Severed Reviews
Between the puzzles that need to be solved throughout this world (enough to fill up a few hours’ worth of gameplay), enthralling battles and a superb presentation, Severed gives you another good reason to cherish your Vita.
A fantastically strange and unique first person adventure that manages to make touchscreen controls seem fresh and interesting again.
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.
It’s a shame that Severed came so late in the Vita’s life cycle, because it had me wondering whether or not more games like it could have saved the system. That’s just wishful thinking, of course, so it’ll just have to remain what it is: an incredible eleventh-hour treat for fans who have invested their time and money into the handheld. If you enjoyed Guacamelee!, you’ll find a lot of what you loved in that game has returned. Vibrant colors with a unique “diorama” artstyle really pop off the screen, and its inventive gameplay successfully combines touch-twitch antics and old-fashioned role playing. There may not be enough reasons to shell out for a Vita now, but if there had been more content like this arriving alongside the system back in 2012, we might have seen a very different fate for Sony’s second portable.
Severed is a dark and surreal game that, while somewhat repetitive in its gameplay, delivers an overall enjoyable experience, thanks to its fantastic visuals.
As challenging as it is rewarding, Severed is a reason to dust of your PS Vita and get slashing.
Severed is a worthwhile dungeon exploration experience.
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.
Top marks to Drinkbox for daring to be different, and using the PS Vita's touch screen to create a unique gestural combat system. The action can be somewhat repetitive at times, but Severed's story is compelling enough to keep driving you on. That, combined with the beautiful-looking graphics deliver a dungeon crawler that's well worth experiencing.
When that's the worst I can come up with, it's clear to me that DrinkBox Studios knocked it out of the park. I'm glad the team took its time.
While a touch-focused first person dungeon crawler might sound crazy on paper, Severed's unique brand of combat is as deep as it is engaging. Oh, and the visuals and soundtrack are bonkers to boot.
It’s a beautiful game that needs to be seen, and every single aspect has been designed with care.
A grim and foreboding fairytale liberally swathed in colourful style, Severed masterfully combines touch screen combat, metroidvania game design and hugely satisfying character progression to make the most essential PS Vita title to date. Severed is quite simply a handheld tour de force without equal.
Severed is one hell of a game, complete with addicting mechanics, a bizarre and wonderful story, moments of pure horror and a silent heroine that does the
Severed takes a gimmick in touch-based combat and actually manages to successfully wrap an entertaining game around it. The eerie, ambiguous, yet beautiful, world helps but I found that enough new aspects were added to the combat to keep it interesting until the very end. If this is the Vita’s swansong then it’s going out on a wonderful note.
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.
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.
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.
Severed's terrific mechanics are as universal as its moving story
Despite the fact that the PlayStation Vita’s low install base could potentially hinder Severed‘s success, DrinkBox’s gamble on Sony’s struggling handheld will likely pay off.