Last updated on August 6th, 2016

During E3 we had an opportunity to sit down with developer SloClap for a hands on playthrough of their upcoming combat RPG Absolver. We left the demo impressed with the experience but also with many questions. After a recent livestream that revealed more, we still had so much we wanted to know so we reached out to SloClap and had the pleasure of sitting down with Creative Lead, Pierre Tarno to discuss the game. Read on for what we learned!

FL: What does the game world in Absolver look like? How will the over-world look and how will you travel from place to place?

Pierre: The main part of exploration is located in an open map which is located near the ruins of a city that was once the capital of an empire that fell centuries before the story of the game. This will be the main environment you will be progressing in but there will be other environments, even though they are smaller. It’s very much interconnected, with different options for what you explore first, and shortcuts so in a way it is open and seamless. We want all areas of the game to feel as if they are a part of a consistent world so you will always have a feeling of place when you travel from one place to another.

FL: So are there any dungeons or does most of the action take place in the world?

Pierre: In the game you explore, meet other players, build relationships with them, and you can do some PvP game modes, and PvE co-op. We do intend to have additional content after release that would focus more on actual what you could call dungeons. Zones that are really focused on tackling PvE coop missions.

FL: How big will the story feature in the game? Games like Dark Souls are light on story whereas a game like Mass Effect is heavy. Where on the spectrum does Absolver fit?

Pierre: We will probably tend more towards a Dark Souls than Mass Effect. Although we’re not trying to make something that is as esoteric or obscure as the Dark Souls games. In Dark Souls it works because it’s a very dark fantasy setting in the world of the dead. Bloodborne has a nightmarish, dream feeling to it so it’s always quite vague. Our world is more of a low fantasy setting. It’s very much real stories about humans and their struggles rather than mythical tales about heroes and monsters. It’s a different type of story. Although everything will not be presented to the player. One of the main motivations is finding your place in the world, why you’re here and why the Empire fell apart.

FL: How long will the PvE story or campaign be?

Pierre: It’s too early too tell. It’s hard to say exactly how long the “story” will be, since in our game, exploration, story, PvP and PvE game modes are blended together, so you may find unexpected elements of story, driving the narrative forward, when you explore the world again after playing PvP or PvE. Also, the updates we will release will all make sense with the narrative and add minor or major elements to it. That being said, we are a small indie studio, and we like to focus on quality rather than quantity, so don’t expect 20 hours of cutscenes.

FL: Are there plans to have repeatable PvE content?

Pierre: We don’t have different modes like “Campaign” and “Multiplayer” that you choose from the main menu, in the game everything is seamless and integrated. You’ll be accessing both PvP and PvE game modes from the game world and all this is integrated and justified in the narrative. The beauty of PvP content is it’s endless. As long as the game is balanced you can play different modes as long as you want.

FL: What kind of rewards can players expect from defeating PvE enemies?

Pierre: Loot for sure, such as equipment pieces. We are presently working on how we dish rewards between PvE and PvP. All equipment has gameplay impact, and we are creating different equipment types. Learning attacks will be an important component as well as items and powers.

FL: Will there be crafting or upgrading?

Pierre: At this stage it’s too early to tell. We are going to do interesting stuff with weapons and with the combat deck. The idea is to be able to engrave moves on weapons. I don’t want to spoil too much about that but we can discuss that in the future when we have that feature in the game.

FL: How many different : How many different weapon types will there be?

Pierre: I don’t know. Haha. It will be…limited.

FL: So you are going to focus more on hand to hand?

Pierre: We want every weapon family we create to be as deep and interesting as the hand to hand combat and to have as much variety in the creation of combat decks so we don’t want to rush anything else. For the moment we have the sword and everything related to hand to hand such as gauntlets and gloves.

FL: Are there classes in the game?

Pierre: Not in the traditional sense. You start with a blank slate. You can build your own.

FL: What are the : What are the stats of the game and how will leveling work?

Pierre: To put it shortly stats will impact your gameplay parameters and the ability to use attacks you learned as efficiently as possible. When you’re in the combat deck customizing your moves and choosing sequence of attacks, the attacks you have there have stats. If you want to do the max damage with an attack you need the required stats. As you progress and invest xp in these stats you will be more and more efficient with the attacks you use and can use. Progression also impacts different things like health, stamina, etc.

FL: So you’ll be more proficient on certain moves and styles based on your stats.

Pierre: This fits into the whole concept of combat styles, creating a character or build with a playstyle that is unique or identifiable.

FL: That just screams replayability.

Pierre: Oh yes, you will want to try different types of builds.

FL: So will there be a way to respec your character?

Pierre: This is too early to tell.

FL: How many different moves will there be available in the combat deck?

Pierre: I won’t give any exact figures but in terms of moves there will be a lot. As for combat styles we have implemented currently three that are great fun to play, we’ll do more but it’s too early to tell. We’d rather launch with content that is polished and balanced and add stuff in updates down the line rather than rushing stuff out.

FL: What happens when you die? Are there penalties?

Pierre: This is something we’re currently discussing. We haven’t implemented or tested enough to have a definitive answer. It’s hard to say. There are different ways of dying, whether you fall at the hands of an NPC or a human player. We do want that engagement and tension in encounters because you could be losing something which is a good way to build pressure and importance to encounters, but we are still deciding how to do that.

FL: What are the rewards for defeating a human opponent? Will there be an experience reward?

Pierre: Yes an experience reward. It may be different between random encounters in the world or when you’re actually doing PvP game modes.

FL: Speaking of PvP there has been mention of a competitive arena. How will that be set up with matchmaking and rankings? Will there be scheduled events or tournaments?

Pierre: At launch our focus will be on providing players with matchmaking that allows them to play with people of their skillset and experience and so that everyone can have a fair and balanced and deep experience and this will all feed into leaderboards. I’m not sure if we will be able to have leagues and tournaments at launch but if in the first few months of release we see that the community really digs the PvP content and wants it to be more organized to have events we will certainly provide to the best of our abilities.

FL: Do you have a release date in mind?

Pierre: 2017 haha.

FL: Is it releasing on all platforms?

Pierre: We haven’t announced which consoles yet but we do intend to have a PC and console game at launch.

Keep checking with us for news and articles on this intriguing game both here and on the Absolver Wiki as it progresses in development towards its 2017 release!