It's a testament to the quality and inventiveness of Absolum that it stood out as strongly as it did when it released in October last year, a month that also brought us Battlefield 6, Bloodlines 2, and a little game called Arc Raiders. Absolum's roguelite twist on a classic beat 'em up format was exactly the citrus twist the genre needed, yielding glowing reviews and, as of 17 days ago, half a million players.
Slightly belatedly, developer Guard Crush Games (who were co-devs on Streets of Rage 4 alongside LizardCube) released Absolum's first major update Threads of Fate, which pistons a fistful of new features straight into the base game's jaw.
