Upcoming ‘Absolver’ tells its story via online multiplayer combat

Indie-focused publisher Devolver Digital has pulled back the curtain on Absolver, an ambitious online multiplayer melee combat game developed by a team of Ubisoft veterans.

Boasting gameplay that evolves across a series of multiplayer battles, Absolver is due to launch for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC platforms in 2017.

Developed by Paris-based studio Sloclap, Absolver is a fantasy-themed martial arts combat game that challenges players to master a repertoire of deadly attacks using their fists, feet, and bladed weaponry. Players switch between four fighting stances while fighting each enemy, resulting in “intense real-time melee combat with endless fluid combos,” according to project lead Pierre Tarno.

Multiplayer will drive Absolver‘s backing storyline, and players can look forward to unexpected twists when encountering online foes. Some online opponents may want to trade weaponry or strike up an alliance with your character, for instance, while others are only interested in fighting to the death.

Prior to starting work on Absolver, members of Sloclap previously contributed to Ubisoft-published games like Watch Dogs. The team acknowledges the difficulty involved in creating a persistent online world, and plans to host several live tests in the months leading up to the game’s launch in order to ensure stability.

“We’ve done big-budget multiplayer games before,” Tarno assures, “and we know that being online impacts everything from design to code architecture, so we’ve been working in an online environment since day one, to ensure that the gameplay is rock-solid in real network conditions.”

Absolver also features RPG elements, allowing players to build custom characters and outfit them with new moves and abilities. While progressing through Absolver‘s online quest, players will discover martial art schools that teach new fighting styles and hand-to-hand maneuvers, adding additional layers of complexity to the game’s combat engine.

A release date for Absolver is not yet known.

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