Absolver turns upside down the basic principle of any game with pumping – learning new skills and attacks are not the way to achieve the goal, and the goal itself.
Before the player is worth an easy task – to learn as much as possible techniques of martial arts, to create his own style of martial arts and to bring it to perfection.
Around this problem built all: mechanics, story, game design and visual style.
We find ourselves in a world of games without any explanation of what is happening around, it is clear only that the hero really wants to get the title Absolvera, and for this it is necessary to find and defeat all opponents standing.
Small details about the world and its history can be found on rare NPC, or from the descriptions of the equipment items. There is no danger to the world, there is the main enemy, which must be stopped – only hundreds of applicants who are fighting each other for the sake of improving their skills. Original art design and doling out bits of information are intriguing – it seems that everything is worth an epic tale of post-apocalyptic dystopian world and the Order of soldiers preparing themselves for the future hardships.
But it just seems like the game is nothing like that.
Before us is a technical demo, slightly covered with colorful decorations. Awareness of this depressing, begs the question “Why are we here? Just to exercise? ”
Even getting the title Abzolvera – a stage on the road, a sign that the player is understood the mechanics, learn the principles of the combat system and is ready for multiplayer. Because of this the whole story campaign is perceived as an extended training that can be completed in a couple of hours.
But boevka is really exceptional, for it will be able to forgive some Absolver all other shortcomings. The trailer and gameplay video gave the impression that the battles in it like the For Honor. But the similarity ends with the fact that the game has a different fighting stance. Unlike the game from Ubisoft, the position determines only which combination of attacks, we are going to apply. And it begins lies the most interesting – just two attack buttons, but each of them is necessary to bind the individual techniques for different racks. Most attacks ending jukebox combat position, and it allows you to create different combos.
The game encourages to experiment with combinations, change them and test results into practice.
Let’s start with a quick jab, hook, catch up on the close-range finish and a direct blow to the torso? Or maybe just start with a direct blow, then hooking tumbled down the enemy on the ground, and in the best tradition of Chuck Norris roundhouse kick will finish it until the rise? All this is necessary to try and look at the results. And not to limp dolls in training mode, and at least for mobs who can fight back. For example, the proposed combination with hooking showed its unreliability. After the second attack of the enemy is too far away, which is why the third attack simply does not reach. In addition, the enemy had time to recover and start to hit back. Well, lesson learned – to dismantle combo components and remake it so that each blow hit the target.
Another feature of the combat system – its flexibility. All created combo put on normal attack button. Alternative same attack allows to mix their combination. Time pressing the button, you can surprise the enemy surprise attack, and in the middle of one of his combo to start something else entirely.
Rack hardly have to be changed manually, and it makes the battles much more dynamic than the usual fighting game and what is happening is more like a perfectly delivered a movie about kung fu master. We do not push the buttons in the correct order to the standard movement developed into a beautiful combination, and juggle combos themselves, adapt under enemy hurriedly shuffled harvested by us tactics. Therefore, online wins not the one who is faster zaklikaet enemy, and the one who came up with several combinations in advance for different strategies to solve the behavior of the opponent and correctly applied his billet.
The game constantly reminds us that the task of the main character – training. When creating a character, you can choose from three styles of martial arts – with the emphasis on strength, agility, or balanced. Each style has its list of available devices. The rest should be studied in the battles.
The hero fights not to win, but to learn from the enemy of his tricks that you can add to your combination attacks.
Defeat the NPC easy, but this victory is almost nothing except give experience points and possibly items. And then, and more – things are not important, chasing them does not make sense. Experience allows you to slightly raise its performance and equipment – balance them to suit your style of combat. It is more important to see and copy the opponent’s movements, adding to your “arsenal”. It is for this to Absolver should get involved in a fight.
