Introduction

Absolum arrives on Xbox Series X/S as the kind of game that insists on being both nostalgic and modern at the same time, like a synthwave band wearing chainmail. Built by Guard Crush Games (one of the co-developers of Streets of Rage 4) with art and animation from Supamonks, and put out into the world by Dotemu, this side-scrolling beat'em up sprinkles roguelike trinkets on top of its combat core. You pick a warrior - a dwarven gun-and-fist bruiser, an elf with a sword big enough to need its own postcode, a dagger-wielding speed demon, or a surfing frog wizard - and then decide whether you want to punch your feelings or stab them. It's single-player or cooperative, merciless enough to be interesting, and friendly enough to make you feel clever when you survive a run. Also, Gareth Coker composed the music, so it sounds like destiny with good production values.

Gameplay

Absolum is the gaming equivalent of a very polite brawl. The basics will be familiar to anyone who has ever enjoyed walking left and repeatedly pressing buttons: light and heavy attacks, dodges, sidesteps, and combos. Each character has a distinct combat personality. Karl, the dwarf, pairs firearms with close-quarters brutality. Galandra is the kind of elf who brings a sword that's auditioning for a miniseries about ancient trauma. Cider uses two daggers and moves fast enough to make you question your own reflexes. Brome, the humanoid frog wizard, hovers with his scepter and leaves magical puddles of regret behind. Every button press matters because consecutive hits build combo and mana, which unlock 'Arcana' - the big, satisfying special moves that clean rooms and egos alike. The combat is sharper than a well-tuned kitchen knife thanks to a timing-based deflect mechanic. If you dodge or attack right before an enemy's strike lands, you deflect and leave them stunned, which feels unfair in the best way. Arcana and a separate class of active skills called 'Inspirations' (usually unlocked by defeating bosses) give players mid-run toys to tinker with. On top of that, you equip 'Rituals' at the start of a run: passive modifiers that alter your attacks and stats. Rituals are randomized across a level and, true to roguelike form, you lose them when you die. The trade-off is the familiar loop of incremental mastery - you die, you learn, you make slightly better choices next time. Level layout in Absolum is not procedural chaos; instead the game lets you choose your path. This means the sense of exploration comes from branching routes and side quests, not pure randomness. Rituals are the roulette element: what you find each run changes how you approach encounters. Between runs you return to a hub-like realm where you can recover health, buy upgrades, and choose permanent unlocks - a tidy safety net for those who enjoy their punishment with a predictable reward. The game supports two-player cooperative play, which is merciful, because there's only so much that self-blame can do for your morale. The roguelike skin is there to give the beat'em up genre replay value without turning the game into an abstract spreadsheet. Inspirations and Rituals provide enough variety to keep runs feeling different, while the underlying combat is deliberately weighty. There are RPG flourishes - side quests, diverging paths, permanent unlocks - that make each successful run feel like progress rather than vindication. If you were worried you might miss the golden age of side-scrolling beat'em ups, Absolum gives you the hits but also the small modern conveniences: clear feedback, satisfying enemy stagger states, and the occasional cinematic boss that makes you rearrange your thumbs.

Graphics

Visually, Absolum is gorgeous in a way that doesn't shout. Supamonks' art and animation give the world of Talamh a hand-drawn sheen: characters have personality in every frame, backgrounds are rich without being cluttered, and enemies transition between attack states with clear, readable animation. The art direction nods at classics like Golden Axe while borrowing the polished edges of modern indie hits. It's the sort of palette and animation style that makes you pause to appreciate a well-timed parry, and then immediately regret that pause when a new wave of zealots shows up. The presentation also benefits from solid sound design and a score by Gareth Coker that punctuates big moments without spoon-feeding drama. On Xbox Series X/S the port arrived well after the initial release on other platforms, and it landed on Game Pass the same day, which made it easy to try. The visuals never demand you upgrade your monitor; they instead reward careful observation, which pairs nicely with a combat system that rewards careful timing.

Conclusion

Absolum's greatest trick is convincing you that dying repeatedly is an acceptable hobby. It mixes classic beat'em up fun with roguelike systems in a way that respects both genres: the combat is tactile and responsive, Rituals and Inspirations keep runs fresh, and level choices mean your repetition never feels exactly the same. Guard Crush Games and Supamonks clearly learned lessons from Streets of Rage 4 and their cited inspirations (Dead Cells, Golden Axe), then distilled them into something leaner and a little more experimental. The world and story are competent, with a tidy twist about an interdimensional threat called Absolum, but the game is never trying to be an encyclopedia; it's a very stylish punch-a-thon with progression scaffolding. If you subscribe to Xbox Game Pass and are the kind of person who enjoys incremental improvement with a side order of medieval chaos, Absolum is an easy recommendation. It's not flawless - the roguelike elements can still feel a bit punishing for players who just want to unlock everything on a single weekend - but it nails the hard parts: combat, presentation, and replayability. It sold more than 200,000 copies in its launch week on other platforms, which is as good an argument as any that people like getting beaten up by charming monsters. Score-wise, it's an 8.5 out of 10: polished, smart, and frequently clever, with a small, stubborn streak of difficulty that will either make you grit your teeth or laugh maniacally. Either reaction is acceptable. Both are probably canon.

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