"I have a pet theory about roguelikes: The play-die-repeat loop has been fused with almost every genre imaginable, but the ones that pair best are genres that have always revolved around repeated play. Balatro's gonzo approach to poker or Hades' riff on the isometric action game took the core of games that had been built from the start to accommodate repeated runs and then added the incentives of stacking, iterative power-ups and progression on top of them."
"Absolum is a game that is fundamentally built around the classic beat-'em-up. That genre is among the earliest, virtually a cave painting in video game history--the classic quarter-muncher. Beat-'em-ups were built for repeated fun because they needed to keep attracting you back to plunk in another coin, but they were also built to be remarkably hard. These qualities, which developers have sometimes struggled to modernize, make the roguelike element fit like a glove."
"Absolum borrows liberally from swords-and-sorcery classics like Golden Axe. This is a fresh fantasy world in which a cataclysm resulted in the outlawing of all magic in the land of Talamh. A totalitarian ruler, the Sun King Azra, rules the land with an iron fist, and he hypocritically instrumentalizes magic to keep rogue wizards in check. As a small band of rebel wizards, you wage war on the Sun King, making your way to his imperial tower"
A roguelike loop pairs especially well with genres built around repeated play, because they already accommodate repeated runs and reward iterative power growth. Balatro and Hades adapt that loop to poker and isometric action respectively by adding stacking, power-ups and progression. Absolum centers on classic beat-'em-up design and leverages that genre's arcade-style difficulty and replayability to make roguelike mechanics feel natural. Guard Crush Games sets Absolum in a swords-and-sorcery world influenced by Golden Axe, where a cataclysm led to an outlawing of magic across Talamh. The Sun King Azra governs with totalitarian hypocrisy while rebel wizards, revived by the Root Mother Uchawi after failed runs, assault his imperial tower. Absolum emphasizes detailed worldbuilding and culture alongside repeated-run incentives.
Read at GameSpot
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