A 16-bit descent into a drowning Atlantis
Abathor is a side-scrolling action platformer set during the fall of Atlantis, where the gods have unleashed demons and monsters to destroy the continent. Four heroes arrive to close the Gates of Abathor. The game draws on classics like Golden Axe, Rastan, and Castlevania IV, mixing hack-and-slash combat with precision platforming across more than 50 stages of rising difficulty. Expect traps, pits, chilling abysses, ferocious demons, flying beasts, crawling horrors, and vicious bosses at the end of runs. The pixel art is elaborate, and the soundtrack runs to over 40 tracks made by classic-era musicians. Lore is drawn from Plato's writings and Athanasius' map.
Playing together on the couch
Abathor supports up to 4 players in local mode, and Remote Play Together lets friends join over the internet as if they were on the same couch. The group cooperates to push through stages and bring down bosses, but there is a competitive edge: heroes also compete for loot and spoils, plundering treasures and offering them to the gods to earn favor. So a run is shared survival plus a race for rewards. Progress is saved when you defeat bosses, which matters given the difficulty.
What to know before starting
This is a difficult game with roguelite influences, so expect to die and retry. Stages increase in difficulty as you go, and the mix of platforming and combat demands careful movement as much as fast reactions. It works solo or with a group, and the local multiplayer is the intended way to play together. The retro 16-bit presentation carries influences from metroidvania and beat 'em up games, which shows in how stages are structured and how encounters play out.