Severed Reviews
Check out Severed Review Scores from trusted Critics below. With 22 reviews on CriticDB, Severed has a score of:
Few developers have a track record of excellence like DrinkBox Studios does. Their debut title, Tales from Space: About a Blob, was a highly polished platformer that was impressive on PS3, but didn’t quite make huge waves. That would change with its follow-up, Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, which was the highlight of the PlayStation Vita’s North American launch. Since then they’ve also released the excellent Metroidvania game Guacamelee! which is as stylish as it is fun to play. So naturally expectations have been very high surrounding the Ontario studio’s latest game Severed.
Despite being heavily stylised the world feels alive and I was often totally immersed into the game. Obviously the sound design contributes greatly in this sense. Enemy design is exceptional, blending the tone and style of the game with its gameplay. Sound here plays an important role again, cueing enemy attacks, powerups and more.
There’s a lot to like about Severed, and the comparisons that it draws to lighter fare by virtue of its slash and tap combat are often unfair. It relies on heavy symbolism and imagery in the way that a classic like Hyper Light Drifter does; it tells a story of universally recognisable themes in grief, loss, and family, and the dungeon crawling genre is an excellent vehicle to tell a story about the fear and hopelessness of being lost in an unfamiliar world. It has enough mechanical challenge to keep you entertained, and it draws on well-known design techniques with its light puzzle narrative…
A joy to behold from start to finish, Severed is an almost perfectly executed action-adventure title. With very successfully designed dungeons full of rewarding puzzles and a combat system that is pleasing to carry out, you’ll likely find yourself wishing you could play more of the game when it is over. That’s the only real downside – you’ll be finished with the main story after six hours and be left wanting more – although wishing you could play more isn’t exactly a complaint. If you have the means to do so, we heartily recommend giving this one a go.
It's rare to discover a developer that has established such a signature style that with a single glance can be immediately identified. Drinkbox’s unique approach to style fills the world of Severed with a style rarely seen in other titles. Vibrant colors mark each zone with its own particular style while somber, darker tones accentuate the environments with a color palette all too familiar to those that donned a luchador persona in Guacamelee.
Severed presents a grim tale of grief and vengeance that offers deceptively deep combat. This is a great example of touch controls done right and the presentation is top-notch. This is a must-own Vita title.
DrinkBox has succeeded in not only making a fantastic game, but also making the PlayStation Vita relevant again in a time where most have left it for dead. Severed is the call to all gamers to dig out their dusty Vitas once more, as the neglected handheld has quietly acquired one of the must-have games of 2016.
Severed is a gesture-based action game that follows the saga of a distraught warrior, who is lost in a fantastical world, as she knits together pieces of her story from both the past and the future.
Sony’s handheld system hasn’t seen many notable exclusives recently, but DrinkBox Studios has finally given players a new reason to pick up their Vitas with Severed. The developer (of Guacamelee fame) ties together rewarding touchscreen combat, enjoyable first-person exploration and puzzles, and a fulfilling upgrade system into one exciting package that no Vita owner should miss.
Severed is a new title for the Wii U created by DrinkBox Studios. You might be familiar with that name if you've ever played Guacamelee! (a popular title t
Stylish Stylus Swordplay on the Wii U Instead of playing it safe by returning to Mexican Metroidvania with everyone's favorite video game luchador, DrinkBox Studios' follow-up to their acclaimed Guacamelee! is a less festive, more contemplative action-adventure relying on sharp reflexes and a sharper sword. Severed has players hacking and slashing their way…
Despite all that, recommending Severed is easy. It’s a unique, intriguing game that makes brilliant use of the touch screen on the GamePad. This is a perfect off-TV experience. While the gameplay premise wears thin over the short adventure, when the slashing combat works and the exploration feels organic, it’s incredible. Just be prepared for a bit of repetition as the story reaches its conclusion.
A fantastically strange and unique first person adventure that manages to make touchscreen controls seem fresh and interesting again.
The Vita may be on its way out, but DrinkBox Studios has given it a high-profile game late in its lifespan. How is it? Read our Severed review to find out!
Maybe it's just that Severed's story and animation were so deep and enthralling that the much more simplistic combat was bound to feel shallow by comparison. Severed is still a fun game, and because it's relatively short, even when the combat becomes more tiresome than exciting there isn't much left to go before the final boss fight that every gamer should experience and enjoy. For that reason, it's easy to recommend Severed, another success for Drinkbox Studios that ultimately presents some enjoyable, at times innovative gameplay wrapped in one of 2016's finest minimalist narratives and vibrantly colorful environments.
The game’s sound fits the visuals perfectly. Sombre themes softly play in the background as you find your way through each dungeon and forest, adding an extra layer of melancholy to the game’s mood. Even the sounds that the game’s enemies and few characters make emit a certain type of creepiness, which suits their designs well.
Truly unique first-person dungeon crawlers are hard to come by yet this new portable title is quite promising. Get your finger ready for some furious swiping and let's see if Severed is worth accidentally scratching up your Vita screen.
Severed is at its best when it features short, tactical fights in its eerily beautiful dungeons, but those battles largely lose their appeal by the second half. Combat becomes tedious due to boring buffs instead of introducing new ideas in order to make battles more challenging. That blow to the combat’s longevity wouldn’t have felt so bad if exploring the bizarre world weren’t so tedious.
The promise of the Vita was console-quality experiences on the go, but Severed isn't that. Rather, it's the sort of expertly executed cocktail of mechanics that would work as well on a comparatively diminutive smartphone screen. So while Severed may be something of a swan song for the Vita, it's also a reminder that great games are bigger and more lasting than the platforms that contain them.
It’s a fun, simple, good looking game with a surprisingly deep combat system. That said, there isn’t much more to the game besides the occasional dungeon puzzles so if you’re hungry for more, this game might not be for you. If you have the patience for repeated battles while dungeon crawling, then it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to find yourself burning hours just swiping at your screen.
Across Severed’s seven or so hours, you get to experience some of the best touch screen gaming around. DrinkBox Studios have created a great game here with an engaging battle system and art style. It can feel a bit too minimalist in its design, and there’s much repetition in the environments, but DrinkBox Studios have created a great game with an engaging battle system and art style. If you own a Vita, Severed is worth getting.