Absolver Reviews
A great customizable fighting system and a cooperative spirit fill the empty spaces in a bleak open world.
A one-of-a-kind blend of blood-thumping martial arts, combo curation and grindy multiplayer set in a ravishing wasteland.
Absolver is a beautiful martial-arts fighting game that allows for an impressive degree of personalized play with its innovative combat deck system, which lets you learn skills from combat with other players and NPCs. Unfortunately, it only comes with a single PvP arena mode at launch, and its fascinatingly nebulous campaign breaks off early and abruptly. It feels like an early access game with a ton of potential, but it's not quite there yet.
Absolver feels like a (difficult, sometimes frustrating) step into a larger world, and if you can hang with it, it'll leave you hungry for more.
A short and barren single-player adventure that's really only for players who want to dig into the multiplayer components
Absolver recognizes its singular goal of building a robust, satisfying martial arts combat system. It leans into those strengths, and it's a better game for it.
Absolver's methodical combat would be superlative on its own, but the unique customisation of its Combat Deck takes this melee brawler to thrilling new heights.
Whether you spend a handful of hours seeing the sights or days delving into meta-discussions on the best builds, Absolver's fresh approach to hand-to-hand combat is a welcome addition to the pantheon of one-on-one fighters.
Absolver trades in tutorials for mystique, but if you think you can climb the learning curve, you should try it.
We may have to wait for Absolver's post-launch content and updates to see if it can truly becomes a legend among fighters, but even as is, it's a highly-entertaining brawler.
Thanks to the myriad possible move and combo loadouts, along with the various weapons and classes, PvP is both challenging and full of unexpected comebacks and knife-edge duels, but it just doesn't feel like a complete experience. Bugs, server issues, a small, dull open-world and the lack of modes is definitely holding it back.
Combining unique and rewarding combat with the freedom to explore its beautiful areas in any order you see fit, Absolver is one of the best adventures of the year.
At its center, it is a hardcore RPG that will reward players that invest in it heavily and it has more than enough value at its lower price. The game's most significant issues have been addressed with a patch, thankfully, and any that step into the world of Andal is in for a treat.
Absolver presents itself as a very interesting hybrid: a fighting game inserted in an online context and a decadent, fascinating open world. Unfortunately, several lag problems undermine overall quality: patches are coming out to solve the problem, but the feeling of being in front of a still "rough" code is always very strong.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Sloclap has delivered one of the best indie games of this 2017. Although it lacks a deep and more interesnting story, it has unique combat and gameplay mechanics that are rewarded with a great progression. An amazing journey and a stunning game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Absolver is superb yet flawed. Sloclap have some really fun and innovative ideas though, for some reason, they've built a gorge between players and their game. Like digging for gold, if you want to get anything of value from Absolver then you'll need to work hard and put in the time. Needless to say, those with a casual curiosity will likely find themselves completely turned off.
"Absolver" mixes a deep, smart and tough combat system with unpredictable multiplayer encounters.
It often feels unrefined and unbalanced, but the uniquely tactical combat system, and Dark Souls influences, create one of the most enjoyably different fighting games of recent years.
Absolver's sure to be divisive. There's a clear vision that shines throughout the game. Its combat system encourages a granular knowledge of the different moves and potential combos that stem from each directional stance. But while the appeal will be apparent to the competitive-minded player, Absolver's pointed focus is complex enough to turn others away. The journey from lowly Prospect to Absolver is arduous and challenging, but it's hardly inviting.
While Absolver is up and down in a lot of places, the game just doesn't come together well. There's something about the underlying design that makes it feel disjointed. Most of this comes from the quasi-open world aspect, but the ridiculous level of grinding involved and the disconnected PvP mode makes Absolver feel like a game that's at war with itself. It certainly has the potential to be great though, with more of a focus on interweaving the PvE and PvP content as well as some expansions to the tight and narrow world of Adal and a very much needed mini-map system.