Absolver, the upcoming online fighting game from Devolver Digital and French developer SloClap, looks to set itself apart as a new fighting game unlike anything else created before. To help ease players into the new gameplay style and philosophy of Absolver, Devolver has been sharing a number of helpful videos that go over certain aspects of the game in great detail, shedding light on how the game will approach the idea of a customizable “combat deck”, or how the game’s power-ups and weapons will be deadly yet ephemeral, game-changing yet balanced.
Two new videos released on the DevolverDigital YouTube channel explain the game’s character customization system, and the game’s social capabilities through competitive game modes and the cooperative “mentor” system.
As we see in this Absolver character customization video, players will have great control over the look and feel of their character from the beginning, able to change not only their physical appearance but also their culture of origin. Players will then be able to equip specific gear, with gear having varying affects on their stats.
All clothing and armor have stats that indicate their degree of protectiveness against both “blunt” and “cut” type damage, as well as an overall weight and mobility rating, forcing players to have to decide between the trade-off of more damage-reduction or greater freedom of motion.
In this second Absolver “Friends and Foes” video, we get more into what makes Absolver unique as both an online gaming experience and as a new take on the fighting game genre. In Absolver, players will explore an open shared world with many other players, moving from zone to zone through ruins and wilderness as they encounter their fellow prospects as well as AI-controlled “Lost Prospects”, who will always be hostile and attack on sight.
Players are free to engage any and all other players in combat the moment they encounter them, but are also able to team up and begin a cooperative session, grouping up into squads of up to 3 to explore together. These teams are then able to work together for strength in numbers against AI enemies and other player teams, and can also spar against one another to train up their skills.
A new prospect can also enter into a mentorship relationship with a more experienced player, teaming up with their wiser older friend and becoming their student. Students are able to train under their mentor, and gain access to his or her combat deck for as long as they are together, able to mix in these new unlearned moves into their own combinations while they fight alongside one another.
Absolver will also feature more standard competitive fighting game modes, with a dedicated arena where players can go head to head in 1v1 matches. These matches will be all about pure technique and skill; players pick from a single standardized combat deck and set of weapons and powers, with the first player to land 3 damaging strikes declared the victor. Tournaments, 3v3 fights, and ranked modes will not be a part of Absolver at launch, but “can be expected in the future”.
Absolver will be available on August 29 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and on PC via Steam.