Neither fish nor fowl

Five years before developer studio Sloclap made strategic story sparring socially acceptable with Sifu, they dipped their martial arts toe into the pond of Dark Souls-style gameplay with Absolver. However, as is usually the case with first-party games, the game was only granted a rating just above average. A fate that user HarperNguyen aptly predicted in the YouTube video on the various combat techniques with the words "This game is gonna be painfully underrated".

The duel-focused brawler, in which we primarily pay attention to our stamina meter and the exact placement of our punches when fighting our opponents, also passed me by. The story was probably the least exciting part, as it is primarily about personal development. On the plus side, Absolver Absolver looks absolutely stylish and holds up well ten years later thanks to its art style. However, the Parisian developers had to wait until 2022 for the breakthrough with the spiritual successor in a Chinese setting.

The score

While For Honor, released in the same year, focused on epically staged battles and fast-paced combat, Absolver slowed down the brawls to focus on the aspect of self-discovery and self-reflection. In keeping with this, a suitable composer was hired in the form of Austin Wintory, who had already done an excellent job of emphasizing the spiritual/meditative aspect of a soundtrack in games such as Journey or Abzû. Unfortunately, these are survival and exploration games, and Absolver is a brawler.

This is why the 20 tracks of the OST sometimes resemble the decelerating sounds of an Outer Wilds rather than a martial confrontation. As a fan of the unexpected, I don't want to be too hard on the choice of musical style here, because it can work under certain circumstances - but it doesn't in album form. I just can't help thinking that a little more action would have done the composition good. Because the quieter ambient tracks such as The Guidance BridgeAustin Wintory2, Raslan ColiseumAustin Wintory3 or The Tower of AdalAustin Wintory2 are honestly not even really interesting as pure background droning.

Wintory's main tool within the score is the acoustic guitar, which is thoughtfully plucked to create a feeling of both weightlessness and light-heartedness. This creates a bit of a The Last of Us- or Metro-feeling, which doesn't really fit the premise of the game. The music of the Ori-series or even Kena: Bridge of Spirits (despite the in-your-face action) is much more spiritual for me ... which is a shame!

Conversely, the Mediterranean-sounding tracks such like the previously mentioned Hands OutstretchedAustin Wintory3 and We Will Call on YouAustin Wintory4 Dishonored or Hades - again, nice to have, but not in the same league as the originals. It is the more fast-paced tracks such as Hands OutstretchedAustin Wintory3 and The Madness of KuretzAustin Wintory4, that show that the composer also has a knack for good action pieces. He has already proven this with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, John Wick Hex and, last but not least, The Banner Saga-games. The Absolver-score, however, falls short of its potential and is neither fish nor fowl. This, in turn, fits in with the ascetic mindset.