Admit it—if you're like me, a former mischievous kid who snuck out of school during elementary lunch breaks to dump pocket money into arcade cabinets, only to get caught and whipped with a leather belt by your parents, you can't help but love beat 'em up games. Whether it was "Young People's First Journey to the West Game" Oriental Legend, or Three Kingdoms II: Battle of Red Cliffs, where the boss strictly forbade "eating buns," or even Flash mini-games like Dad 'n Me played secretly on the computer at home, they all belong to this historic genre.
Unfortunately, swept away by the tide of time. Arcades declined, and the soil for beat 'em up games dried up. This genre, carrying countless memories, gradually faded from public view... But people know they have only left temporarily. As long as players retain memories of "clearing the game with one coin" and "dominating the cabinet," beat 'em up games will return time and time again. Look, didn't Streets of Rage 4, released in 2020, sell quite well?
At the recently concluded 7th-anniversary press conference by independent game publisher Gamera Games—now known as "Gamirror Games"—I had the privilege of experiencing Absolute Supremacy, a game that combines "modernized" Rogue elements, meta-progression, multi-branch choices, and traditional beat 'em up gameplay.
Coincidentally, the developers behind this game are Guard Crush Games (the masters of beat 'em ups who brought the genre back into the spotlight with Streets of Rage 4) and Dotemu (developers of the highly-rated pixel 2D action game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge), along with high-quality hand-drawn animations provided by Supamonks. To put it bluntly, if released during the heyday of arcade beat 'em ups, Absolute Supremacy's high production quality would undoubtedly make it a so-called "AAA title."
In terms of visual presentation, Absolute Supremacy adopts a hand-drawn American cartoon style. The scene art is gorgeous, with every detail in the foreground, midground, and background packed to the brim. In a tavern brawl, overturned benches, startled innocent bystanders, unfinished poker games and chips on the table, dim oil lamps hanging in mid-air, and dust kicked up from the ground are all rendered with meticulous precision.
In outdoor scenes, the visual atmosphere changes again. Explosions from a heist in the distance illuminate the sky, while two figures in the foreground rush hastily as silhouettes against the night. A tense yet majestic scroll unfolds before the player, complemented by the game's distinctive art style, making the overall visual experience quite stunning.
Regarding character animations, which are crucial for beat 'em ups, Absolute Supremacy does not cut corners. The characters have distinct and easily recognizable designs. Light attacks flow smoothly, while heavy attacks are wide and powerful. The hit feedback features just the right amount of "frame freezing," commonly known as "hit stop"... In short, the biggest feeling after playing through is that it feels "responsive." For an action game, this is the most basic requirement, yet it is also the foundation upon which all greatness is built.
All of the above provides a solid foundation for Absolute Supremacy, allowing it to carry the full ambition of the development team—namely, the further transformation and evolution of the beat 'em up genre.
First, we must discuss the game's action system.
As an action game, the character's base mechanics in this title can be described as "concise." There are no complex command inputs. The ABXY buttons on the controller, plus the right shoulder button for throwing and the right trigger for special moves, cover all of the character's abilities. The A button is for basic jumping, while the B button combines "movement" and "blocking." Pressing B during the initial frames of movement triggers a "Perfect Block," allowing players to parry enemy attacks to some extent.
The X and Y buttons correspond to light and heavy attacks, respectively. Light attacks come with a short combo chain, and players can press heavy attack at any time to end the combo, dealing wide-area control and damage. If the full light combo is executed, the character performs a so-called "finisher." For Galandra, the character I used in the demo, light and heavy attacks are rapid punches and a greatsword slash, respectively. The former has limited damage and range, while the latter has no follow-ups, making it difficult to form combos.
Theoretically, relying solely on the character's base stats should be enough to handle all challenges in the game. Just as the legendary fighting game player Xiao Hai said, "If he jumps, you anti-air; if he blocks, you throw; if he walks, you jump." In Absolute Supremacy, experts could theoretically clear the game by precisely blocking every enemy attack, punishing recovery frames, and spamming basic light combos... but you know that's obviously nonsense.
As a beat 'em up, Absolute Supremacy is certainly not easy. While you can freely stun enemies and pin them against the wall, spinning them like tops, enemies can do the same to you. The difficulty is considerable; enemies often have large attack ranges and high aggression. If players fail to clear mobs quickly enough, they can easily get surrounded and struggle. Elite enemies and bosses frequently use annoying tactics like shields and super armor, and may even use unblockable moves to break through perfect guards.
To deal with this, players often have to rely on tactics like creating distance, waiting for the opponent to whiff an attack, and then quickly striking during their recovery frames (known as "punish on whiff"), or using specific moves to interrupt the opponent's startup frames (known as "trade wins"). If this sounds like fighting game mechanics, don't doubt it—they follow the same logic.
Furthermore, there are no convenient healing items like "Estus Flasks" in this game. If you take damage during a run, unless you luckily find food items that restore health, you can hardly recover HP. This results in a very low margin for error, heavily testing player proficiency. In my actual gameplay, it was common to go through several stages nearly unscathed, only to die instantly upon encountering a boss for the first time.
This makes the already modest base stats feel even more inadequate, making the early "grinding" phase feel quite punishing. Well, "punishing" might not be the right word, since the wide-ranging actions and visceral impact feel great... but that satisfaction doesn't last long before you inexplicably die and return to the start.
Fortunately, despite retaining the hardcore essence of the arcade era, Absolute Supremacy is not a game designed to deliberately frustrate players. The included RogueLite elements are sufficient to alleviate the awkward situations mentioned above.
Similar to RogueLite games like Hades, this title features two main progression paths: meta-progression and in-run progression. Meta-progression provides players with base stats, starting resources, and additional special moves, while in-run progression offers the chance to completely change character performance—
After defeating each boss, players can choose one ability from two random drops. During my trial using Galandra, I encountered several powerful abilities, such as "Triple Strike," which changes the heavy attack sweep from a single hit to three hits; "Wind Magic," which adds a tornado effect to the character's blade to lift enemies; and "Special Move Enhancement," which turns the special move into an aerial "back rub attack." Each of these creates new possibilities for combat strategies. In my second-to-last run, after picking up "Triple Strike," I accidentally discovered an infinite combo against super-armored enemies: "Heavy Attack → Heavy Cancel Light → Light Cancel Heavy."
It is conceivable that after multiple playthroughs and defeating several bosses, combining various ability upgrades can completely transform the character, unlocking advanced gameplay styles such as aerial combat, elemental status effects, and ultra-long combos. However, due to the limited demo time, I cannot determine how many such special abilities will be in the full release, or whether they will fully support the game's replay value.
Speaking of "replayability," another major feature of this game must be mentioned: diverse branching paths, missions, and storylines. At first glance, these elements might seem unrelated to the "beat 'em up" theme, but this game integrates them seamlessly into repeated playthroughs.
Just in the first area alone, the game splits into three different branches: crossing the central bridge leads to a village ruled by goblins; the upper beach path points to a coastal region filled with magical conch shells and giant birds; while the lower passage, obscured by rocks, hides a mine shaft occupied by mushroom monsters. Each area features different types of enemies and bosses, and offers different rewards along the way—in the town area, players can break into houses to scavenge food supplies from residents, while the mine area provides more explosive throwable items.
Meanwhile, players can accept different "missions" during gameplay. In the demo, I received a "Complete the Ritual" mission. After backtracking slightly to complete it, a shortcut permanently opened on the map, allowing me to skip many dangerous and low-reward mob fights in subsequent runs. I believe similar missions will appear frequently in the full version.
Additionally, whenever players complete a mission, enter a new important location, or face a boss, the characters engage in dialogue similar to Hades, expanding the game's worldview. Although the short experience of just over an hour wasn't enough for me to see where the story is heading, the narrative will clearly be a major driving force in the full release.
By the way, the game supports both local and online two-player co-op. Players can team up with friends just like in the old arcade days, covering each other's backs—or sabotaging each other. After all, enemies in two-player mode feel significantly tougher than in single-player.
Overall, Absolute Supremacy is a meticulously crafted RogueLite beat 'em up. It inherits the hardcore action system, high difficulty, and low margin for error from the arcade era, while also adapting to modern times by incorporating RogueLite elements like meta-progression. This provides diverse growth paths for characters and integrates "multi-branch routes" as a core gameplay mechanic.
If you consider yourself a skilled action gamer, or if you hold nostalgia for the golden age of arcade beat 'em ups, Absolute Supremacy is clearly a title worth trying.