Sloclap

Sloclap is an independent video-game studio based in Paris, France. The company was formed in 2015 by developers who had previously worked at Ubisoft Paris, including on projects associated with the Watch Dogs and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series. From its beginning, the studio defined itself through a focus on responsive, expressive combat rather than conventional shooting mechanics or heavily scripted action. Its central design idea was that combat should feel fluid and dynamic, with player movement functioning as an important part of the weapon system and each encounter resembling a form of choreography. The studio's first major project was Absolver, a martial-arts-themed action role-playing game developed with Unreal Engine 4. Sloclap began work on the game in May 2015 and publicly revealed it in 2016. The game was presented at that year's Electronic Entertainment Expo with Devolver Digital as publisher and attracted attention for combining hand-to-hand combat, exploration, cooperative play, and player-versus-player encounters. Rather than assigning every character a fixed set of attacks, Absolver allowed players to construct a combat deck from individual moves. Players could combine strikes, parries, feints, and stance changes to develop personalized fighting styles, while progression added equipment, weapons, and further combat options. Absolver was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows on August 29, 2017, and later became available on Xbox One. Its design distinguished it from many contemporary action games through its emphasis on timing, stamina, spacing, movement, and the study of an opponent's behavior. Critics generally regarded its combat system and visual identity as distinctive, although reception varied by platform. The project also established Sloclap's reputation as a studio willing to build an entire game around a specialized mechanical concept rather than treating martial arts as a superficial theme. Sloclap subsequently became associated with Sifu, a single-player action game centered on kung fu combat and a supernatural aging mechanic. The title extended the studio's interest in readable animation, demanding melee encounters, and mastery through repetition. Across its work, Sloclap's positioning has rested on authored action experiences with distinctive combat systems, stylized presentation, and a high level of player involvement. The company operates as a game developer rather than a publicly listed publisher or diversified entertainment group. Its projects have been marketed internationally through platform storefronts and publishing relationships, while the studio itself remains identified primarily with premium action games.

Sloclap emerged in Paris in 2015 as an independent studio formed by former Ubisoft Paris developers. The founding team brought experience from large-scale commercial game development, but the studio's own creative direction was more focused: it wanted to make action games in which movement, timing, and close-range combat were the main sources of depth. The early design language surrounding the company's first project described combat as a dance and movement as a weapon. This emphasis became the foundation of Sloclap's identity. The studio began developing Absolver in May 2015. The project was conceived as a martial-arts action role-playing game set in the fictional land of Adal, a world shaped by the collapse of an empire. Players take the role of Prospects, fighters seeking to prove themselves worthy of joining the Absolvers, a peacekeeping order. The narrative framework supported a game structure that combined free exploration with single-player, cooperative, and competitive encounters. Absolver's most distinctive feature was its combat-deck system. Instead of relying solely on a fixed character moveset, players assembled attacks and defensive responses from cards representing individual moves. Different stances changed the attacks available at each point in a sequence, allowing players to construct combinations suited to their preferred approach. Progression also introduced equipment, weapons, fighting styles, and additional moves. The resulting system sought to make experimentation and adaptation central to the experience. Sloclap announced Absolver in May 2016 and showed it publicly at that year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. Devolver Digital served as publisher. Preview coverage frequently highlighted the unusual depth of the combat system and compared its demanding encounters with elements of difficult action role-playing games and competitive fighting games. The title also received attention for its stylized art direction and its decision to make hand-to-hand combat the center of an online-capable action game rather than using firearms as the primary means of engagement. Absolver launched for PlayStation 4 and Windows on August 29, 2017, and subsequently reached Xbox One. Reviews were mixed to average for the PlayStation 4 version and generally favorable for the PC version according to cited review aggregation. The game nevertheless established Sloclap as a notable independent developer. It received award-season nominations, including recognition in action and fighting-game categories, and gave the studio a clear creative profile built around original combat mechanics. Sloclap later expanded this creative direction with Sifu, a kung-fu action game that further emphasized animation, timing, repetition, and mastery. The company's broader history therefore reflects continuity rather than a succession of unrelated genres: its games use martial-arts combat as a framework for exploring player learning, precision, and physical expression. Sloclap remains an independent French developer whose work is distributed to an international audience through console and PC platforms.

• 2017

  Absolver releases

  [1]Absolveren.wikipedia.org

  Absolver launched on PlayStation 4 and Windows on August 29, later also becoming available on Xbox One.

• 2016

  Absolver is announced

  [1]Absolveren.wikipedia.org

  Sloclap announced Absolver in May and presented it at the 2016 Electronic Entertainment Expo with Devolver Digital as publisher.

• 2015

  Sloclap begins development of Absolver

  [1]Absolveren.wikipedia.org

  The Paris-based studio began work on its first game, Absolver, with a design goal centered on fluid, choreographed martial-arts combat.

Independent developer focused on stylish, mechanically demanding action games, especially titles built around expressive martial-arts combat, movement, timing, and player mastery.

• Action role-playing game · 2017

  Absolver

  Absolver is a martial-arts-themed action role-playing game set in the fictional land of Adal. Players control Prospects who explore the world, fight computer-controlled opponents and other players, and seek acceptance into the Absolver peacekeepers. Its defining feature is a combat deck that lets players arrange individual strikes, parries, feints, and stance-dependent moves into personalized combinations. The game supports free-roaming exploration as well as cooperative and competitive encounters, with progression providing equipment, weapons, styles, and additional combat options.

• Action game

  Sifu

  Sifu is a martial-arts action game associated with Sloclap's continuing focus on close-range combat, movement, timing, and player mastery. It extends the studio's interest in demanding fights and stylized presentation through a kung-fu setting and a progression concept built around aging and repeated attempts. The game is primarily structured as a single-player action experience and represents Sloclap's move from the online-capable systems of Absolver toward a more concentrated, authored campaign.

• 2016

  Partner with Devolver Digital for AbsolverProduct launch

  Background

  After developing and announcing its debut game, Sloclap needed a publishing and distribution partner for its international console and PC release.

  Action taken

  Sloclap presented Absolver with Devolver Digital as publisher at the 2016 Electronic Entertainment Expo.

  Aftermath

  The partnership helped bring the studio's debut title to a broad international audience.

  Source

• 2015

  Build the studio around expressive melee combatStrategy

  Background

  Sloclap's initial project was developed around the idea that fighting should feel fluid and dynamic, with movement functioning as a core part of the player's attack and defense.

  Action taken

  The studio designed Absolver around customizable combat decks, stance transitions, timing, and hand-to-hand encounters rather than conventional ranged combat.

  Aftermath

  This decision established the creative identity that distinguished Sloclap in independent game development and shaped its later martial-arts projects.

  Source

1. 1Absolveren.wikipedia.org
2. 2Sloclap official websitesloclap.com