Devolver Digital and Sloclap just announced Absolver, an online combat RPG powered by Unreal Engine 4 and scheduled for PC and consoles in 2017.

　　Absolver puts players behind the mask of a Prospect, who has taken a sacred vow and chosen to join the Absolvers, an elite corps of combatants fighting to maintain stability in the world. Monitored by the Guides, the new rulers of the fallen Adal Empire, players will wander these forsaken lands and encounter other Prospects online in order to learn their place in this world and eventually become Absolvers. Along the way, they will learn new combat styles and attacks, and acquire better weapons, powers and armor. Battles between warriors are an intense real-time flow of attacks, dodges, feints and counters, with all aspects of gameplay customizable, including combat styles, weapons and even individual attack sequences in the player's Combat Deck. Build a team of warriors to fight side by side with you in the dungeon mines of Adal (PvE) or put your skill on display in dedicated combat arenas (PvP) scattered across the land.

　　Premise

　　In the ruins of the fallen Adal Empire, you awaken with a mysterious mask on your face, and faint recollections of an esoteric ceremony. Freeing you from hunger, thirst, and even death, the mask is the creation of the Guides, the rulers of these lands, who have placed you here to determine whether you are worthy of becoming part of the elite corps of Absolvers. As you wander these forsaken lands, encountering other Prospects like you, you will learn new combat styles, acquire weapons, gear and armor, and build a team of warriors with whom to fight side by side in Arenas of combat.

　　Features

　　Fluid Real-Time Combat: Position yourself in one of four tactical stances during real-time battles and execute devastating attacks, dodges, and parries. Movement becomes your weapon as you engage in solo duels or intense three-on-three melees battles.Customizable Style and Flow: Players will define their character’s playstyle by picking a combat style, a weapon of choice, and arranging attacks in their Combat Deck to design their unique and personal attack flow.Online Multiplayer Action and Narrative: Prospects and Absolvers will seamlessly encounter others in the world, generating unique stories that emerge through player interaction and choices. These moments are filled with tension as intentions to battle, trade, or befriend are never clear: trust is always a leap of faith. Encounters will have lasting consequences and transform into meaningful relationships as you make friends or enemies and find mentors or disciples.PvP and PvE: Explore a rich and dynamic world including dedicated PvP battle arenas where champions will receive spoils of victory and progress in the ranks of the Absolvers, and PvE dungeons in which players cooperatively battle to retrieve rare loot and equipment from the depth of the Adal mines.Absolver is the debut title of Sloclap, an indie studio based in Paris and formed by veteran designers who previously worked at Ubisoft on the Ghost Recon and Watch_Dogs series.

　　Pierre Tarno, creative lead at developer Sloclap, said:

　　The studio is excited to debut our first game with Devolver Digital and get it into the hands of gamers and media at E3; Absolver is the result of our combined experiences in game development and we believe that our team has created something special together. We think the world would be a much better place if there were no guns. Then we could finally focus on important things, like sword fighting and how to kill a man with one punch.

　　Devolver Digital CFO Fork Parker added:

　　Our extensive, international focus groups illustrate that people want to be able to punch faceless, nameless strangers over the internet. Absolver is going to be your digital outlet for real-time, fluid beatdowns of those that stand against you.

　　You'll be able to check the gameplay debut of Absolver on June 13 at 5PM Pacific via Twitch, but in the meantime check out the images and reveal trailer below.

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