Apparently some people call beat ’em ups “brawlers” which just doesn’t track for me. Sounds too much like they’re talking about “Super Smash Bros. Brawl” or something.

The genre has been around since the early ’80s, and was primarily birthed from the arcades, perfected in the arcades with licensed properties, and eventually died a slow death in the early 2000s on consoles. I’m not sure 3D beat ’em ups ever really figured themselves out, since there was character action hack and slash titles like “God of War” and “Devil May Cry” as a much more popular (and better) off-shoot. “Bayonetta” would work as a 2D side-scroller, but it’s so much more meant for 3D.

But ever since I played The Behemoth’s “Castle Crashers” with my friends in 2008, I knew it was not only the next evolution of what the genre could be, but maybe the single best beat ’em up ever made. It combined co-op madness and friendly competition with well-paced levels, a quirky art style, RPG progression, and a healthy amount of content (and jokes) to become a smash sensation in its own right.

Of course, nothing since has really tried to push the genre into different directions. There were just legacy sequels that brought things back to the basics (“Double Dragon Neon,” “Scott Pilgrim”). We also got the quite exquisite “TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge” and the upcoming “Marvel Cosmic Invasion,” but those are just very polished and very attractive old-school traditional side-scrollers. Where is the innovation? The blending of genres and mechanics? The push forward into the modern age?

And I’m not just talking about the first-person boss fights in “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind.”

I played “Absolum” on my Switch 2, which is the perfect blending of beat ’em up, kickass art design, and roguelike runs with the standard roguelike drip feed upgrades. It feels snappy and impactful to do combos, it delivers a wondrous pace of new goodies to dive into, and has online matchmaking that finds people around your level and story progression.

“Absolum” does lean on the good ol’ “pick one of these perks” type of roguelike choices, but so far, all of the playable fighters I’ve unlocked have been equally fun and different enough to want to cycle through them each time. You’re always bound to level something up, purchase a new upgrade, or find a new path on the map. I pray this can be the start of a new style of beat ’em up in the same way “Hades” ushered in isometric combat to the mainstream.

My kingdom for a new “Castle Crashers” done in this way. Let’s hope the next wave of beat ’em ups continue to experiment and add in new ideas to keep one of the oldest genres alive and well.

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“Absolum” is available for PlayStation, Steam, and Switch.

Image Credit: “Absolum,” DotEmu