A little while ago, a friend of mine was talking about a beat ’em up called Absolum. I can’t remember why I didn’t end up looking into it more back then, but I had it wishlisted on Steam. Fast forward to a month or so ago, I saw a post about the game’s soundtrack, and this is when Absolum immediately had my attention. After I saw “Yuka Kitamura” mentioned, I knew I had to play it. She is one of my favorite composers in gaming right now, and finally getting around to Absolum’s demo led me to wanting to play the full game. Here we are.
Absolum tries to blend in classic beat ’em up gameplay with roguelite elements, but I was a bit skeptical of this, given the game’s aesthetic and also because of how beat ’em ups are usually shorter experiences, given their arcade roots. I was curious to see how the roguelite elements would make for more interesting subsequent runs, and also how much variety Absolum itself would have given the lack of procedurally generated levels.
While most roguelites rely on procedural generation for levels, Absolum took on the herculean task of having each level be designed by someone. This had me worried about how everything might feel the samey, but my worries were mostly unfounded. I was floored by the variety in Absolum through each run across the dialogue, enemy placements, narrative, and how each character you play will result in getting specific lore.
Absolum is set in the fantasy world of Talamh, where a magical cataclysm has made it so that wizards aren’t really looked upon fondly by the common people. With all the uncertainty, the Sun King Azra has taken over with his Crimson Order. You control one of four (initially only two) warriors aiming to take down Sun King Azra, but the journey isn’t easy.
Given the hand-crafted nature of the game so far, I was curious how it would feel after my first run, and this is where I realized that the developer absolutely nailed what they were setting out to do. Absolum isn’t a traditional roguelike or a beat ’em up. It is a game made for people (like me) who enjoyed putting in dozens of hours into Streets of Rage 4 across each platform, but Absolum’s design elevates it so that each run feels like I’m experiencing a remixed beat ’em up with enough narrative and mechanic incentive to have me coming back for more.
You will not get the run variety of Hades here, but what the developer has delivered feels unlike anything I expected. This truly feels like the first “endless beat ’em up”, and it only manages to be as good as it is, thanks to the combat.
Absolum’s bread and butter beat ’em up combat varies quite a bit based on the playable character, to the point where I understand why it only lets you pick one of two. In fact, I’d go so far as to say I recommend sticking with one of the starting characters until you’ve completed a few runs, at least just so you understand how the currency types, items, and skills work. You have access to basic attacks, skills, dodging, the ability to punish, and even special arcana skills and ultimates. It almost feels like you’re playing a blend of a beat ’em up and a fighting game at times in how slick and responsive everything feels.
The core gameplay loop in Absolum when you begin a run will be selecting a character, dealing with fodder enemies early on with basic combos, running into more powerful enemies, taking on mini bosses, picking up currency, buying run-specific upgrades, looking for secrets, and even completing specific quests.
Without getting into spoilers, when you finish your first run of Absolum, you will understand why this beat ’em up is also a roguelite with so much replay value. The narrative ties into the gameplay loop incredibly well, revealing more about the world and the people in it. All of this varies based on what character you pick as well. I remain astonished by how much the roguelite mechanics enhance what is already a superb beat ’em up.
Absolum comes from Dotemu and Guard Crush, who are responsible for Streets of Rage 4, which is one of my favorite games in years, and it features animation and art from Supamonks. I wasn’t familiar with the latter’s name until Absolum, but I can safely say that they overdelivered with stunning art and sublime animation work across the board.
I mainly played Absolum on my Nintendo Switch 2 pre-release and had no issues at all, barring the art not looking as crisp as it should, thanks to it being an original Nintendo Switch game. It just looks a bit soft, but it ran flawlessly across all the runs I’ve done so far. When playing on Switch though, the results aren’t as good. While it does look gorgeous and crisp on the Switch OLED screen, the performance is quite erratic in parts. I regularly had slowdown during some transitions, particle-heavy moments, and general hitching. None of this is present when playing Absolum on Switch 2 via backward compatibility.
I also want to note that I recommend using third-party controllers like the Hori Split Pad Compact/Pro, like I did, if you plan on playing this in Handheld mode on Switch. I found the Joy-Con’s analog sticks quite uncomfortable for this, like I did playing Splatoon 2 and 3 before. One last thing is that Absolum’s colorful and gorgeous art really made me wish the Switch 2 screen was OLED.
A lot has been said about Absolum’s music pre-release, and while I literally would not have played it without seeing Yuka Kitamura being involved, I need to highlight Gareth Coker’s work. He is responsible for most of the soundtrack and this is my favorite work of his, alongside Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. It is an incredible and varied soundtrack with tunes that perfectly suit the different biomes and narrative moments, ranging from somber yet catchy melodies to more upbeat tavern-like tunes.
I’m weird with how I consume game music to the point where I’ve sometimes heard a song dozens of times before I listen to it in-game. That’s exactly what happened with the major boss battles in Absolum. I was grinning from ear to ear when I got to Morta Mima, the Silver Queen, or even The Lizard King early on. All three guest composers managed to retain their signature sound while delivering something that perfectly fit in the world and soundtrack of Absolum. I think that is commendable. These don’t just sound like random tunes dropped into someone else’s score.
There are a few things holding Absolum back right now. The opening moments might not give you the immediate feel that you need to play more. I think some balancing with the narrative and progression in the opening moments might help here. The other issue I have is how you don’t get to see what reward awaits you in the next room when you’re at a fork in the road. Hades and even the recent Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree had this implemented well.
I haven’t covered the online yet, and while you can team up with a friend locally or online (only two people in total can play together), the lack of cross-play is disappointing. I haven’t been able to test Absolum’s co-op online on Switch yet because everyone I know is playing it on Steam or PS5. I bought Absolum on Steam to play with my friends, and it has worked flawlessly online. Cross-play would definitely be good here.
The other issue I have isn’t really a knock on the game (though it isn’t a perfect experience on Switch) is the lack of a Switch 2 version. This would’ve allowed for higher resolution visuals, both docked and handheld.
After getting a taste of Absolum with its Steam demo, which is now unavailable, I was curious to see how much longevity it would have. After putting in over 20 hours, I still have a lot to see and do in the world of Talamh, and I will never tire of taking on the bosses over and over again. I love it when games end up surprising me like this, and Absolum is easily one of the best of 2025 so far.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch
Review copy provided by Dotemu
