The first big beat ’em up in years, Absolum’s cast are gorgeously animated.
My second-favorite character in Absolum is Cider, or as I like to call them: Kung-Fu Pinocchio.
Beat ’em ups are built on the strength of their character designs. The repetition inherent to the genre means that each uppercut and dive kick animation had better be satisfying. Absolum seems to be delivering that—earlier this year I called the game one of my favorite things I’ve played in 2025.
Out tomorrow, I spoke with some of Absolum’s developers at Dotemu about their creative process behind the cast of four: Galandra (broadsword-swinging warrior), Karl (stout dwarven brawler), Cider (the prosthetic ninja), and Brome (frog wizard).
PC Gamer: What was the top-level, guiding idea in designing Absolum’s characters?
Maxime Mary, art director and co-creative lead: As Dotemu used to reinvent old IPs for contemporary players, we looked at old fantasy games like Golden Axe or Dungeons and Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara as a starting point and looked at how we could modernize them.
So the four playable characters had to have this “classic” vibe. We have the dwarf, the warrior, the magician, the rogue, but we wanted to have something that fits more with our modern culture. As a result, the warrior is a woman, non-sexualized. The magician is a frog deeply rooted in his family and community, the dwarf is the last of his kind, more subtle than a usual dwarf, and the rogue is a fantasy version of a ninja.
How would you describe the identity (in terms of gameplay and/or visual style) of each character?
Jordi Asensio, head of game design and co-creative lead: I started from classic D&D archetypes, something familiar so players immediately feel at home, but I wanted to twist each of them in a unique way.
Galandra is the warrior, but with a necrotic arm that hints at her dark past. Karl is a close-range dwarf who wields a blunderbuss instead of a traditional axe or hammer. Cider is the rogue, equipped with mechanical prosthetics and a grappling hook that changes how they move and fight. And finally, Brome is the frog wizard, bringing a mix of humor, mystery, and amphibian energy to the group.
How do you go about developing a moveset for a character in a beat ’em up like Absolum—does it start with animations, or something else?
Asensio: It usually starts with a general design idea, something like, “Okay, we want a rogue!” From there, we gather lots of references and brainstorm both visual and gameplay directions. Then Maxime starts sketching different drafts, and we pick the one that feels right.
Once the design is set, we have several sessions to imagine cool moves that could fit within the game’s overall design framework. Thanks to the Guard Crush Engine (Guard Crush’s in-house engine also used in Streets of Rage 4’s development), we can test things in-game very quickly, which helps us tweak, adjust, and add whatever feels missing.
As development goes on and the game takes shape, new ideas often come up naturally—and sometimes that means new moves get added along the way.
Cyrille Lagarigue, technical director and co-creative lead: We tried to characterize each character with a “theme” for each of the moves or move categories: combo, grab, skill, and arcanas.
For example, Karl has a blunderbuss, so he is characterized by its arcanas that are mainly ranged attacks, but he also has a powerful grab that allows him to move with the enemy.Cider has a grappling move skill, but she also has arcanas that are gadgets.
