Platform: Switch
Publisher: DrinkBox Studios
Developer: DrinkBox Studios
Genre: Action, Adventure, RPG
Players: 1
Release Date: August 08, 2017
Severed is actually the first title I ever played by Drinkbox Studios. I always read great things about their previous projects like Guacamelee and Mutant Blobs Attack, but I never really made an effort to play their games. That was until I first saw Severed. Before it was released on other platforms, I seriously considered picking up a PS Vita to play this game (and Persona 4 Golden). Long story short, I ended up playing it on my 3DS before the end of 2016. Now that Severed is on the Nintendo Switch, I was excited to dive back into its world and help Sasha slice enemies into pieces so that she could save her family.
Help Sasha Save Her Family From Purgatory
Severed seems to take place in an alternate reality where the world is a living nightmare and evil creatures roam freely. The game begins with you, Sasha, discovering her home has been ransacked and destroyed. Sasha is looking for her parents and her brother, who have all gone missing. Regardless of the fact that she is missing an arm, Sasha is determined to find her family. Armed with a mysterious sword and her mother’s teachings, she sets out on a quest to find her family and save them from this world.
The story of Severed is engaging without being in your face the entire time. Most of the story is told by small cutscenes that you discover as you progress throughout the game. Much of the dialogue is limited to a two-headed bird that seems to grow fond of you as it encounters you time and time again. It’s easy to follow the narrative, and Sasha’s motivations for finding her family are noble but depressing. Severed is a heavy title, with themes of sadness, death, and loneliness. Severed treats each of these themes with the respect and seriousness they deserve, and because of this, I believe the narrative of the game stands out as great.
Severed’s Beautifully Haunting World
In contrast to its narrative, the presentation of Severed is vibrant, colorful, and beautiful. The game uses a glossy color palette in depicting its skies, forests, and dungeons. The skies are a deep and saturated combination of purple, red, and pink, while forests are made up different shades of green. Monsters are made up of dark purples, blues, and shades of black. Each one of them is threatening, imposing, and detailed so they stand out from their environments. The monsters growl and snarl in ways that make them seem all around you. The sound of severing their limbs is somewhat satisfying. The soundtrack helps maintain the overall theme of the game with its visceral songs during battle and haunting jingles during exploration.
Severed, by virtue of the fact that it is a touchscreen only game, can only be played in handheld mode. Severed also does not feature any sort of Switch exclusive feature like HD Rumble. Performance on handheld mode was superb. Never once did I have a frame drop, hiccup, or other sorts of issues.
Severing Limbs While You’re Missing an Arm
Severed is a first-person dungeon crawler. You use the control sticks to point Sasha in the direction you want to walk, but other than that most of your time interacting with Severed will be with your finger. The gameplay of Severed can be compared to Fruit Ninja and Infinity Blade. You swipe across the screen to damage enemies in their weak spots, parry their attacks, and cut their limbs off. The game is kind enough to introduce you to these mechanics while you fight enemies one-on-one. After fighting more than one enemy at once, you will have to learn the patterns of each enemy in order to strategize when to focus your attention on them. You’ll have plenty of ways to learn either by the sounds they make, the way their bodies change, or by the flashing red meter that appears at the bottom of the screen.
Getting into the groove of parrying attacks, slashing the next enemy, and cutting off their limbs is exceedingly rewarding. Cutting limbs off is extra rewarding because they are directly related to how you upgrade Sasha’s abilities. The only way you can sever an enemy’s limbs is if you fill up Sasha’s focus meter, which is done by landing consecutive hits on enemies without being blocked or without killing them before the meter is full. If you accomplish this, you’ll have less than 2 seconds to sever their limbs before their bodies explode or disappear. Collecting these limbs lets you upgrade Sasha’s ability to do more damage, increase the time you have to sever limbs, and bolster your defense. On top of these upgrade systems, Sasha will later be able to charge her attacks and use magic spells that directly affect how you combat later enemies. Those enemies will have magic spells as well, and special defenses for protecting themselves from Sasha’s charge attacks. The gameplay of Severed is deceivingly simple; at first, it seems like a simple iPhone touch game, but as you are introduced to its later mechanics and varying enemies, it’s uniqueness is distinct.
Like I stated earlier, Severed is also a first-person dungeon crawler. Whenever you’re not fighting enemies, you’ll be walking around mysterious dungeons, temples, and castles, looking for keys, secrets, and items that will help you on your quest. Each area features a completion percentage, and reaching 100% is not such an easy task. There are plenty of secret areas and paths, and even challenge rooms for you to complete if you’re up for the challenge. I was able to beat the main story of Severed in about 6 hours. The narrative is relatively short, but the gameplay is addicting, rewarding, and exploring every inch of Severed’s world is worth your time.
Concerns
This is not so much of an issue with Severed, but with the way the game needs to be played on the platform it is on. The Switch is quite large, and Severed requires you to hold the game in one hand while you swipe with the other. Playing the game for extended periods of time without having something to lean your Switch on like a pillow or an armrest will become tiring. This is not the type of game I’d recommend playing on a bus or car ride.
Final Thoughts
Severed is an ominously beautiful title, with exceptionally addicting gameplay, and a quietly powerful narrative. I have no doubts about recommending Severed. It is truly one of my favorite games of this year, and I think it is a worthwhile addition to the Nintendo Switch’s constantly growing library of stellar indies. Severed is available on the Nintendo eShop for $14.99.
