I had the doubt of whether to absolve needs to be always connected to the internet. I often play on a laptop and have no connection. I would like to know if the game will require me to be connected to the internet to know if I buy it

Where did you get the idea it needs permanent connection?

^ This might be the reason: Developers repeatedly stated that this is a "multiplayer game", with some PvE features.

That said, I don't know the answer to the question.

EDIT: One easy and effective solution is to NOT pre-order this (or any) game.

The game's page states "No activation or online connection required to play", as per GOG norm. For the time being Gwent is I think the only non-DRM-free game on GOG.

Yep, but it also says on the game page that there's a single player mode, stating only that multiplayer requires Galaxy.

I forget who, but somebody posted this on the Discord server. The left picture is the poster used for Steam, the right one is the one used for GOG. Not sure this is really relevant to the thread, but I found it amusing.

Kudos to the devs/publisher I guess? They know their audience well :)

Developers have pretty much always been saying Absolver is primarily an online experience, which can lead to the impression that single-player/offline is nothing but an afterthought. Heck, even their subtitle/tag line is "Online Melee Action" -- be it in trailers, official stuff or on their own official website in huge letters under the game's title. Though we're all working under assumptions, here, I think they're trying to make it pretty clear Absolver is mostly an online game that can also be played as a single-player title. Whether it works without an always-on internet connection, or not, devs and publisher haven't made that clear, yet; Devolver has been doing regular Absolver streams with devs on their official twitch channel, so you're better off asking people there, when you happen to catch them live.

I wouldn't hold my breath, though. Their heavy promotion of the game as "Online Melee Action" is cause for worry, if you ask me.

I have looked at the steam version and it requires permanent connection. But in gog it is only necessary to play online.

I believe that in steam it will have permanent connection and in gog no.

This seems very serious, the version of gog would be very much superior without drm so abusive.

What's your source on this? I've also been looking for info, but all I could find was conjecture.

Quoting myself on this:
"I've done some searching and from what I can tell from interviews and player experiences the multiplayer set-up is similar to that of Dark Souls. Singleplayer and multiplayer take place in the same 'world' so you can go through the game offline if you want, but when you're online you can encounter other players and doing so is encouraged.

Interview: http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2017/02/interview_trading_blows_with_upcoming_ps4_fighter_absolver
Can Absolver be played offline? Can players choose to explore the world alone if they want?

Absolver can be played offline, for the players who are mostly interested in discovering the game world and learning about the story. However, the core experience is really based on multiplayer, whether it's the combat or the social components, so we recommend playing online!
And some steam threads:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/473690/discussions/0/364043054108397095/
http://steamcommunity.com/app/473690/discussions/0/2217311444344384937/

Mouse and keyboard controls are also supported and there'll be customizable keybindings."

It has been said that the the endgame is PVP centric, but it's unclear whether this refers to content exclusive to PVP, if said content could be played through with bots, or whether there is no special content but fighting each other is the only remaining challenge at that point.
Estimates I've seen on the amount of story content put it at around 8 hours. Free DLC is planned for after release, but it is unclear how much PVE this will add. It's a really combat centric game though, so story content might not be that important.

It clearly states it in the video they put here. Also it is broadcast everywhere that it is an online only experience. So what you will effectively get here is a vastly inferior product, like armello, with a tiny offline portion.

My advice for people, do not go near this at all otherwise you are just helping lay the foundations for gog new drm and galaxy only service.

Gwent is the only fully online at th moment game (yeah, there is going to be an offline at some point in the future possibly), but there is also goblins inc, witcher adventure game, armello, and this one, which push the window of offline drm free gaming as far as defendable possible.

The thing is you can't have an organised, controlled and moderated online gaming environment without some kind of account based authentication. Its not Digital Rights Management, but Access Management.

So there has to be a choice: You either accept this reality, like GoG has, and create the least intrusive system they can to support this need or you don't stock the game.

Personally I'd love all games like this to have the option for a private server or LAN option as standard, but for some types of games that's unlikely. I'd also like to see GoG develop some kind of sub account system for families so that family members can have profiles.

But as others have said, this game will have an offline single player option, but at its core it is a online multiplayer experience.

So make your choice.

Me, I'm gobsmacked this game is coming to GoG. I'm glad it is, though not sure I want it I'll buy it for my Daughter.

Devolver is streaming Absolver right now on their own twitch channel. Feel free to drop by and ask them if the GOG version requires permanent internet connection. I tried asking, but the only reply I got (from a viewer, not an admin or Devolver representative) was "classic gog", probably referencing how this community gives off the impression of being a bunch of jaded old farts that'll bitch and moan about everything that isn't the original Fallouts or Baldur's Gate.

To be fair to people outside the GOG Forum community, maybe we should rethink the way we go and talk about things, because what people think about us is mostly correct.

Bottom line is that I'm still not sure the GOG version of Absolver will have a full offline mode. It probably will, or so does say on the game's GOG page, but will it end up being just a gimped version of the game? I mean, it's clearly being developed with online and social aspects in mind, playing it solo offline is far from the experience the devs intended. I've been watching a few streams of Absolver on Devolver's channel and I honestly can't see it working this good and seamlessly offline. Most of the "NPCs" that we encounter are other players, I don't think I've ever seen an in-game coded NPC, just mobs.


[EDIT] I mentioned the lack of NPCs because one of the main focuses of the game is this "mentor-student" relationship; we encounter mentors and students on our way to become an absolver. If there are no offline NPCs, the only way we can get mentors and students is by going online and playing with other people, thus rendering the fully offline version "inferior", especially considering this mentor-student relationship is supposed to be a huge part of whatever story the devs are including in the game (the path to become an absolver).

Quite happy with that thanks, rather than than some coffee swilling androgenous job-shy leftie :o)