum, which could destroy Talamh, and that Uchawi is Azra's wife, pregnant with his child. After Uchawi gives birth, the warriors return to Azra's palace and defeat Absolum, who is carried away by three otherworldly creatures.
Development was handled by Guard Crush Games, co-developer of *Streets of Rage 4*, and marked Dotemu's first original intellectual property after years of publishing licensed beat'em ups.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Absolum
- Developer
- Guard Crush Games / Supamonks
- Publisher
- Dotemu
- Director
- Jordi Asensio · Cyrille Lagarigue · Maxime Mary · Micke Moisa
- Producer
- Micke Moisa · Azouz Mengullat · Morgane Lemaire · Guillaume Ginier
- Designer
- Jordi Asensio
- Programmer
- Cyrille Lagarigue
- Artist
- Maxime Mary
- Writer
- Fanny Renard · Gautier Knittel
- Composer
- Gareth CokerGuest compositions by Mick Gordon, Yuka Kitamura, and Motoi Sakuraba
- Platforms
- Nintendo Switch · PlayStation 4 · PlayStation 5 · Windows · Xbox Series X/S · Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre
- Beat'em up, roguelike
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Absolum is set in the fantasy world of Talamh, ruled by the tyrannical Sun King Azra and his army of zealots, the Crimson Order. The sorceress Uchawi leads a resistance group of four warriors: Galandra the elven swordswoman, Karl the dwarven fighter, Cider the mysterious assassin with mechanical limbs, and Brome the anthropomorphic frog with magic powers. They fight through Azra's forces to his stronghold and defeat him, only to discover that Azra's true goal was to contain a powerful interdimensional being called Absolum, which could destroy Talamh. It is also revealed that Uchawi was Azra's wife and pregnant with his child. After Uchawi gives birth, the warriors return to Azra's palace and defeat Absolum, who is taken away by three otherworldly creatures.
Reader's Guide
Absolum represents a deliberate effort by Guard Crush Games and Dotemu to create a new original property rather than revive another dormant franchise, aiming to introduce the beat'em up genre to a new audience. The developers added roguelike elements after briefly experimenting with them in Mr. X Nightmare, a downloadable content pack for Streets of Rage 4. The game draws inspiration from Golden Axe, Dead Cells, and Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara. Its gameplay features multiple character classes with unique combat styles, a combo and mana system for special attacks, and a dodge/deflect mechanic. Roguelike elements include equippable Rituals (passive abilities lost on death), randomized Ritual drops, player-chosen paths through non-randomized levels, and a hub realm for recovery and upgrades. Defeating bosses may unlock Inspirations, active combat skills. The game also includes role-playing elements such as side quests and diverging paths, and supports two-player cooperative multiplayer. Its launch week sales exceeded 200,000 copies, and it received generally favorable reviews on Metacritic.
Did You Know?
- Absolum is Dotemu's first original intellectual property, as the publisher had previously released beat'em up games under license from other publishers.
- The game was developed by Guard Crush Games, one of the co-developers of Streets of Rage 4.
- Supamonks, the French studio that crafted the game's art and animation, worked on Absolum as its first video game project.
- An Xbox Series X/S port was released on March 25, 2026, and was available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers at launch.
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