Absolum is out now and is a must-buy if you’re into roguelites, 2D beat-em-ups, and classic co-op titles like Golden Axe and Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara. The art is great, it plays well, and has a ton of branching paths that lead to different outcomes and boss fights.

It’s also a tough mother from the get-go, as the game expects you to die many times so you can power up your characters with the resources you’re getting. Here are some tips and tricks to get you through the hostile plane of Talamh.

#1. Break Stuff. A Lot.

No, really. Lots of breakables like barrels and crates in Absolum may have food (for health), gold (for spending on equipment), and crystals (permanent upgrade currency). Break as much as you can as you walk through each level and pathway.

#2. Know Which Fights To Pick.

There will be opportunities where you can take optional paths which lead to more rewards, but usually tough minibosses. Check your lifebar, see if you have any Mother’s Grace left (your life/continue), and consider if you’re skilled enough to defeat the challenges in the optional bout without taking a scratch.

#3. Health Is Wealth.

No joke: life refills can be tough to come by, and the highest you can get from a resting Hearth is 30%. Unless you’re lucky to score equipment that boosts health recovery, you may have to learn how to properly dodge, deflect, and clash against enemy attacks using your Special.

If you’re taking too many hits, consider ending your run early and use your hard-earned crystals to get permanent health upgrades at the level-up tree in your home base.

#4. Easiest Skill To Clash With? Karl’s!

Karl has a headbutt Special move that moves him forward and has active frames from the get-go. It comes out pretty fast, so it’s easy to time Clash parries with against enemy attacks compared to Cider’s grapple arm Special and Galandra’s sword Special. Karl arguably is the best character for mashing against enemy attacks when the going gets tough.

#5. Air Juggles = Great!

Keeping enemies combo’ed in the air is a surefire way to not getting hit. Best ways to do this include using Galandra’s running knee to pick fallen enemies off the groung (OTG), then just hit them with normal and jumping normals plus sword attacks to keep them in the air as long as possible.

All four characters in Absolum have a ton of attacks and aerials that can juggle enemies to the air leading to more damage and clearing mobs in the way. Just experiment with each of them and see who has the best potential, especially in later stages when you get them new moves via Inspiration rewards. Galandra’s Dive Kick and multi-hit air Spinning Blade can be obtained in a run and can help juggle opponents further, for example.

#6. Bosses Can Be Stunned & Punished.

When you hit a boss after he/she has done a big attack, you deal big Punish damage as indicated by the red hit spark (see picture above). Keep doing this over time (as well as overwhelm them with regular attacks), and you’ll quickly stun them, leaving them ripe to be juggled for a bit.

Just remember that after a few seconds of getting juggled, they will go in an “invincible” state (they blink white and the screen closes up to them for a split second) that makes them get up and start their rotation of attacks again. While they have a white outline, they are totally invincible. Ergo, no Touch of Death opportunities (as far as we know).

#7. Pick The Right Elemental Rituals For You.

Depending on your playstyle and how well you are in tuned with certain mechanics, you should pick the right elemental buffs that fits you and the character you pick. For example, a Brome with the Proton Cannon Arcana (we forgot what it’s really called) would benefit with having an echo doing the same thing. So you should attempt to hit rituals that get you Time Elemental powers, which lets you summon an echo when you perform an Arcana.

Similarly, a build that lets you apply Gale onto targets will have you juggling enemies in the air longer than possible, meaning a Galandra player who has Dive Kicks and the multi-hit Air Spin attack will have a field day with their moves.

#8. Anything That Lets You Summon Bramble Knives = Good

The Thorn Elemental lets you summon Bramble Knives whenever you perform a finisher from your normal attacks, or any other simple command like dodging. You can carry 20 max of these, so consider making a build that lets you pull off your finishers easily, so you and your co-op partner have knives galore to throw at either enemies or bosses. Galandra’s multi-hit Strike Finisher inspiration + the Thorn elemental skill that summons knives when you pull off finishers = Great combination for spamming knives.

All Boss Fights in Absolum