Roguelike beat-'em-up Absolum's new update is adding even more variety to 2025's most replayable game

When it came time to choose my personal pick in our 2025 Game of the Year awards, one game jumped right out at me. Absolum is a brilliantly clever hybrid of classic side-scrolling beat-'em-up combat with a roguelike framework, and I'm not sure it ever quite got the buzz it deserved.

It seems like it found an audience, at least, with 500,000 players, a 94% positive rating on Steam and apparently enough success to fuel a new free update.

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(Image credit: Dotemu, Guard Crush Games...