Dotemu has been developing and publishing games for 18 years now, but one could argue the company put itself in the spotlight with 2020’s excellent Streets of Rage 4. Since then, the suite has continued to collaborate with an array of developers for arcade-fueled projects, from the re-release of Zombies Ate My Neighbors to a sequel to Windjammers.
Now, five years later, Dotemu’s current lineup shows signs of breezy confidence in playing to its strengths in different ways. It’s partnering with massive properties such as Marvel, but it’s also tinkering with new ideas, all the while continuing to work with independent devs.
I got to play Absolum, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, and Marvel Cosmic Invasion at Summer Game Fest, split between two demos of 15 minutes each and one of 30 minutes, respectively. While these were merely glimpses at what Dotemu and company have been working on, the experience provided an interesting big picture of the direction the French studio is taking.
Absolum
My session started with my personal highlight. Absolum, a roguelite beat ‘em up, is being developed by Guard Crush, Supamonks, and Dotemu, the latter also acting as publisher alongside Gamirror Games. The main draw is that the brawler is set in an original fantasy world, mixing a modern presentation with a DNA that feels closer to what you’d find in an arcade.
From my short time with it, it seems Absolum is living up to the pitch. The structure is similar to your usual roguelite, starting from a hub with NPCs that offer a plethora of upgrades in exchange of resources, and then off you go into a new run. From the get-go, you can pick between two different paths, with a map offering a glance of what you’ll encounter in each “room” along the way.
Getting through them equals a bunch of combat, and thankfully, it’s as snappy as it should be. Punches have weight, it’s both easy and satisfying to air juggle enemies. You know, the works. I didn’t get to see much of new mechanics, aside from a focus on using heavy attacks right before a hit lands on you to deflect them, as well as dodging on time to perform a parry. But simply button mashing my way through smackdowns cost me a run fairly early on, for which I’m glad.
Absolum can be played both solo and in co-op mode. As of now, the developers have only shown three characters. I got to try two of them, and it was a good showcase of how different they can be, contrasting the blunt force of the dwarf against the swiftness of a rogue that can turn one of their arms into a grappling hook.
While beat ‘em ups are far from getting to a point of saturation, there’s no shortage of roguelites. It’ll be interesting to see what Absolum can offer to the genre aside from a gorgeous art style and a tight mechanical presentation.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
I stepped into Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound without following the initial tutorial, jumping straight into what the developers told me was the second mission of the full game. From the start, you can tell that this is being made by The Game Kitchen, developers of the illustrious Blasphemous games, alongside Dotemu and Joystick acting as publishers. It’s evident from how much style the pixel art oozes, as well as platforming being as good as it is.
Even though I didn’t take part in the very introduction to Ragebound, the bulk of the level revolved around two mechanics that seemed to be integral to the overall experience: attacking projectiles in mid air while jumping to avoid getting damage and gaining some momentum for longer jumps, and defeating special enemies that grant a buff to kill armored foes.
Overall, it’s shaping up to be a very classic take on the series during its 8-bit era, although it seems the pursuit of a skill ceiling isn’t sidelined. This was proved by a boss fight that I could barely make a dent on. (I was reassured by a developer that it’s the intended outcome, but maybe they were just being nice.)
The Game Kitchen’s strengths are tied to labyrinthine maps and a methodical approach at unveiling every nook and cranny searching for secrets and upgrades. In that sense, Ragebound seems more straightforward. But if the devs can strike a balance between both extremes, it could be a welcoming change of pace – especially against Ninja Gaiden 4.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion
When I sat down to play this demo, a developer asked me if I had played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge before. That’s the best comparison for Marvel Cosmic Invasion, a beat ‘em up designed to be blazed through by anyone.
It makes sense, too, considering Tribute Games is behind the development of both, with Dotemu and Gamirror Games acting as publishers. Unlike Absolum, I spent most of my time during the two stages I got to play just mashing buttons, looking at my health bar only on occasion.
This time around, Marvel is the one main draw, and it’s easy to tell how much fun the developers are having with designing their own takes on a selection of 15 characters, ranging from their move sets to the animations for each. I went with Venom and Wolverine during my first run, and the former was clearly made with an enthusiasm for the more vicious side of the character, in the best possible way.
Out of all three games, Cosmic Invasion seems like the one game to be purposefully stuck in time. It’s a beat ‘em up that allows you to turn your brain off for a bit and just focus on clearing out enemies from the screen one after the other, and honestly, sometimes that’s all you need. At the very least, Dotemu and company are definitely catering to different ideas and play styles, whether that is with existing properties or entire new worlds.
