Nowadays, Dotemu is known for giving facelift to old games. The publisher helped bring titles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, Windjammers 2, and Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap to market, and all were rather excellent. Meanwhile, Guard Crush is known for developing Streets of Rage 4 and the cult game Streets of Fury EX, the former game being published by Dotemu as well. The duo has come together once more with an original work, Absolum, and we got a chance to give the latest demo a spin before it hits Steam Next Fest.

The story starts off in the magical world of Talamh, where a magical catastrophe caused the use of magic to be feared by many. The entity known as Azra the Conqueror took advantage of this and placed those loyal to him in power over several kingdoms while also capturing and enslaving any wizards left in the world. The player takes on the role of one of the Children of Uchawi, the last of the world's powerful wizard mothers, and it falls to you to free the other wizards and defeat Azra.

Considering the developer's past titles, it should come as no surprise that this is a beat-'em-up of a more modern flavor. That means a high hit count with the ability to perform some simple combos and some light air juggling against multiple enemies at a time. You have two attack buttons that denote both normal and stronger attacks in addition to a special attack that can be unleashed when you fill up your mana bar. Filling up the mana bar is fairly quick, no matter which character you use, so you'll use the special attack quite often unless you've already been trained from past beat-'em-ups to always save it for a bigger fight.

There are a few notable things in the combat system that isn't often seen in the genre. The first has to do with throwable weapons. As in most beat-'em-ups, you can pick up a few things from the ground, such as rocks and glaives and hatchets that can then be thrown at an enemy as an extra attack. However, instead of having to throw that weapon right away, you can stash it for later and throw when needed. You can only pick up multiples of one weapon at a time, so you can't pick up a hatchet without losing your rocks, but the option to use these things for later is welcome, as it gives the game a slight strategic slant.

Another mechanic you'll see is the ability to hire companions to help fight alongside you. Whether you're playing solo or local co-op, you can always hire a mercenary to fight with you — provided you reach a town or large campsite. Don't expect these mercenaries to fight as well as real humans; they tend to use single moves rather than combos, and their health is average at best. You might use them as meat shields or distractions to ensure you don't get overwhelmed, as you can't expect them to single-handedly take down a squad of foes. Still, they're handy to have around and are also something you don't see often in games like this.

Then there are mounts, which aren't a new thing but can feel new since so few beat-'em-ups rely on this mechanic anymore. Those familiar with games like Golden Axe will be happy to see that you can knock enemies from mounts like wild boars and raptors. Then you can ride the mounts to gain a different set of attacks and abilities — at least until you get forcibly dismounted from them a few times or cause them to get hurt enough that they run away from the fight. Like the mercenaries, their presence is welcome, but it feels like they can change the tide of a battle, at least momentarily.

The beat-'em-up mechanics in Absolum are all covered in a roguelike layer, something neither the publisher nor developer have tried before. All of the familiar roguelike traits are present, from boons given at the end of each fighting area that are only good for the current run to more permanent upgrades when said run is over. Level rooms are randomized, but the bosses have a set order, and there are key rooms that are always visited, and branching pathways can lead to completely different bosses.

So far, the demo proves how well all of these mechanics come together. The quick combos and high hits make the combat feel exciting, while the different boons — like the ability to produce flames when you dash or create water bubbles to temporarily incapacitate a foe — give the fighting a sense of dynamism that encourages you to play slightly out of your comfort zone.

The different characters you can choose from also contribute to making each run feel different, since their abilities are actually very different from one another. Laying down a spider mine, for example, lends itself to a different play strategy versus using a blunderbuss blast. The branching pathways, combined with the randomized level selection, work well. The quicker leveling based on overall progress in the run gives this game a Hades-like feel, albeit set in a different genre. It's good and addicting to the point where the full game feels like it'll take multiple playthroughs to fully explore, since the demo follows this same trajectory.

The only thing we didn't get to try out from the demo is online play, and that's mostly due to the small population of players that were around during the demo's pre-release period. From what we can gather, the main thing to note is that the game will craft the experience around the person with the least amount of story progress, so no accidental spoilers will be revealed. Meanwhile, progress as far as experience goes is still kept between players, so there's still some benefit to playing with low-level players, at least when it comes to making progress for your own game.

From a presentation standpoint, Absolum stands out in a positive light. The sound is excellent, with a soundtrack that fits the levels perfectly and voice acting that is also done rather well. Graphically, the game goes for a bold look with striking colors for characters and environments, with animations that look good but sacrifice some fluidity in the name of gameplay responsiveness.

As it stands now, Absolum feels like a winner. The combat is nice and punchy, and the game absolutely nails the fundamentals of the roguelike genre with multiple pathways, randomized powers, and encounters that are rarely the same twice. Add to that a leveling system that feels nice and a good selection of characters that feel distinct from one another, and you have a good blend of roguelikes and beat-'em-ups. We're definitely looking forward to when the full game finally drops.