When Dotemu and Guard Crush Games revealed and eventually released Streets of Rage 4, it became the best beat ’em up I had played in a long time. Now, the duo is back—this time joined by co-developer Supamonks Studio—with Absolum, a fantasy arcade-style beat ’em up inspired by classics like Golden Axe, Guardian Heroes, and Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara. I guess we can stop pestering Dotemu for a Golden Axe revival now.
More notably, this marks Dotemu’s first original IP—a significant milestone for a studio known for revitalizing retro franchises. Given their track record, expectations are high.
Absolum blends fluid combat mechanics with modern roguelite and RPG elements, capturing the spirit of classic fantasy arcade brawlers while introducing an immersive adventure set in the original world of Talamh. The game will feature four playable characters, each with a unique playstyle, alongside branching pathways that promise plenty of exploration and surprises.
While we didn’t get any info on the gameplay, from what we can see from bits from the trailer, it looks like this will also function similarly to Guardian Heroes, by putting players into planes. Of course, this is speculation and I could be wrong.
Of course, no beat ’em up is complete without co-op. From the trailer, we know Absolum supports at least two-player co-op, but it’s unclear whether this includes local, online, or both, as well as the total number of players supported. We’ll have to wait until Spring 2025 when Dotemu releases a full gameplay trailer to find out.
Absolum is set to launch in 2025 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Unfortunately, it looks like Xbox players will miss out on yet another potential hit.
