Severed is one of the last real efforts that seems to utilize the Playstation Vita in an interesting way. If you feel in the mood for a somber romp through an Alice In Wonderland or Pan’s Labyrinth inspired setting you are in luck. With a unique battle system and a world that balances between hell and night terrors, Severed is here to impress.
Find them…
At the start of the game, you immediately get dropped into the world without any explanation. It doesn’t take long to put the pieces together and know what’s going on. You play as a girl named Sasha who lost her arm and got separated from her family in a vague incident. Now Sasha is on a quest to get back to her family in this hellish landscape. Severed has some heavy Alice in Wonderland/Pan’s labyrinth vibes to it. There are very few characters Sasha meets and all of them are mysterious and unsettling. The world Sasha explores has a history in which only a small fragment gets explained and unraveled. It makes the world feel bigger than what is actually seen. Severed tells its story very slowly and relaxed. While there is motivation and some strong emotional moments, Severed’s focus primarily lies in its gameplay and setting.
The game has a hellish feeling about it.
High speed slashing action.
Severed puts you in a first-person perspective exploring dungeons in the same vein as the Shin Megami Tensei games albeit with a bit more control. Players can look around in the room they are to solve puzzles or collect items. Puzzles aren’t that hard or complex and tend to usually revolve around pushing a switch to get through a door. Its easy puzzles don’t really challenge or make you think for an answer which just makes them feel like time wasters, instead of challenging the player to find a way to progress. Even so the puzzles don’t take too long so they’re not a hindrance to the experience. When walking around in dungeons the player will come across flames which are the game’s encounter triggers. There are no random encounters only a preset number of battles. The encounters will never change if you lose a battle which gives you the opperunity to change up tactics. The combat of Severed is where the real meat is. When the player runs into a flame, enemies will appear on screen. In order for you to defeat enemies, players need to swipe the screen to slash opponents. The longer your slashes are the more damage you do and enemies have their weak and strong points. Fights can be difficult with multiple enemies from every side and it’s up to you to choose which enemy to focus on first. Enemies attack you when a circle fills and when that happens you can parry their attack by slashing the way that the attack comes from. Bosses tend to play out like Punch Out!! matches with you countering attacks and then unleashing a barrage of attacks. Players can upgrade Sasha with new abilities and higher defense or mana. By collecting body parts you sever of off defeated enemies you gain resources to upgrade your stats and abilities. Aside from combat you will have to slice jars and pulling levers. The use of the touchscreen is great. The combat is incredibly fun and just when you think “it’s just swiping back and forth” Severed throws a new enemy at you that requires you to think and act in a new way keeping it fresh at all times.
Monsters alway require an interesting approach to defeat them.
Nightmarish beauty
Visually Severed is stunning. The art direction is similar to Drinkbox’s previous game Guacamelee. The color schemes are dark yet colorful. The environments look like ancient abandoned ruins and give the feeling that only a fraction of this world is explored. The monster designs are top-notch. Just about every monster looks disturbing and nightmarish. The music is one of the lesser elements in the game. While it’s not bad it doesn’t really stand out and with the exception of two or three tracks most of the music doesn’t really fit the setting of the game. Severed looks amazing. The use af colors and the creative monster designs make the game look amazing. Visually the game is one of the bests.
Bizarre characters and a mysterious world are the big appeal of severed.
Severed manages to deliver an amazing experience on almost all levels. The gameplay is fun and keeps throwing new and interesting ways for with could simply be described as swiping the screen. Visually the game is stunning with amazing designs, great use of colors and a sharp art style. The narrative is great and somber matching the dark visuals. It’s an amazing game that might be one of the last games that tries to actually utilize the Playstation Vita.
| The good: | The bad: |
| +amazing design | – simple puzzles. |
| +great gameplay | |
| +somber story |
4.5 out of 5:
