Meta tags:
description=Games and gaming, thoughtfully;

Headings (most frequently used words):

the, posts, to, and, link, awakening, slow, wolf, basing, for, battletech, slowwolf, way, script, necropolis, eulogy, focused, dagger, point, absolver, critique, analysis, rough, boss, fights, response, mike, rugnetta, found, thing, medley, legend, of, zelda, jazz, cover, face, shrine, yo, dawg, slowcast, no, net, not, yet, post, navigation, games, gaming, thoughtfully, menu, latest, archives, by, category, blog, visits, recent,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (1007), and (414), you (221), that (190), game (143), this (141), for (136), are (111), player (101), with (97), but (88), have (85), can (83), all (78), one (75), from (73), time (72), not (71), there (71), was (69), combat (64), they (63), which (57), out (56), like (55), #absolver (53), more (53), games (50), them (50), boss (49), what (49), players (49), necropolis (48), where (48), their (47), way (41), well (40), into (40), good (38), world (38), get (36), just (35), some (34), your (34), how (33), only (33), about (33), when (33), other (32), then (32), really (31), has (31), point (29), first (29), still (29), been (28), these (28), attack (28), will (27), who (27), enough (27), very (27), here (26), use (26), had (25), fight (25), every (25), once (24), experience (24), attacks (24), story (23), make (23), also (23), same (23), things (22), dungeon (22), enemies (22), find (22), through (21), would (20), down (20), thing (20), new (20), long (20), different (20), while (20), though (20), now (19), much (19), being (19), right (19), its (19), system (19), want (18), two (18), than (18), most (18), hard (18), does (18), help (18), weapon (18), fights (17), something (17), link (17), any (17), music (17), were (17), deck (17), level (17), work (16), writing (16), even (16), fighting (16), idea (16), since (16), because (15), easy (15), start (15), big (15), know (15), however (15), little (15), makes (15), after (15), moments (15), video (15), daggers (15), around (15), slowwolf (14), great (14), over (14), going (14), shrine (14), why (14), against (14), each (14), back (14), off (14), best (14), few (14), create (14), devil (14), adal (14), stamina (14), weapons (14), place (13), used (13), don (13), face (13), before (13), myself (13), could (13), character (13), mechanics (13), might (13), simple (13), people (12), those (12), without (12), found (12), next (12), feels (12), instance (12), isn (12), his (12), feel (12), interesting (12), trials (12), damage (12), play (12), base (12), grass (12), step (12), battletech (11), posted (11), run (11), lot (11), everything (11), again (11), better (11), part (11), times (11), style (11), played (11), too (11), itself (11), bad (11), dark (11), paint (11), analysis (10), pvp (10), fun (10), far (10), fact (10), did (10), second (10), awakening (10), see (10), small (10), end (10), later (10), say (10), ideas (10), instead (10), several (10), potential (10), doesn (10), moves (10), almost (10), stance (10), learn (10), miniatures (9), behind (9), doing (9), look (9), old (9), made (9), room (9), having (9), left (9), looks (9), island (9), come (9), someone (9), need (9), amount (9), moment (9), number (9), less (9), certain (9), didn (9), despite (9), life (8), post (8), happens (8), actually (8), take (8), change (8), called (8), means (8), telling (8), kill (8), couple (8), together (8), went (8), important (8), adventure (8), bosses (8), journey (8), skill (8), aren (8), sloclap (8), marked (8), own (8), high (8), gear (8), drybrush (8), design (7), required (7), content (7), slow (7), 2016 (7), focused (7), review (7), announcement (7), 2009 (7), 2015 (7), check (7), such (7), least (7), truly (7), making (7), talk (7), zelda (7), love (7), literally (7), seems (7), cool (7), rooms (7), obvious (7), sword (7), move (7), spent (7), easily (7), care (7), works (7), else (7), tension (7), sand (7), difficulty (7), short (7), quickly (7), focus (7), many (7), ways (7), mask (7), problem (7), another (7), using (7), lost (7), based (7), options (7), spend (7), hours (7), sure (7), dead (7), potions (7), name (6), wolf (6), critique (6), feature (6), characters (6), editorial (6), yet (6), action (6), day (6), whatever (6), done (6), never (6), tried (6), think (6), parts (6), try (6), between (6), mix (6), playing (6), stuff (6), absolutely (6), getting (6), north (6), south (6), floor (6), kind (6), shows (6), whole (6), course (6), enter (6), should (6), away (6), mind (6), today (6), pretty (6), wasn (6), unique (6), large (6), non (6), figure (6), enemy (6), simply (6), items (6), within (6), let (6), additionally (6), tutorial (6), fully (6), mode (6), allows (6), variety (6), largely (6), area (6), darkling (6), sad (6), saba (6), barely (6), managed (6), friend (6), cpu (6), top (6), random (6), entire (6), must (6), genre (6), incredibly (6), visual (6), ones (6), looking (6), properly (6), opponent (6), available (6), deal (6), access (6), blocking (6), practice (6), shards (6), alternate (6), scale (6), takes (6), colours (6), citadel (6), brown (6), started (5), com (5), bar (5), 2017 (5), posts (5), pve (5), guide (5), gameplay (5), may (5), bit (5), won (5), cold (5), mean (5), set (5), perfect (5), nothing (5), hell (5), stop (5), feeling (5), wrong (5), tagged (5), legend (5), eye (5), figuring (5), bomb (5), walls (5), monster (5), last (5), trying (5), choice (5), living (5), him (5), ground (5), stones (5), complex (5), skills (5), biggest (5), difficult (5), meant (5), watch (5), job (5), human (5), mentioned (5), shooting (5), explore (5), everyone (5), powerful (5), kid (5), able (5), rest (5), yourself (5), worth (5), special (5), kinds (5), weight (5), either (5), coming (5), learned (5), avoid (5), question (5), becomes (5), broken (5), designed (5), during (5), deep (5), across (5), empire (5), interactions (5), levels (5), emote (5), tall (5), attacking (5), ran (5), completely (5), until (5), killing (5), person (5), areas (5), ready (5), equipment (5), neat (5), screen (5), meaning (5), gain (5), shame (5), especially (5), massive (5), clothing (5), wearing (5), dodging (5), risk (5), possible (5), button (5), likely (5), contrast (5), put (5), guides (5), rocks (5), souls (5), gems (5), useful (5), painted (5), mechs (5), green (5), comments (4), view (4), response (4), mike (4), rugnetta (4), dagger (4), basing (4), blog (4), changes (4), category (4), week (4), usual (4), update (4), click (4), episode (4), easier (4), ability (4), channel (4), basic (4), sense (4), narrative (4), statues (4), fast (4), pick (4), riddle (4), took (4), anything (4), none (4), eventually (4), kicks (4), shit (4), stay (4), keep (4), okay (4), wind (4), fish (4), wake (4), space (4), weird (4), crystal (4), quick (4), dying (4), leave (4), thought (4), food (4), obviously (4), door (4), stories (4), invested (4), ever (4), added (4), amazing (4), incredible (4), goes (4), definitely (4), wonderful (4), cover (4), future (4), worn (4), hope (4), comes (4), beautiful (4), necessary (4), buy (4), section (4), significant (4), break (4), temple (4), reward (4), requires (4), types (4), further (4), situations (4), forces (4), test (4), playthrough (4), dodge (4), hit (4), developers (4), asked (4), memorable (4), lack (4), hand (4), mechanic (4), particular (4), downfall (4), initial (4), multiplayer (4), decided (4), aba (4), fell (4), styles (4), die (4), loot (4), points (4), angrel (4), exactly (4), corner (4), wouldn (4), situation (4), figured (4), cut (4), actual (4), reason (4), exploring (4), barrier (4), prospects (4), result (4), versions (4), white (4), trial (4), entirely (4), entry (4), built (4), additional (4), armour (4), always (4), satisfying (4), teacher (4), users (4), thanks (4), sounds (4), sequence (4), stand (4), moveset (4), effective (4), years (4), keeping (4), needed (4), target (4), wintory (4), gets (4), described (4), shoot (4), harebrained (4), schemes (4), potion (4), trash (4), exact (4), tier (4), compared (4), secret (4), dry (4), catalyst (4), wordpress (3), collapse (3), already (3), rough (3), 2019 (3), script (3), eulogy (3), 2023 (3), technique (3), painting (3), breaking (3), ask (3), art (3), february (3), july (3), september (3), older (3), tell (3), tail (3), videos (3), per (3), sit (3), issues (3), truth (3), running (3), minutes (3), novel (3), rather (3), low (3), youtube (3), listen (3), cast (3), slowcast (3), add (3), knows (3), himself (3), logo (3), got (3), awesome (3), fucking (3), line (3), runs (3), map (3), straight (3), normally (3), layout (3), key (3), earlier (3), eyes (3), path (3), wall (3), ends (3), mini (3), hear (3), dream (3), forever (3), beat (3), wants (3), opening (3), minute (3), form (3), god (3), stone (3), majority (3), chain (3), heart (3), seemingly (3), koholint (3), reach (3), light (3), friends (3), bought (3), remember (3), memory (3), beating (3), finding (3), understands (3), jazz (3), certainly (3), formula (3), pair (3), crap (3), both (3), conflict (3), resolution (3), final (3), payoff (3), feelings (3), abilities (3), presentation (3), questions (3), adversity (3), unlike (3), mechanically (3), building (3), emotional (3), give (3), tough (3), brought (3), under (3), seen (3), become (3), ramps (3), defeated (3), item (3), require (3), blow (3), promise (3), specifically (3), reality (3), although (3), clear (3), unfinished (3), piece (3), ambitious (3), haven (3), allow (3), main (3), guaranteed (3), talking (3), others (3), adalian (3), setting (3), encounters (3), learning (3), columbary (3), showing (3), partner (3), showed (3), outpost (3), tense (3), alone (3), blue (3), continued (3), turned (3), towards (3), strange (3), heavy (3), standing (3), harbour (3), attacked (3), edge (3), bright (3), days (3), moving (3), sometimes (3), early (3), dozen (3), whether (3), speak (3), taste (3), creating (3), beginning (3), sweet (3), impossible (3), glow (3), acquire (3), annoying (3), perspective (3), earn (3), matchmaking (3), please (3), cliff (3), matches (3), indicator (3), taken (3), directly (3), elements (3), match (3), free (3), causes (3), hook (3), schools (3), experienced (3), provided (3), otherwise (3), systems (3), gives (3), defending (3), version (3), counter (3), direction (3), open (3), costs (3), bigger (3), opposite (3), buttons (3), choose (3), gold (3), chained (3), predictable (3), exciting (3), giving (3), chance (3), wait (3), rules (3), themselves (3), stances (3), super (3), engineered (3), particularly (3), belt (3), yellow (3), fallen (3), often (3), primed (3), excellent (3), throughout (3), mood (3), calm (3), fits (3), aside (3), masks (3), martial (3), longer (3), inner (3), type (3), skin (3), lightly (3), describing (3), replays (3), collecting (3), horrible (3), spiders (3), spawn (3), predict (3), attention (3), behold (3), seconds (3), sam (3), robots (3), extra (3), scroll (3), presence (3), gaming (3), rat (3), feet (3), money (3), hallways (3), favour (3), description (3), lighting (3), reviews (3), locust (3), brush (3), maybe (3), dirt (3), straken (3), paints (3), steps (3), grey (3), mech (3), site (2), website (2), write (2), log (2), sign (2), subscribed (2), subscribe (2), recent (2), visits (2), talents (2), real (2), rantastastic (2), select (2), december (2), january (2), june (2), 2011 (2), month (2), archives (2), latest (2), navigation (2), net (2), scene (2), wanted (2), currently (2), involving (2), bars (2), spot (2), library (2), hour (2), terrible (2), yours (2), words (2), reading (2), episodes (2), soundcloud (2), audio (2), quality (2), ideal (2), podcast (2), guys (2), inappropriate (2), sitting (2), recently (2), thinking (2), solid (2), side (2), water (2), shrines (2), stage (2), mechanical (2), finish (2), lies (2), tiles (2), walk (2), fly (2), turn (2), nowhere (2), disappear (2), bottle (2), ganesha (2), anywhere (2), poke (2), unusual (2), guess (2), ping (2), vanish (2), gone (2), nightmare (2), earns (2), instrument (2), throws (2), bunch (2), puzzle (2), hindu (2), fuck (2), swim (2), head (2), hidden (2), date (2), eat (2), careful (2), stun (2), blew (2), except (2), shitty (2), she (2), illusion (2), sky (2), dreamer (2), block (2), earning (2), ancient (2), plot (2), suffer (2), hinted (2), entity (2), dropped (2), ultimate (2), exist (2), standards (2), replay (2), yes (2), mentioning (2), solo (2), crazy (2), covers (2), major (2), above (2), doubt (2), thoughtful (2), present (2), follows (2), comfortable (2), surfing (2), normal (2), including (2), medley (2), pbs (2), thoughts (2), brings (2), mess (2), reaches (2), pilgrim (2), survival (2), practically (2), facing (2), example (2), creates (2), mounting (2), ultimately (2), middle (2), reference (2), along (2), challenges (2), proper (2), spike (2), somewhere (2), regular (2), suddenly (2), wave (2), mastered (2), typically (2), given (2), progressive (2), increasing (2), watched (2), acquired (2), progress (2), garbage (2), defeating (2), closed (2), alright (2), welcome (2), smoke (2), supported (2), lacks (2), explored (2), rush (2), attempts (2), tripped (2), issue (2), emergent (2), fickle (2), nature (2), experiences (2), behaviours (2), behaviour (2), outside (2), fluid (2), hurt (2), encounter (2), setup (2), combined (2), regions (2), happen (2), ago (2), cliffside (2), sunset (2), altar (2), nearby (2), bowed (2), follow (2), vanished (2), sudden (2), goodbye (2), handle (2), noticed (2), killed (2), shockwave (2), turns (2), bird (2), precise (2), leaving (2), cairns (2), ama (2), came (2), operation (2), met (2), forgotten (2), ally (2), dealt (2), settled (2), passed (2), slowly (2), constantly (2), punched (2), kept (2), followed (2), favourite (2), wandering (2), fighters (2), folded (2), danger (2), relaxed (2), convince (2), mistake (2), oratian (2), quarter (2), spectacular (2), pushing (2), central (2), recover (2), usually (2), somehow (2), stick (2), helped (2), genuinely (2), developer (2), genuine (2), unknown (2), minimal (2), violent (2), playerbase (2), actions (2), thinly (2), trope (2), case (2), fleshed (2), daunting (2), sleeker (2), strictly (2), specific (2), drops (2), coat (2), honestly (2), perfectly (2), decision (2), participating (2), pips (2), close (2), collect (2), rank (2), ranks (2), online (2), teaches (2), guidance (2), bridge (2), expected (2), somewhat (2), aggressive (2), patterns (2), typical (2), effort (2), competitive (2), similar (2), arena (2), death (2), bringing (2), varied (2), flat (2), environmental (2), watching (2), competition (2), accessible (2), note (2), affects (2), reduce (2), sole (2), mobility (2), lighter (2), newer (2), objectively (2), excitement (2), soon (2), boils (2), school (2), temporary (2), students (2), decks (2), permanently (2), maneuvers (2), forcing (2), due (2), absorb (2), stagger (2), defenses (2), parry (2), chose (2), boost (2), timing (2), defensive (2), hold (2), movement (2), frames (2), fill (2), successfully (2), defend (2), complicated (2), row (2), feedback (2), gloves (2), poor (2), unlock (2), requisite (2), wielding (2), drop (2), relatively (2), summon (2), total (2), preference (2), four (2), smaller (2), build (2), huge (2), animations (2), power (2), speed (2), variation (2), uses (2), skullgirls (2), traditional (2), development (2), advanced (2), controls (2), frustrating (2), distractions (2), camera (2), needs (2), series (2), presenting (2), introducing (2), pieces (2), locked (2), appeal (2), aspect (2), thoroughly (2), visually (2), transported (2), absolvers (2), continue (2), worst (2), exploration (2), aiming (2), surprise (2), forgettable (2), composer (2), austin (2), gorgeous (2), describe (2), soundtrack (2), tone (2), essential (2), hunting (2), menacing (2), hilarious (2), round (2), tied (2), disservice (2), show (2), man (2), text (2), boxes (2), explain (2), various (2), peaceful (2), sides (2), travel (2), skeletons (2), peace (2), surrounded (2), soft (2), lonely (2), arts (2), worlds (2), desolate (2), mountain (2), sleep (2), nobody (2), template (2), folks (2), act (2), chests (2), disaster (2), created (2), live (2), prove (2), group (2), 3rd (2), recognize (2), mention (2), bottom (2), image (2), tuned (2), arcade (2), shooters (2), knives (2), personal (2), tougher (2), absolute (2), waste (2), longest (2), firing (2), precious (2), fires (2), hordes (2), brutally (2), repeated (2), platform (2), screaming (2), literal (2), repeat (2), jumping (2), 500 (2), realized (2), challenging (2), environments (2), damn (2), steam (2), finished (2), completed (2), rushed (2), sheer (2), lord (2), twice (2), complete (2), tiers (2), repetitive (2), mixed (2), worse (2), sledgehammer (2), turning (2), threat (2), gorilla (2), zombies (2), aspects (2), unpolished (2), animation (2), aesthetics (2), said (2), binding (2), isaac (2), hollow (2), failed (2), legitimately (2), saying (2), rogue (2), lite (2), felt (2), codices (2), completing (2), supplies (2), materials (2), adventurer (2), brutal (2), read (2), extremely (2), textures (2), initially (2), tombs (2), enjoyed (2), third (2), delve (2), addictive (2), strike (2), sphere (2), miniature (2), enforcer (2), classic (2), alpha (2), sculpted (2), warhammer (2), sculpt (2), models (2), 28mm (2), reds (2), pebbles (2), wherever (2), ushabti (2), bone (2), tie (2), mournfang (2), matter (2), glue (2), thoughtfully (2), email, comment, loading, manage, subscriptions, reader, report, privacy, account, powered, 121, 434, professions, phoenix, wright, pets, moviewatch, meme, interview, guest, furrious, raiders, creature, colemand, klinderas, addons, 2008, march, april, 2010, august, november, thrilling, catch, caught, wicked, downtown, ilford, settle, facebook, hopefully, internet, passports, prison, earned, silence, reflection, lone, bothered, nuclearthrone, pass, proficient, gamepad, card, borrowed, computer, spy, afraid, crouched, coffee, pull, collar, damp, stares, nanowrimo, nation, 10k, sci, thriller, attempt, itunes, download, automatically, uploaded, casts, difference, audacity, garageband, blend, loads, starters, roundabout, wide, address, contests, riddles, compete, kewn, shading, busy, lots, everywhere, joke, poop, bud, redesign, fresh, freaky, ladies, funky, monkeys, home, current, itch, dawg, wtf, paper, crying, topper, cake, placed, faced, idiom, untrustworthy, tool, standpoint, appearances, deceiving, thematic, tells, wizrobes, appearance, notice, cavern, shape, keys, grotto, cave, etc, involves, leads, doorway, entering, tribute, faith, unlocking, empty, indicating, markings, sound, bombable, noise, forward, trust, escape, return, hyrule, thereby, causing, wakes, says, following, beaten, facade, prefer, german, translation, punny, english, implies, pots, starts, holes, stupid, win, grimace, demon, highlights, include, ball, wisdom, knowledge, apt, picked, beak, owl, statue, scamper, wrapper, solving, solve, mostly, arrows, wizzrobes, bummed, forced, matrix, asking, bang, true, chomps, yoshi, doll, anthropomorphic, alligator, eats, canned, dog, marin, girl, likes, hearts, travelled, interest, relationship, finder, isle, sea, lid, sleeper, awake, bubble, needle, 6th, parter, sporting, bulk, entrance, destroy, opens, ahead, naturally, dimly, lit, relief, torches, tablet, reads, caused, asleep, peak, tamaranch, hints, fate, cease, noticing, emotionally, brothers, pleasure, virtual, console, 3ds, revisiting, decade, muscle, dungeons, nightmares, secrets, bonus, idiot, beware, spoiler, territory, reveal, suggest, warned, fantastic, arranger, artist, talent, positive, insaneintherainmusic, formed, happily, linked, justice, reinvention, creative, artistic, compromising, roots, melodies, nostalgia, tender, 1993, trademarks, tire, shoe, surprisingly, conflicts, exclusion, cross, emotions, stack, atop, unstable, piled, palpable, nerves, desperate, chanting, overcoming, invited, adventures, terrifying, crossing, snakes, lest, oomph, unless, steady, pacing, mid, murder, essentials, payout, gradual, structured, rise, rising, bow, arrow, ocarina, forest, climaxes, shadow, ganon, ordeal, accustomed, damnit, addition, status, answer, necessarily, singular, introduction, terrifyingly, numerous, occurrence, tests, drama, baddy, accessed, leading, threatening, limiting, errors, hone, depends, died, pure, rolling, foot, crater, gungeon, licensing, training, proof, counted, popularly, traditionally, staged, checks, mastery, preceding, listening, respective, asses, drunkenly, answering, yourselves, developing, months, reassuring, wishing, robust, showcased, fortune, cookie, nonsense, strong, capable, balance, 100, success, breaks, guardbreak, unused, unexplored, concept, groundbreaking, revealed, plenty, tapped, throttled, center, frequent, relying, interacting, falls, apart, investment, stretch, gambling, ties, interested, dependent, evolve, sets, lets, holding, concrete, boundaries, facet, remarkable, remove, friendly, fire, partners, whim, express, primary, judging, refuse, passes, prescriptive, provides, determines, instanced, guarantees, parted, escorted, soaked, motioned, lackeys, duked, herself, defeat, extras, sliver, hers, rushing, pummeled, blasted, her, stairs, fall, resurrect, silly, shortcuts, swamp, caller, mentoring, rocky, team, switched, changed, swimmingly, containing, fought, allies, wire, official, request, inside, happened, tackled, duel, dust, saw, ticked, moved, walked, past, slapped, oddly, tit, tat, emerged, jab, probably, engaged, planned, strikes, awry, spin, kick, accidentally, reduced, respawned, retaliate, shrug, jabbed, buildings, admiring, appreciating, coloseum, neighbouring, vantage, swinging, immediately, broke, backed, flash, stood, waited, gave, thumbs, yeah, hung, slumped, shoulders, warning, respawning, hadn, laughed, confusing, battling, cpus, nearly, quiet, venture, bullying, inexperienced, turncoat, maneuvered, returned, uncommon, affair, seamed, pleased, assistance, party, proceeded, callers, sticky, overcame, matchups, thrilled, region, engineer, revolving, maximum, mmo, seeing, dime, opportunities, coupled, deliberately, communication, mouth, veiled, excuse, roster, topped, defies, emblematic, guilty, convincing, gobs, clever, failing, fullest, standalone, pushes, adventuring, presents, prologue, hides, included, gating, accomplishments, torn, awful, vast, competing, denoted, statistically, reduction, adding, unbroken, shabu, guard, serviceable, timid, operative, longevity, asbolver, exposition, winning, losing, depending, rematch, cynical, bolster, letting, reinforced, awarded, lackluster, consider, unintuitive, menus, strangely, organized, unexplained, sequences, statistics, multipliers, generous, lumping, shy, tend, understood, relentlessly, mixups, decipher, forays, negative, pace, occasion, paired, results, sided, stomps, engineering

Text of the page (random words):
story then not really it s not a very big game based on content alone but that doesn t stop the game from standing out there are two big factors in absolver s appeal that gives it a lasting and ambitious impression first there s the combat system and second the in and out multiplayer aspect of the world at the beginning of the game the player is funneled into a series of routine little tutorial segments each presenting a snippet of the combat system while presenting more dangerous situations for instance the player locks on to a target in the first one attacks some non aggressive targets after that and so on it s basic and covers each topic only once which isn t ideal but does one thing in particular right avoiding information overload by systematically introducing a mechanic allowing the player to experience and perform the expected task and then introducing something new afterwards it s easy to pick up the very basics since the entire ui of the game is minimalist in design and engineered well making it easy to absorb what each element does there s the requisite hp and stamina bars which work as one would expect from an adventure game the player dies if their hp reaches 0 and every action they take costs stamina making stamina management crucial to good play absolver makes a couple new additions the stance indicator which shows the player s position relative to their opponent as one of four options or stances and shards little pieces of crystal attached to the player s belt that glow with a bright yellow light the more the player is hurt or successfully pulls off defensive actions these shards can be spent to cast special abilities such as a shockwave a heal or to summon a weapon and that s it hp stamina positioning stances and shards the minimalistic hud is built intelligently keeping distracting and largely unnecessary elements like the hp bar and the shard abilities off to the corners of the screen while stapling the stamina bar and stance square directly beneath the player character close to the shards on their belt while the player is locked on to a target none of this is particularly new but absolver does a great job keeping the ui elements simple and to the point no fluff no distractions focusing on what is needed the camera movement supports this locking on to a target moves the camera from behind and above the character to down low and beside them ideally giving a clear view of both the player and their target at all times the stamina bar stance indicator shards player and their opponent are all within a quick glace of one another it s an intimate setup that works well at keeping the focus where it needs to be on the combat itself absolver s combat is singularly well engineered i say this because normally i don t like fighting games i always found the barrier to entry incredibly high which is a critique that has been levelled at the genre for years fighting games are notorious for the high barrier of entry required to play them well enough to not feel like a moving sandbag skullgirls by lab zero games is a traditional fighter with one incredibly notable development a tutorial system designed from the ground up to be as exhaustive and as transparent as possible it teaches everything from basic attacks to complex advanced techniques that incredibly advanced level players use transparency is only one part of accessibility however the actual mechanics of the game still require that players use all kinds of complex controls to be able to play at a basic level this is a staple of the genre and has a neat and tidy counter argument it just requires practice certainly it does it s worth mentioning however that fighting games like skullgirls streetfighter or marvel vs capcom all have a similar problem with entry level difficulty that makes getting into the genre difficult and frustrating especially for a someone like me who grew up on everything but fighting games absolver by contrast has a 2 button attack system just 2 it s a simple system where one button uses a chain of attacks and the other uses an alternate attack it s elegant and easy to use despite having only 2 buttons for offense the system itself is startlingly deep when you add the additional systems involved bear with me since things are going to start sounding complicated the attacks themselves are determined by something called a combat deck which is effectively a completely customizable movelist once a character has enough experience each stance in a combat deck can accommodate up to three chained attacks that go in sequence from left to right as well as one alternate attack since there are four stances a combat deck can consist of up to 12 chained attacks and 4 alternate attacks for a potential total of 16 attacks in a deck each attack has to start in a certain stance and ends in a different one which allows players to chain more than just one stance s worth of attacks in a row consequently a combat deck can be built to player preference either to flow around the entire deck for a continuous barrage or have several smaller combos whichever the player prefers there are so many different ways to build a combat deck that it s either very daunting or very exciting to tinker with the huge number of options available and i haven t yet mentioned that every individual move in the game also has their own unique animations power speed range and can have other special attributes such as guardbreaking super armour or whether it can avoid certain moves during the attack to name a few the amount of variation possible between different combat decks is dizzying thankfully it doesn t have to be complex players can simply choose to have less moves in their combat deck there s less potential for interesting synergies and movesets but it s still entirely effective and much easier to work with what makes this system work so well are the alternate attacks which are what allow the system to feel fluid players can use an alternate attack at any point during their attack sequence which switches their stance and allows them to do an almost infinite variety of different combinations using their moveset even with the base number of attacks in a deck one sequence attack and one alternate attack per stance for a total of 8 different attacks the player has access to a staggering number of options and the bigger the combat deck the more options the player has this might come at the risk of not having the right move at the right time still player preference rules here and it really is trial and error figuring out what works best for the player s preferred playstyle weapons also feature in absolver as of this writing you can choose from a variety of swords and war gloves absolver s version of deadly punching gloves you can find poor quality versions of these weapons out in the world they are common and are lost permanently once they break there are also better weapons you can unlock from a few bosses in the game or by participating in pvp combat trials these ones are kept by the player and can be summoned any time players have the requisite shards wielding a weapon does two things first it changes the player s combat deck to a different one corresponding to the weapon in hand second damage types change sword weapons in particular have cut damage which hurts defending players even if they re blocking it can be disorienting at first but that s the point if a moveset becomes predictable weapons literally add a whole new moveset to a player s in combat repertoire to counter that predictability it s a wonderful way to mix things up and inject tension into a fight what makes weapons even more exciting is that the wielder can drop the weapon if they re attacked enough giving their opponent a chance to use that weapon against them it s great fun and the first time an enemy equips a weapon against you is an alarming moment it s also amazing when you kill someone using their sword against them the weapons break relatively quickly however and if it s a player s weapon they must wait a reasonable amount of time before they can summon it again although all that sounds incredibly complicated it boils down to this the player can push one of two buttons to attack the player can choose what the buttons do before fights and combo a variety of cool flashy attacks in a row almost effortlessly this is also supported by gold chaining a mechanic where timing your attacks properly allows you to attack at blurring speeds this rewards players who are practiced and comfortable with their fighting style and punishes panicked button mashing with a slower sequence of attacks it s simple at the outset but incredibly deep and nuanced which causes absolver to stand out amongst its genre it s also very satisfying since the sounds of punches and successful gold chained attacks mix together to create visceral powerful feedback for the player on every hit this is especially the case on a controller with a vibration feature which gives combat tactile feedback as well as audiovisual players do not have access to all of the attacks from the get go in fact it s quite the opposite new characters have access to barely enough moves to fill a their small combat deck additional moves must be learned through defending yourself successfully against the attacks you want to know it s an interesting design choice the only way to use a move is if you know how to defend against it forcing the player to learn how to deal with an attack before they re allowed to use it if an attack was truly overpowered or unbeatable no one would be able to learn it in the first place someone using an attack has figured out how to deal with the attack defend against it and then beat the opponent using it it s also likely due to the nature of the xp bar you re attempting to fill the player in question has likely defeated that attack strategy multiple times so must you if you want to use it players have 3 defensive options available to them at any time blocking dodging and style defenses blocking is simple enough the player blocks so long as they hold the button down blocking an attack costs stamina with weaker attacks using less stamina to block than bigger ones dodging is a quick movement in a direction of the player s choice dodging is quick and costs a small amount of stamina to use but is has no invincibility frames this means it s a purely positional defense if the player makes a mistake it s usually punished by the attack they meant to dodge in the first place style defenses come in several varieties unique to the style being used though they all have the same philosophical idea high risk high reward my second character used the forsaken style which has access to a directional parry if the parry was used properly i could stop an incoming attack from doing any damage gain a sizable chunk of stamina and briefly stun my opponent this opened them up to my own counter offensive if i chose now possible thanks to the stamina boost i mentioned before there are a couple of catches however first if i parried in the incorrect direction the attack would just smack me second the timing had to be on point too early or too late i d open myself up to the attack i wanted to avoid or the next one after that at the time of this writing all of the styles have their own version of this kahlt users can absorb blow after blow windfall users have a more precise version of dodging that can slow enemies and stagger users can avoid their enemy while attacking in the same maneuver the specifics for each ability require patience and practice to learn but they all share the same design philosophy good usage of the ability can completely turn a fight around at a risk by blocking dodging or using style maneuvers you gain move experience blocking gives the least move experience while style maneuvers give heaps of it instead it s not a bad system but it is designed for a patient player there might not be sufficient justification for forcing players to spend time looking around world studying enemies and spending a large amount of time just defending against attacks that might or might not happen due to fickle ai behaviours alternatively you can join a school for a temporary fix schools are the closest thing absolver has to clans or guilds schools are founded by experienced players who can then invite other players to the school as students students have access to combat decks provided by the teacher which allows them to use moves they might not otherwise know so long as they use the teacher provided combat deck that s all though the unknown moves in the teacher deck aren t properly learned and are unusable outside of the provided combat deck schools then are designed as systems to provide a way for newer less experienced players a temporary shortcut to more powerful moves or allow experienced players to learn new combat styles in short if you want to learn something permanently you have to do it the hard way what this all boils down to is a combat system that s easy to start off with but introduces a incredible number of options as players get more into the game it s easy to get invested at the start though as well as the great visual and aural hook at the start the mechanics beg to be explored and the mechanically satisfying combat almost carries the game entirely as an additional note the clothing the player wears also affects their combat prowess in 2 different ways clothing protects a player obviously the heavier the armour the more protection the clothing affords this can help reduce the damage of enemies a significant amount and it s one of the few ways to reduce weapon based cut damage clothing is also the sole way to change the character s mobility rating which affects the damage of mobility based attacks and stamina regeneration typically a player wearing heavy armour will recover stamina more slowly and deal less damage than players wearing lighter clothing it s a neat design choice as it means that newer equipment is not objectively always a good idea to equip but it does somewhat lessen the excitement of discovering new items this causes a problem that i ll get into soon later but in the mean time just remember that new gear isn t always a reason to celebrate the multiplayer is one of the most marketed parts of the game and for good reason for one absolver is a fighting game fighting games thrive on the competition between players first and foremost as a result there are the matchmade combat trials which are accessible at any altar in the game world at the time of this writing there s only a 1 v 1 combat mode available in the combat trials sloclap have announced a 3 v 3 combat mode coming as free dlc in the near future and additional modes later on down the line but those aren t out yet and as a result i can only speak to my experience in the 1 v 1 mode the 1 v 1 combat trials pair the player against an opponents of similar character level in a closed arena closely ...