Severed Reviews
There are few titles more deserving of being called one of the truly essential experiences for the Vita than Severed. If you own the latest PlayStation handheld, do yourself a favor and pick this up: you won't regret it.
[D]espite all odds, [Drinkbox Studios has] managed to craft a title featuring a fantastic world that begs to be explored, and a combat engine that’s intuitive and the finest use of touch controls since Tearaway. It’s simply the best title to come out for the Vita in some time, and one worth adding to the library of every Vita owner.
Severed is an excellent dungeon crawler, with a frenetic gameplay and a series of wonderful puzzles.
Review in Italian | Read full review
DrinkBox Studios pushes the boundaries on the Vita’s unique hardware once again. Although from a technical perspective it occasionally lets them down, Severed’s unique combat system and beautiful art style carry the day on what is a fun, if not short-lived, dungeon crawler.
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 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.
Vita owners thirsty for new titles will rightly give an arm and a leg for this one, but they should know ahead of time that it can be hard on the ol' swipin' appendages.
Severed is the kind of game that comes along once a generation, and helps define a console.
Drinkbox Studios has another masterpiece to add to its portfolio. With a fantastic atmosphere, a unique combat system that never gets tedious and a perfect difficulty curve, SEVERED is a must-play for Wii U owners. Unlike so many titles where touch controls are shoehorned in, this game makes using the stylus feel perfectly natural. A few frustrating elements are only slight scratches on this feverishly enjoyable experience. This should be fun for anyone, unless you dislike Metroidvania games, corridor action-adventure, and excellent combat.
You have to commend Severed for using the Vita's touchscreen heavily for its gameplay. And while that use of the system works and is mostly enjoyable, it's not always entertaining.
Severed is a simple and quick-to-learn game that puts the players at the centre of a rather harsh story that is further advanced by its visuals and navigation. While there certainly is room for improvement in the way the story is presented and on the level of interaction with the Wii U's potential, fans of dungeon-crawler types will find plenty of assets in Sasha's adventure to be reunited with her family.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
For Vita owners, Severed is a must-play, but if this game eventually gets ported over to mobile platforms or even to console or PC, I’m sure I’d say the same.
Utilizing the Wii U gamepad's touchscreen controls, Severed serves up a fantastic adventure with plenty of engaging swordplay and a healthy dose of monstrous bodily dismemberment. The beautiful art style and a subtly-told melancholy story keeps players absorbed in the bizarre world in between bloody battles and the clever, Zelda-style dungeon puzzles.
If a colorful, morbid, corporeal, dungeon-crawling Punch-Out!! isn't sweet enough to sell Severed, consider it a vision of a world where the PlayStation Vita remained a stronghold of original and endearing creation.
Severed is a short adventure that has a lot of major gameplay elements packed into it. Its unique art style will keep your eyes engaged, while your brain will be firmly occupied with the puzzles and sword play. There’s not a lot more you could ask for from a $14.99 game.
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.
When I put my Vita down after completing Severed, my emotions felt like soft drink fountains at a gas station.
If this is to be the Vita’s swansong, it’s a fantastic one.
A cut, thrust and parry above
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.