Absolum reviewed by Will Borger on PC, also available on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.
Absolum is an excellent beat ‘em up let down by a roguelite structure that doesn’t suit it. I hate being limited by numbers instead of skill in action games, and in the early hours here, it feels like you’re a slave to them. Once you get to the point where each run has you making substantial progress and the story picks up, Absolum is very compelling. But it took me a long time to get there. Gorgeous artwork, an excellent soundtrack, and smart combat spread out among several distinct characters do a lot to carry it, but they can’t fix the feeling of dread when I died, again, and realized that I would have to do some variation of the same exact thing once more. I’m not against failure; I just wish there was more variety to it, and Absolum doesn’t find that until a good way into its runtime. That it manages to emerge as a compelling beat ‘em up in spite of that is a testament to the skill and work of its developers. But it would be a lot better if it just got on with it. Unlike Absolum’s heroes, I’ve only got one life to live.
#IGN #Gaming