Devolver Digital has announced Absolver, a third-person melee combat RPG that’s being developed by Sloclap and will release on PC and consoles in 2017.
Forged by former Ubisoft employees who count the likes of Watch Dogs and Ghost Recon as games they helped to create, Sloclap creative lead Pierre Tarno describes Absolver on Sony’s PlayStation blog as the result of some friends teaming up because they “wanted to make a kick-ass online action game, with visceral martial arts-style combat in a fantasy world.”
We’re a team of experienced programmers, designers & artists; most of us became friends while we were working at Ubisoft in Paris, and we teamed up because we wanted to make a kick-ass online action game, with visceral martial arts-style combat in a fantasy world, in which players meet each other seamlessly during their travels. A new story unfolds at each encounter: what are the other’s intentions? Will we fight to the death or become allies, trading weapons and teaching each other new attacks?
Player to player interaction will be possible in Absolver, with the core gameplay revolving around melee combat and choosing between different weapon stances to enable “endless fluid combos.” Tarno also says that you’re encouraged to explore your surroundings, as you’ll uncover different martial art schools all of which can teach your character unique attacks.
For an early glimpse of Absolver‘s world and gameplay, you can watch the trailer above. The game will also be present at E3 next month with hands-on previews available.