Absolute Blue

About

Absolute Blue is a single player arcade shooter game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Intermediaware and was released on April 21, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Sidescrolling Shoot’em’up that will transport you back into the 90s (and space).

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

63%

Audience ScoreBased on 27 reviews

emotional1 positive mentions

music3 negative mentions

Atmospheric horror style with a unique and thought-provoking storyline exploring themes like loneliness and moral dilemmas.
Quality graphics and sound track that create nostalgic, retro vibes reminiscent of 90s-era shoot 'em ups with appealing colors and music.
Challenging but enjoyable gameplay for hardcore fans of the shoot 'em up genre, especially on keyboard or mouse controls.

Technical issues including lag, unstable controls, freezing menus, lack of controller support, and inconsistent mouse acceleration.
Outdated presentation with low resolution, limited modern aspect ratios, simplistic and slow gameplay with little enemy variety.
Frustrating progression due to poorly balanced difficulty spikes, lack of checkpoints, and awkward control responsiveness leading to frequent deaths.

graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The graphics are generally described as outdated or mid-90s era with some charm, featuring pseudo-3D and photo-realistic attempts that suffer from technical issues and lack the appeal of more stylized visuals. While the art style can be nostalgic, many find the graphics unimpressive and not a strong point of the game.
- “With its pseudo-3D graphics and a rockin' soundtrack.”
- “Awesome game, I love it, old school bullet hell twitch shooter, great music, good graphics, hard and challenging but not insane.”
- “The mid-90's-ish pre-rendered graphics have some charm, and the music is decent, but the gameplay just bored me.”
- “Atari Jaguar graphics and sound.”
- “This is a rather lackluster shoot em up overall; the gameplay is pedestrian but passable, visuals have a photo-realistic look (from a below average camera) that has nowhere near the graphic appeal of more hand-drawn examples in the genre.”
- “I was getting graphics errors when starting the game in 4k, and when quitting the game in 1080.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The music in the game is generally seen as decent and fitting, with some players enjoying its rockin' soundtrack, though others find it generic and forgettable. Overall, it complements the retro style but doesn't stand out significantly.
- “With its pseudo-3D graphics and a rockin' soundtrack.”
- “Awesome game, I love it, old school bullet hell twitch shooter, great music, good graphics, hard and challenging but not insane.”
- “While the music doesn't fare as bad, it is generic in composition and nothing that you would recall five minutes after turning the game off, which will likely be sooner rather than later with so many other better options out there.”
- “Music 2/10”
- “The mid-90's-ish pre-rendered graphics have some charm, and the music is decent, but the gameplay just bored me.”
gameplay
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The gameplay is generally considered lackluster and pedestrian, offering a passable but uninspiring shoot 'em up experience. While the visuals have a nostalgic charm with mid-90s pre-rendered graphics, they lack the appeal of more stylized alternatives, contributing to an overall boring gameplay feel.
- “This is a rather lackluster shoot 'em up overall; the gameplay is pedestrian but passable, visuals have a photo-realistic look (from a below average camera) that lacks the graphic appeal of more hand-drawn examples in the genre.”
- “The mid-90's-ish pre-rendered graphics have some charm, and the music is decent, but the gameplay was boring.”
- “Visuals have some charm, but overall gameplay is a bit lacking.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The story aspect of the game is seen as minimal and somewhat superficial, with some users suggesting the addition of more progression elements or checkpoints to enhance casual play. Overall, the narrative feels patterned after classic shooters like Gradius, offering little depth beyond a basic premise.
- “Let me regale to you a story about this game and what it feels like.”
- “Add story/progression so it would feel more casual with checkpoints.”
- “Plus it's just Gradius with a different name and a story, and not so much flying naked women attacking you.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from stability issues, with frequent freezes occurring on the menu screen after dying, making it impossible to select any options.
- “For me, the game freezes on the menu after dying, making it impossible to choose any option.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express frustration with the game's emotional impact, particularly feeling angered by mechanics like instant death upon touching walls, which undermines immersion and enjoyment.