Genre hybrids are everywhere these days—whether a turn-based soulslike or a city-building deckbuilder—but I'm still regularly surprised by new combos, some so natural that it seems ridiculous that there aren't already a hundred games doing the same mash-up. Absolum's mix of side-scrolling beat-'em-up and roguelike action-RPG is the perfect example.
Beat-'em-ups thrive in repetition—the classic formula is a short series of levels that you play over and over trying for a better and better performance. Absolum is the same, but it layers in roguelike progression systems, allowing you to gain abilities and items during a run, and persistent upgrades between runs. Even just in the hour or so I'm able to spend with an early preview build, the result is really compelling—a beat-'em-up that keeps giving me reasons to get excited about starting a new run.
