After their success delivering one of the best beat-em-ups of the past decade with Streets of Rage 4, developer Guard Crush Games is working on something original. The studio announced its new game Absolum, which Guard Crush and co-developer Supamonks describe as an action-RPG rogue-em-up that channels classic fantasy brawlers like Segas Golden Axe and Capcoms Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara.Absolum will be published by Dotemu in 2025 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC. Its the first original IP from Dotemu, which is best known for revivals like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge and the upcoming Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound.Dotemu, Guard Crush, and Supamonks say Absolum will feature intricate, refined combat and maximum replayability, thanks to unlockable items, quests, branching pathways, and permanent character upgrades. The entirety of Absolum will be playable solo or in two-player local and online co-op.Our ultimate goal is to fundamentally evolve the genres potential in a way thats unique from the traditional brawlers weve all come to love, said Dotemu CEO Cyrille Imbert in a statement.The story of Absolum involves a quartet of rebels who seek to depose the dictatorial Sun King Azra, who has either enslaved or slaughtered all of the wizards of Talamh in the wake of a magical cataclysmic event. On Tuesday, in Absolums reveal trailer, the games developers revealed two of the playable rebels who seek to destroy Azra: Galandra, an agile, sword-clad fighter suited for close-quarters combat; and Karl, a tanklike dwarf commanding devastating punches as well as a rifle to foil foes from a distance. The trailer offers a brief glimpse of two more heroes, one of which appears to be a floating, staff-wielding wizard and another that has the proportions of a classic thief archetype. The developers said in a press briefing that each playable character will have their own unique skill set, personality, and motivations.Absolums first trailer offers a long look at animation and production studio Supamonks hand-drawn visuals, which are quite distinct from the look of past Dotemu-made belt-scroller brawlers. The developers and publisher said to expect a longer look at gameplay sometime this spring another look that will no doubt reveal more of its playable cast.