Dotemu Announces Action Beat’ Em Up Absolum

Dotemu has revitalized the Beat’ em up genre with the help of several solid studios. From revitalizing the Streets of Rage franchise to the success of Shredder’s Revenge, Dotemu and its partners are on a roll. Now, it seems as though a new IP is on the horizon, a game called Absolum.

Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, and Supamonks announced Absolum, an action RPG “Rogue em up” as they refer to it. Absolum seems to be inspired by Golden Axe and will be released on PC, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch systems sometime in 2025. Here is what the press release says about Absolum:

“After revitalizing the beat ‘em up genre with acclaimed titles, beat ‘em up experts Dotemu and Guard Crush Games teamed up with the incredible animators and artists from Supamonks to master a Rogue ’em up subgenre in Absolum. The vision for Absolum is twofold: thrilling arcade beat ‘em up action akin to Dotemu and Guard Crush Games’ previous collaboration is at the heart of Absolum, with intricate, refined combat offering a rewarding level of depth; equally important is Absolum’s innovation of brawler design conventions, resulting in maximized approachability and replayability. Unlock items, quests and permanent warrior upgrades while mixing character skill combinations, exploring Absolum’s depth of combat in runs steeped in variety, excitement and challenge.

With branching pathways to explore, quests to discover, intriguing characters to encounter, and a deep variety of challenging bosses in store, Absolum’s gripping fantasy tale unravels a challenging adventure and channels the spirit of classic brawlers like Golden Axe and Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara. The entirety of Absolum’s journey is playable solo or in two-player local and online co-op.

Fight as one of four different rebels, each with their own unique skill set, personality and motivations, navigating through the original fantasy world of Talamh, a mysterious land filled with wonder and twisted cosmic horrors. Absolum’s announcement trailer introduced two of its distinctly formidable playable warriors: Galandra, an agile, sword-clad fighter suited for close-quarters combat; and Karl, a tanklike dwarf commanding devastating punches as well as a rifle to foil foes from a distance.

Absolum features an engaging narrative with themes of foiling an unbridled, dictatorial power and cheating Death itself. In the world of Talamh, a cataclysmic event caused by magic prompts the Sun King Azra to conquer all lands and sources of magic through brutal warfare, slaughtering any wizard unwilling to serve him.

Talamh’s hope now lies with a defiant band of rebels aided by a mysterious, mythical mentor known as Uchawi and the similarly powerful Root Sisters, who together oppose Azra’s pursuit of total power by wielding an ancient, forbidden magic. These mythical forces empower our rebels with astonishing magic as they stoke a resistance, fight Azra’s iron grip on Talamh, and discover the secret behind Azra’s ever-growing dominion.

Known for bringing dormant, classic IPs back to life in captivating modern remakes and adaptations that have sold millions of copies globally, Dotemu is co-developing and publishing its first original game in Absolum.”

Dotemu’s CEO, Cyrille Imbert, commented on this announcement, stating: “Absolum is Dotemu’s boldest creation yet, standing as our first original IP and a crucial new venture for the future of Dotemu. Absolum builds on knowledge gained from our previous beat ‘em up collaboration with Guard Crush Games and our publishing work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, as well as a lifelong passion we share with Guard Crush Games for classic and modern beat ’em up titles.

Our ultimate goal is to fundamentally evolve the genre’s potential in a way that’s unique from the traditional brawlers we’ve all come to love, and I knew the team was well suited to accomplish this from the first time I played Absolum.”

With the development team behind Absolum, I’m excited. It already looks good, and I can see it being the next couch co-op viral sensation. Though as someone who prefers single-player stuff, I’m excited to tackle it solo, too. Hopefully, we’ll learn more about Absolum’s release date soon.