Indie Parisian game development studio Sloclap has announced the martial arts focused action role-playing video game will release on Playstation 4 on August 29.
Pierre Tarno, a partner at Sloclap made the announcement and said that players will enjoy it as much as them as they had fun playing tournaments inside the studio. He said that the Absolver doesn’t require high level of dexterity but players will be challenged on other skills; timing, reflexes, observation, and memory
Absolver allows players explore the ruins of the fallen city of Raslan which was destroyed by a massive earthquake centuries ago. They also control warrior characters that fight other players and computer-controlled characters across the fictional land of Adal.
As they explore Raslan, players will meet other Prospects like them – volunteers who have vowed to become Absolvers – and build relationships with each other. Players will have to hone their combat skills to prove their worth and towards the hard road to Absolution.
The character’s fighting moves are customized in a “combat deck” of cards, with each card assigned to a move. Players earn cards, equipment, and weapons by progressing through the game.
Tarno recalled that their intention when they created the studio two years ago was to make an action game with a combat system that was accessible but supported player vs. player (PvP) combat in the long term.
They mulled around taglines always referred to: “Combat is a dance,” “Movement is your weapon,” and “Make your Move.” The objective was to create a game in which the beauty and subtlety of martial arts combat can be seen and felt, where body dynamic and impact sensations are paramount, and in which players create their own combat choreographies in real-time.
The game system of Absolver is based on two main components, the Combat Deck and the Combat Styles, to reach these objectives.
Combat Deck
The Combat Deck is the list of attacks that are available to the player in combat. While fighting, players can select one of four stances which correspond to their orientation relative to their enemy.
In each stance, players have different attacks: a sequence of up to three attacks, and one alternative attack. Each attack starts and finishes in a specific stance, so a sequence of attacks can loop on itself, or send the player to a different stance.
Players can create their own unique strategy, and execute it tactically in real-time with different parameters such as damage, speed, range and special properties. They can also use alternative attacks used during a sequence to switch to a different stance and create mix-ups.
The attacks usable in the Combat Deck are learned by fighting others, and defending themselves against unknown attacks. However, players have to win the fight if they if they want to acquire the Attack XP accumulated during a fight or the memories of that fight will be forgotten.
Combat Style
The Combat Style is chosen at the beginning of the game as different styles improve different character stats, and each style has a special ability that can be used tactically during combat to gain the upper hand.
For instance, with the three styles available at the start, players can parry, avoid, or absorb attacks. Other Combat Styles exist in the lands of Adal and players can also become mentors and teach other subtleties as they explore Raslan.
The depth of the combat system develops further with additional mechanics. Perfect attacks reward precise timing and flow by allowing successive attacks to chain faster and stun the enemy longer. Feints enable players to cancel their attacks during build-up and play mind games on their opponents. Weapons do more damage than bare fists, and come with their own Combat Deck, making it harder for opponents to anticipate one’s moves.
