Absolum, the roguelite brawler from Dotemu, Guard Crush Games and Supamonks, launches today on Xbox and Game Pass. Already available on PC, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, the game has sold over 500,000 copies and earned a nomination at The Game Awards since its initial release. It arrives on Xbox priced at $24.99, alongside a free Threads of Fate content update that adds a new game mode.
The world of Talamh has been broken by a magical cataclysm, one caused by wizards whose ambition outstripped their wisdom. In the aftermath, magic became something feared rather than revered, and a ruler called Sun King Azra seized on that fear. He enslaved the remaining wizards through his Crimson Order and installed loyal princes across conquered realms, outlawing magic entirely to cement his grip. The tone is classic fantasy rebellion: a small band of outcasts wielding forbidden power against an empire that wants it erased. Talamh itself stretches from the mines of Grandery to the forests of Jaroba, each location feeding into branching pathways that shift between runs.
What players actually do in those spaces is fight, constantly and with real variety. Absolum plays like a side-scrolling beat 'em up threaded through roguelite structure, meaning rapid combo chains, spellcasting and magical counters all sit inside a loop of repeated runs where items, quests and permanent upgrades carry forward. Combat demands timing and skill, pushing players to rethink their approach each time rather than settling into a single strategy. Branching paths and unpredictable encounters mean no two runs follow the same route, while a roster of challenging bosses gates progress through Azra's forces. Players can tackle the uprising solo or bring a friend along locally or online, combining elemental powers into chained combos that reward coordination.
The choice to frame a brawler around a rebellion against authoritarian power gives the fighting a purpose beyond spectacle. Every swing is directed at a regime that fears what it cannot control, and the heroes themselves are defined by their relationship to that oppression. Dotemu's track record with the genre runs deep, and the collaboration with Guard Crush Games and animation studio Supamonks shows in how the game channels the spirit of Golden Axe and Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara while layering in modern roguelite depth. Composer Gareth Coker, whose work on the Ori series earned him BAFTA and Ivor Novello nominations, scored the soundtrack with guest contributions from Yuka Kitamura and Mick Gordon.
The four playable characters each carry their own fighting style and their own stake in the revolt. Galandra fights with a colossal sword and necromantic powers, her calm exterior barely containing the fury underneath. Karl, the last free dwarf of Talamh, brawls at close range with an ancestral blunderbuss and bare fists, compensating for limited reach with raw strength and explosive tactics. Two more heroes join during the campaign: Brome, a wizard prodigy trying to preserve his people's future, and Cider, a nimble skirmisher searching for fragments of their own scattered soul. Each character channels a different approach to combat, giving the roguelite loop a reason to experiment beyond just chasing better loot.
Absolum builds its replayability around the tension between approachability and challenge. The brawling is designed to be easy to pick up but difficult to master, with rare items and magical counters offering tactical options that deepen over successive runs. Unlockable quests and permanent warrior upgrades give each attempt a sense of forward momentum even when a run ends badly. For a genre that often lives or dies on whether the core action feels good enough to repeat, Absolum stakes its claim on combat that rewards both instinct and strategy, set against a world where the act of fighting back is itself an act of defiance.