While beat 'em ups have had a bit of a resurgence in recent times – with the likes of River City Girls, Streets of Rage 4, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge being lauded – it's a genre that has fallen out of favor in the modern era, with many players dismissing its stylings as mindless button mashing. I've remained a fan, but it's clear that it needs to evolve to capture a bigger audience; which is precisely the mission statement Dotemu described to me when introducing its brand new IP, Absolum.
After the success of the aforementioned Streets of Rage and Ninja Turtles revivals, Dotemu is venturing into the unknown with its first ever brand new IP. The studio is once again teaming up with Guard Crush Games (who co-developed Streets of Rage 4) and is working with French animation house SupaMonks. Inspired by the likes of Sega's Golden Axe and Capcom's Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara, Absolum is a fantasy beat 'em up in the vein of Dotemu's previous licensed games but with a Hades-flavored twist.
