Absolum episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 12, 2026 · 58 MIN

Absolum

from The Short Game · host The Short Game

This week we are talking about Absolum, a roguelike beat 'em up from Streets of Rage 4 developers Guard Crush Games and publisher Dotemu. This was one of those games that would probably have been near the top of our 2025 GOTY list if we'd managed to all play and discuss it before the end of the year. It combines the incredible beat 'em up mechanics from Streets of Rage 4 with Hades-style progression mechanics. It really kicks ass. There's also one of our classic slightly too long digressions about the Steam Deck and Linux about 33 minutes in. Sorry, and you're welcome.(00:00) - Absolum (26:21) - Digression about Steam Deck and Linux (33:24) - Back to Absolum (52:42) - Wrap up

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jan 12, 2026

This week we are talking about Absolum, a roguelike beat 'em up from Streets of Rage 4 developers Guard Crush Games and publisher Dotemu. This was one of those games that would probably have been near the top of our 2025 GOTY list if we'd managed to all play and discuss it before the end of the year. It combines the incredible beat 'em up mechanics from Streets of Rage 4 with Hades-style progression mechanics. It really kicks ass. There's also one of our classic slightly too long digressions about the Steam Deck and Linux about 33 minutes in. Sorry, and you're welcome.(00:00) - Absolum (26:21) - Digression about Steam Deck and Linux (33:24) - Back to Absolum (52:42) - Wrap up

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Absolum

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This episode was published on January 12, 2026.

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This week we are talking about Absolum, a roguelike beat 'em up from Streets of Rage 4 developers Guard Crush Games and publisher Dotemu. This was one of those games that would probably have been near the top of our 2025 GOTY list if we'd managed to...

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