I’ll be honest: when I first heard about a game that mixes Resident Evil Zero with Star Fox, I squinted. Those two things live in completely different corners of my brain. One is about managing ink ribbons and wondering why you left a partner behind in a creepy train. The other is about doing barrel rolls while a fox tells you to do a barrel roll. But here we are, and the result is something called Absolum, a new Steam title that somehow makes this pairing feel less like a fever dream and more like a genuine good time.
What the Heck Is Absolum?
Developed by Absolum (yes, the game and the studio share a name), this title drops you into a world where you pilot a starfighter through waves of enemy ships, but you also have to get out of your cockpit and explore derelict space stations on foot. The on-foot sections are where the survival horror DNA kicks in. You’re scavenging for ammo, managing a limited inventory, and dealing with claustrophobic corridors that feel ripped straight out of a Nintendo 64-era Resident Evil.
The space combat, meanwhile, is pure arcade shooter. Think Star Fox 64’s on-rails segments, but with a bit more freedom to dodge and weave. You’ve got a boost meter, a lock-on system for missiles, and the satisfying feeling of watching an enemy cruiser explode into a thousand particles. It’s not trying to be a sim. It’s trying to make you feel like a hotshot pilot who also has to worry about finding a first aid spray.
Why This Mashup Works
Here’s the thing about blending genres: it usually fails when the two halves feel like separate games glued together. Absolum avoids this by making the survival horror elements feed directly into the combat. You’re not just exploring for lore—you’re looking for ship upgrades, better weapons, and fuel cells to keep your fighter running. If you skip the creepy station sections, your ship stays weak, and the space combat gets punishing.
The inventory management is also smartly streamlined. You’re not juggling 20 different herbs and keys. You’ve got a few weapon slots, a healing item, and a spot for key items. It’s closer to Resident Evil Zero’s item drop system, where you sometimes have to leave things behind and come back for them later. But the game respects your time—there are save points and teleporters, so you’re not trudging through the same hallway ten times.
The Visuals and Vibe
Graphically, Absolum goes for a low-poly, PS1-inspired aesthetic. Characters are blocky, textures are crunchy, and the color palette leans hard into greens, grays, and sickly yellows. It’s clearly a deliberate choice to evoke that late-90s Capcom and Nintendo era. If you grew up with a N64 or a PlayStation, this will hit a specific nostalgia nerve. The sound design leans into it too—creaking metal, distant alarms, and a soundtrack that swaps between tense ambient drones and guitar-heavy combat riffs.
It’s not going to win any awards for graphical fidelity, but that’s not the point. The point is atmosphere, and Absolum nails the feeling of being alone in a dark place, whether that place is a haunted space station or the void between stars.
What the Early Access Looks Like
As of now, Absolum is in Early Access on Steam. That means you’re getting about four to five hours of content, with the promise of more chapters down the line. The current build includes two major space combat levels and three explorable stations. There are a handful of enemy types, a few boss fights, and a story that’s just intriguing enough to make you want to see where it goes.
The developers have a roadmap that includes new weapons, additional stations, and a harder difficulty mode. They’re also planning to add more enemy variety, which is good, because the current roster starts to feel repetitive after a couple of hours. The core loop is solid, but it needs more meat on its bones to justify repeated playthroughs.
Who This Is For
If you’re the kind of person who has fond memories of Resident Evil Zero’s train section but wishes you could occasionally blast things from a cockpit, this is for you. It’s also for anyone who loves Star Fox but wants more exploration and tension between the shooting galleries. It’s not a hardcore survival horror game—you won’t be doing tank controls or ink ribbon management—but it borrows the right pieces to make the experience feel tense without being frustrating.
It’s also a good pick if you’re tired of games that take 60 hours to finish. Absolum respects your evening. You can boot it up, play through a station and a space battle, and feel like you accomplished something in an hour.
The Skeptic’s Take
Early Access always comes with caveats. The game is buggy in spots—I had an enemy clip through a wall during a boss fight, and the inventory menu sometimes takes a second too long to open. The on-foot combat is also a bit clunky. You’ve got a pistol and a melee attack, but the melee hit detection is loose, and the pistol lacks punch. The space combat is where the game shines, and the survival horror sections can feel like a chore when you’re low on health and just want to get back to your ship.
There’s also the question of replayability. Once you’ve seen the stations and beaten the bosses, there’s not much reason to go back unless you’re chasing achievements. The developers have plans, but plans don’t always pan out in Early Access. It’s a risk you take.
What Comes Next
The full release is tentatively set for late 2025, and the developers are active on the Steam forums, taking feedback and patching bugs. If the roadmap holds, Absolum could grow into something special. For now, it’s a promising proof of concept—a game that understands what made those old Resident Evil and Star Fox games tick, and isn’t afraid to mash them together in weird, wonderful ways.
If you’re curious, grab it on sale or wait for a bigger content update. Either way, keep an eye on this one. It might just be the weirdest good game you play this year.
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