As everything old is seemingly new again, publisher Dotemu has revealed a joint effort from Guard Crush Games (Streets of Rage 4) and French animation specialists Supamonks: Absolum, an arcade-like beat 'em up, announced for PS5 and PS4 and expected in Spring 2025.
Set in an original fantasy world, Absolum offers "top-of-the-class combat action with modern roguelite elements". Two heroes have been revealed, the necromantic swordswoman, Galandra, and Karl, the last free dwarf of Talamh. Two more will aid them in their efforts to overthrow the evil Sun King Azra.
Absolum's gameplay boasts "spells, counters, upgradable abilities, uniquely powerful fighters", and can be played alone, online, or via local couch co-op. It also boasts a surprisingly star-studded collection of musical masters from every corner of the industry, with a soundtrack by composer Gareth Coker (Ori, Halo: Infinite, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown), and collaborations from Mick Gordon (DOOM Eternal) and Yuka Kitamura (Dark Souls, Elden Ring).
What do you think of Absolum? Are you glad this venerable subgenre is alive and well in 2025? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source gematsu.com]
Comments 13
Certainly looks interesting and the art direction is quite solid but I'm not sure if it's going to be a huge hit. Streets of rage 4 is good but dosnt really have the lasting appeal whereas the TMNT game has a lot to offer to keep you coming back. The best beat 'em up currently out there is sifu and that's the one to beat and I don't think this is it.
Looks good, wish they make new golden axe for their next game 😃
Like the art style but im not keen on the drab aesthetic and colour palette. I liked the pop of colours in TMNT and enjoyed its faster pace more than SOR4 which felt like walking through quick sand unless using Cherry, who could dash. Still enjoyed it tho.
@Northern_munkey What? Streets of Rage 4 has a hell of a lot to keep you coming back. Multiple characters, unlockable moves, boss rush, survival mode etc etc. I much prefer Streets of Rage 4 to Sifu and it offers that traditional 2d beat em up arcade experience unlike Sifu. For me, SoR4 is the best available.
Nice, I just added this to my wish list.
Such an 80's Saturday morning cartoon vibe!!! I wish Olivier Deriviere was back for the soundtrack too. SOR4 was an absolute banger and wonderful tribute to Yuzo Koshiro's original trilogy. His 'A Plague Tale' compositions were fantastic too. Game looks great though!
@TruestoryYep I didn't say it was crap but my personal opinion is that although I enjoyed sor4 I just didn't gel with it as much as I thought I would. I'm happy you enjoyed it 👍
@Northern_munkey Streets of Rage 4 had way more replay value than the last TMNT. I was pretty disappointed with it… One of the best things about Streets of Rage 4 was an amazing scoring system that a game like TMNT lacked… plus the TMNT leveling system for each character was kind of boring and didn’t add much… really wasn’t a terrible game… just Streets of Rage 4 is a class of its own in that genre lol….
This reminds me of Dragon’s Crown a bit. But I must say, I prefer Vanillawares graphics
@inverseIV we can't all like the same games just like we can't all share the same opinions. Horses for courses..
@Northern_munkey I know…. That’s why I posted that… duh….
Removed - flaming/arguing
Removed - unconstructive
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