REVIEW
Written byDethyanFrom the archive
If Streets of Rage 4 has you chasing cleaner runs and higher scores, but you’ve ever wished the next punch could be followed by a fireball, Absolum feels like the answer to a very specific, very good question. It understands the pleasure of a side-scrolling brawler: getting into the crowd, reading the mess, and making your way through it one satisfying hit at a time. Then it gives that familiar rhythm a fantasy twist and a roguelite structure that makes each run feel like a chance to build something dangerous.
The art is an immediate part of the appeal. Absolum’s dark, punchy comic book look gives Talamh a strong identity, and the impacts have the weight to match. This isn’t a bright, frictionless parade of enemies. The rebellion against King Azra has grit, and the Crimson Order makes a satisfying target as you work through its ranks. Talamh is interesting to look at even when the main business is reducing its villains to a pile of trouble. The setting gives the fighting some atmosphere without getting in the way of the fighting.
That combat is the point, and it has the feel I want from a brawler: direct enough to get moving, with enough room to make skill and timing matter. The magic isn’t a cosmetic garnish laid over ordinary punches. It changes the fantasy of the action. You can still enjoy the simple pleasure of closing in and laying into enemies, but spells give the clashes another gear and make the heroes feel like more than familiar arcade archetypes with new costumes.
The roguelite side is what keeps Absolum from being just a good-looking run through fixed stages. Rather than only learning a route and repeating it, you build your character as you go, shaping a run into a particular kind of menace. That sense of making a character stronger on the fly fits the genre unusually well. A brawler is already about momentum: one good sequence carries you into the next group, and suddenly the screen belongs to you. Absolum turns that momentum into a larger arc, where the run itself becomes part of the fun. The challenge gives those choices some bite rather than making growth feel automatic.
I like that this is more than a costume change for the old beat ’em up. Absolum respects the genre’s fundamentals, but its mixture of close-quarters action, spellcasting, and roguelite character building gives it a clear reason to exist beside the games it recalls. It feels less like a museum piece demonstrating the form and more like a contender willing to push it somewhere new. That balance is difficult: preserve the impact and clarity that make a brawler satisfying, while adding enough variation to keep repetition from becoming the whole experience. Absolum’s answer works for me because the added systems serve the central pleasure of fighting rather than distracting from it.
This is not a recommendation for someone who wants a calm stroll through a fantasy world. The challenge is part of the draw, and the game is at its best when you’re engaged with the action and looking for ways to make the next run hit harder. But if you like learning a combat system, chasing a better run, and watching a character turn into a wrecking ball, there is a lot here to get your hands around. I came away wanting to get back in and put in more reps, which is about the clearest praise I can give a game built around repeated runs.
Absolum is a total blast: a forceful, stylish beat ’em up that brings magic and roguelite momentum into a genre I already love without losing the satisfaction of a well-landed hit. It isn’t merely paying tribute to the classics. It’s making a convincing case for its own place among them. If Streets of Rage 4 is your kind of game and you’re ready for a challenge, I recommend Absolum without hesitation.
— Dethyan / Noobsnoplay
