Words can’t describe how pleasantly surprised I was by Severed.

My previous experience with Drinkbox games came from the two Guacamelee! games, which I absolutely love. However, I remember seeing this one when it released and giving it little attention - it looked a bit boring.
However, a few days before the closure of the 3DS’ eShop, it was on sale, and very cheap. I decided to grab it, since I had some money left on my wallet.
And, boy, I’m glad that I did it. My initial impressions were proven wrong.
Once I started playing it, I simply couldn’t put my 3DS down.

Severed combines the visual presentation of Guacamelee! with first person dungeon crawling. It has a sort of metroidvania-esque vibe to it too, so exploring and backtracking through these dungeons is always a rewarding experience.
The cherry on the top is the gameplay, though. You move the character with the D-pad, but you have to use the touchscreen to interact with everything else.

The cherry on top of that cherry is the combat. Whilst simple enough to understand, it will require some serious skills to go through the game’s most challenging moments.
Super addictive exploration with super addictive gameplay. Severed proves that touchscreen-based games can be fun.

Also, despite being probably the worst looking version, this 3DS release may just as well be one of the better choices for playing this game. Having a full map on the top screen is already super useful, but slashing through enemies with the stylus feels super precise, and it even feels more like you’re actually holding a sword.
I can’t imagine myself slashing through stuff with my fingertips. I also HATE leaving fingerprints on my Vita’s screen, so it wasn’t difficult to cope with the less impressive presentation of the 3DS version.

Combine everything I said above with a minimalist and emotional plot, and we have an absolute gem of a game.
I only wished it was longer.

The game isn’t perfect, of course, and once you’re fully upgraded, there’s little incentive to fight enemies for severed body parts; however, the biggest flaw of Severed is, by far, it’s length.
As I said, and I kid you not: it’s extremely hard to put this down once you get the hang of it. It was, at least for me, one of those games you never wish to end, and once it does (especially as fast as this one), you’ll only be wishing for more.

After beating it, I could only think that if this came out on the original DS, it would easily be one of the very best titles in its library.

This would normally come off as a pretty simple and boring game, if I saw it from a distance. However, it's made by Drinkbox and I love them. They carry over their distinct art style from Guacamelee in to a game that is totally different and unrelated. I love it.

It's a generally simple touch-based hack and slash dungeon crawler. It's short. Yet somehow, it's a joy to play. I found it hard to put down from start to finish. They quickly give you new things to do, and it's a fun little world to explore. One of the most memorable experiences on Vita, for me. Probably the last one, really - it came out in 2016.

An absolute labor of love.

The combat is super tight, engaging, and even exhausting sometimes. The pace here is pretty on point from start to finish.

The art style and music are fantastic and incredibly unique.

I guess the only thing is it probably plays better on the Vita than it does on the Switch purely because of size and weight of the system.

After loving Guacamelee as a kid and recently enjoying Nobody Saves the World on PS5, I thought I'd jump into Severed as it's a Drinkbox game I've had since close to release but never jumped into.

This game is great as a decent short adventure with dungeons and puzzles that feel Zelda-adjacent. I love the artstyle, which is very similar to Guacamelee. The gameplay is also a lot of fun; at first the touchscreen combat can feel a little flat, but the game really shines later on through more complicated encounters that force you to use all the systems available to you and to plan tactically. Figuring out which enemies to take out first in a tough battle is a lot of fun. Some of the bosses are also great, I especially liked the second one.

The story is minimal but a somber tone is captured quite well. Whilst I don't think this is Drinkbox's best game, I do respect them for having more love for the Vita than Sony did at the time. I'm glad now that everyone can experience this game through the Switch and mobile versions. I don' think it's quite an 8, but certainly a strong 7.8/10

Dungeon crawler molto originale dai creatori di Guacamelee, Severed ha il pregio principale di integrare in modo eccellente l'utilizzo del touchscreen all'interno del combat system. Quest'ultimo risulta frenetico, ma anche sufficientemente stratificato e improntato ad un approccio metodico, pur mantenendo un livello di difficoltà molto accessibile. Mi ha stupito da diversi punti di vista, sia dal lato stile artistico già inaugurato con guacamelee, che è perfettamente leggibile, piacevole e probabilmente adatto ad una vasta gamma di generi e piattaforme, sia dal lato della profondità del gameplay, elemento che di solito in titoli così improntati su dispositivi come il touchscreen va a perdersi. La mia impressione è che purtroppo sia un gioco molto sottovalutato, probabilmente passato in sordina essendo uscito cross-gen nello stesso anno di switch, e pertanto penalizzato molto dall'essere strettamente legato ad un tipo di tecnologia che stava progressivamente perdendo di fascino e attenzione.

Severed: cercenado.

SPOILERS

Severed es un videojuego precioso sobre la separación y el proceso de pasar página. Su historia una interpretación del duelo como viaje expiatorio a través del inframundo. El destino, aunque no lo sepamos hasta el final, la aceptación. El brazo cercenado como metáfora de la familia fallecida, una parte irremplazable de uno perdida para siempre, recordatorio físico de una ausencia permanente. Y el dolor expiado a espadazos, a tajos. La forma de separación más violenta.

Este juego es todo lo que Skyward Sword y GRIS no lograron ser. Un electrizante combate por movimiento a base de tajos con multi-tasking, reflejos y gestión del tiempo, para que cada encuentro mantenga tensión y exija concentración, y un emotivo viaje metafórico-fantástico a través del dolor y la pérdida hasta el resurgir. Debió haber sido una obra maestra, uno de los quince o veinte mejores videojuegos de su década, pero su avance es tan comodón, el diseño nos lleva tan de la mano... En su mapeado y progresión se notan las consecuencias de la sobreprotección al jugador, de la falta de riesgo e impronta. El formato dungeon crawler viene totalmente falto de dientes, desprovisto de aquello que lo define más allá de la presentación, y por eso Severed no es el sobresaliente que pudo ser.

Ok, I got so much in love with this game that after beating it on my 3DS, it only left me craving for more. It is, sadly, too short.
So, I just got the Vita original and finished it in a single sitting, platinum trophy and everything. :P
Well, since I’d already gave my general opinions on this little gem of a game, this review will simply be a comparison between both gameplay experiences.

First of all, the striking difference lies in the presentation.
The game looks phenomenal on the Vita, and combined with the OLED screen displaying beautifully saturated colours and the device’s piano black finish (in the case of my model, at least), it provides a much more immersive experience, especially considering that the game is always being displayed on a 16:9 aspect ratio.
The 3DS version gives you the option to display the gameplay on the wider top screen, but since the gameplay will mostly take place at the bottom one, I felt little incentive to do so, especially since it mirrors both screens at the same time, which felt weird and less optimal. Although the graphics didn’t take much of a hit when converting the game for the 3DS hardware, they are much more vibrant here, even having more particles and slight lighting effects.
Also, as I mentioned in my previous review, having the full map on the top screen of the 3DS at all times is much more convenient, but it’s easy enough to adjust to the original minimap on the top right corner of the screen on the Vita, which actually makes it easier to focus on the details of the game’s environments.

All of that makes the visual presentation much more seamless and appealing on the original version, really immersing yourself in the world of Severed.

Still, on the gameplay department, I still give the edge to the 3DS version.
I can’t describe how much I HATE touching my Vita’s screen. I absolutely despise leaving fingerprints on the thing. Because of that, my Vita’s screen is relatively “virgin”, giving it a bit more friction when swiping through stuff with my fingers. Because of that, slashing through enemies in this game felt quite uncomfortable to me, and I played the entire thing wearing a thin cotton glove on my right hand just to make the gameplay more fluid. Also, I felt it super clumsy to hit certain angles of movement without feeling the need to move my entire right arm or change the angle in which I was holding the device with my left hand. Couple all of that with the fact that the Vita isn’t necessarily a light device, and you’ll may have a bit uncomfortable experience with longer gameplay sessions (which will probably be your case since, again, the game is short and super hard to put down).

Not only playing the game with the stylus on the 3DS feels more comfortable, but extremely more precise.
In the same situations where I felt the need to twist my entire arm on the Vita, it was simply a matter of easily moving my wrist on the 3DS. Also, there are penalties in combat when you accidentally hit something you’re not supposed to, and that actually gave me a hard time on the Vita where on the 3DS it was much easier to hit smaller objects and such.

So, despite rating this Vita version half a star less, my verdict is, basically, hugely inconclusive.
Whilst the visual presentation is much nicer on the Vita original, I simply feel that this game deserves to be played with a stylus. For that reason, I much preferred my time with Severed on the 3DS, but I don’t feel confident enough to recommend it over the Vita/other platforms’ versions for its less striking visual presentation (although, as I said, it’s not really that big of a deal in the case of this game).

The Wii U version might be the best candidate for that, combining 1) an actual gamepad, in contrast to mobile versions; 2) the gorgeous graphics of the original and 3) a stylus.
But, well, I don’t have a Wii U, so I’m just speculating. :P

Maybe I’ll get the game on my iPad at some point and play it with my Apple Pencil to check how it feels.

All in all, despite enjoying it more on the 3DS, Severed is a great game on any platform, and has easily become my favourite DrinkBox Studios title. Play it in any way you can.

Had this game recommended as having a combination of puzzles like Myst and combat like Punch-Out rolled into a dungeon crawler, and once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. The environmental puzzles are fun and so rewarding to figure out and the combat is actually enjoyable (coming from someone who doesn't enjoy combat). Plus, the landscape and world design are unique and stunning. I'd say I wish the game was longer, but the length actually felt right with the game's narrative. I've never played anything like Severed; it's unique in the best way.