Absolum
- Thread starter YagamiBrando
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O Ilusionista
Captain 100K
I tested the new Absolum, which some people are calling the "best modern beat 'em up."
Do I agree with that? Well, I'll make a video soon, but in short: no, because it's not a beat 'em up. Or should we classify DMC, Dynasty Warriors, and GOW as beat 'em ups?
Do I agree with that? Well, I'll make a video soon, but in short: no, because it's not a beat 'em up. Or should we classify DMC, Dynasty Warriors, and GOW as beat 'em ups?
I'm curious to know your opinions as to why it's not a beat em up,
crimefighters3
Active member
Eh, not as good as sor4 for me.
I feel the roguelike elements didn't add anything for me. .
It's feels like busy work and luck until you get enough crits and the right build to steamroll the enemies.
And as usual they made the last boss a huge absolute bastard, so you have to replay them a few times to get a better roll.
The graphics are good and it does have a meaty campaign. Although I'd prefer a normal campaign tho.
It does feel like an rpg at times, still it's pretty good game but not what I was personally hoping for. It just doesn't hit the highs enough to make it an excellent game imo.
Sor4 was a better game IMHO
I feel the roguelike elements didn't add anything for me. .
It's feels like busy work and luck until you get enough crits and the right build to steamroll the enemies.
And as usual they made the last boss a huge absolute bastard, so you have to replay them a few times to get a better roll.
The graphics are good and it does have a meaty campaign. Although I'd prefer a normal campaign tho.
It does feel like an rpg at times, still it's pretty good game but not what I was personally hoping for. It just doesn't hit the highs enough to make it an excellent game imo.
Sor4 was a better game IMHO
The artwork is amazing - but I just don't like the style. Not the art itself, I like the hard lines and clean colors. It's the designs - IMO they are very "try hard", if that makes any sense. Gameplay is what it is - seems polished, just not a whole lot you can really do. At least there's actual binding on the (sparse as they are) throws, an absolutely boneheaded error in SOR4 that sorely needed correction.
DC
DC
O Ilusionista
Captain 100K
The truth is that, contrary to what the studio claims, it's not a beat 'em up with roguelike elements—it's a roguelike with hack-and-slash elements. In other words, its strength is the roguelike, not the hack-and-slash. And yes, I don't see it as a beat 'em up.
And here I'll connect with Danno's question.
It's the mechanics of everything. When you play the game, you notice there's a certain exaggeration in every move, linking up with every other move, just like in GOW1 and Dynasty Warriors. There's an excessive ease to it, a concern with being a combo show.
The entire game mechanics are based on this. You don't just earn points for executing combos; there are a series of powers that work with combos, which are crucial to the game.
There's an Overpressure system that prevents you from executing the same move multiple times on the same enemy. But just by running after the enemy, you can continue the same combo, except on bosses.
And I don't even need to mention how much I HATE the mechanic of enemies bouncing off invisible walls that are actually the edge of the camera. I understand this was done to facilitate combos, but I still don't like it; it doesn't make sense to me.
They chose not to make falling into pits take a life (which I don't like), but here it makes sense because you only have one life (you get more throughout the game).
The difficulty is excessive in some areas. In a Beat 'em Up, you can easily finish the game in normal mode in a single attempt, depending on your skill. Here, everything is designed for you to make multiple attempts, like a good Roguelike.
And I don't just mean high, I mean downright cruel:
There's a boss who simply KILLS YOU with his first attack, leaving no chance to defend or react. If you don't have the upgrade to have more than one life (and someone before him warns you that you better buy the extra life because "his scream is fatal"). Without it, it's game over.
Some things they did better than in SOR4, like the Super Armor: there's a warning on the bosses about it, you can punish them, you can break their super armor, there's a parry, etc. The first boss is a huge orc, which makes sense to have super armor... whereas in SOR4, it's just a simple girl with super armor... because, yeah.
There's one thing I really liked (and it's something I usually ignore in beat 'em ups because they don't need it for me): the story.
There are several plot twists in the game, some quite macabre.
Is it a good game? Yes, very good. I'd give it an 8.5.
The problem is that sometimes you don't want to have to retrace your steps to try again.
In short: the game's strength isn't defeating enemies. It's the combos and trying again and again.
After your explanation I can see why you don't think it's a beat'em up, I've only played the demo, I was going to buy either this or Marvel cosmic invasion. I like the Absolum demo more so I think I'll get this instead, the only bad thing I see people saying about it is that the characters are cliché but personally I don't think that's a problem.
O Ilusionista
Captain 100K
In short:
If you're looking for a good roguelike where the focus is this and the beat 'em up/hack 'n' slash is a subsystem*, it's a great choice.
But if you're looking for a beat 'em up/hack 'n' slash where the focus is this and the roguelike is a subsystem, this might not be the game for you.
*subsystem - Remember the old Dungeons & Dragons arcade game? It was a beat 'em up (the main focus) with an RPG system as a subsystem.
O Ilusionista
Captain 100K
An even better comparison: Knights of Round.
It had an RPG leveling system. You could ignore it, and it would happen without worrying, always working in your favor. You had multiple lives and credits.
But in Absolum, there's no way to separate the roguelike system.
It's just one life.
It had an RPG leveling system. You could ignore it, and it would happen without worrying, always working in your favor. You had multiple lives and credits.
But in Absolum, there's no way to separate the roguelike system.
It's just one life.
I really doubt you will be able to beat it on the first try, but I want to see it
I really doubt you will be able to beat it on the first try, but I want to see it
Here's my first playthrough I made it past the first mid boss this time haha I noticed after you are supposed to die the first time the difficulty becomes easier but I highly doubt you can go through it all first time with out dying since it's integral to the story. I definitely like it more than Marvel Cosmic Invasion that's for sure.
O Ilusionista
Captain 100K
yes, it is
But you have found some enemies that I haven't found on my first try.And if want a tip, but it could be a spoiler:
There is a hidden path on the lower screen, bellow the path with stones
O Ilusionista
Captain 100K
Check your pm
Aerisetta
Active member
Haha I finally beat the last boss
But completely not by skill. Purely by luck
I basically 1 shot the last boss
Dwarf
4 mana stones super lucky
Skill became reload mana stone super lucky
My mana specials create a Lightning Mine
Just kept upgrading the Mine
Move, Spam Mines, reload, move, spam mines, reload...
The last boss walked into my Mine field and instantly died every phase
But completely not by skill. Purely by luck
I basically 1 shot the last boss
Dwarf
4 mana stones super lucky
Skill became reload mana stone super lucky
My mana specials create a Lightning Mine
Just kept upgrading the Mine
Move, Spam Mines, reload, move, spam mines, reload...
The last boss walked into my Mine field and instantly died every phase
O Ilusionista
Captain 100K
And now the real story begins, trust me
