DrinkBox Studios is a hit factory. Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack is a terrific puzzle game that showed off the charm of the Vita when it launched, and Guacamelee! has been a novel, enjoyable take on the Metroidvania concept in all of its iterations. The company clearly likes to experiment with video game genres each time it develops something. When SEVERED was first announced in 2014, it yet again proved that the little train could keep chugging along with fresh ideas. We loved it at PAX East in 2015, and enjoyed it on the Vita when it launched earlier this year.
Like Guacamelee! before it, DrinkBox have now ported the game to other platforms, but the Wii U version might stand up above all of them.
SEVERED is essentially a collection of time-tested game ideas that work together well. Extremely well. It’s a lite role-playing game set in a first-person viewpoint, with all of the action taking place through swipes on the touch screen. It’s an obvious control method: the monsters are looking at us, so we use our blade and slice back. Swiping is at the forefront, making a sword an easy choice as a primary weapon. It’s very apparent what we have to do, and very easy to do it. It feels natural, which lets anyone understand it without being an overly casual style game.
The Wii U version uses the Gamepad exclusively, with emphasis on the touch screen. Buttons are only used for basic menu selection and navigation if touch isn’t preferred for those small items. Other versions of the game appear on devices with capacitive screens, which focus on the human finger as the input tool. The Wii U’s Gamepad, however, is resistive, making finger swipes less responsive. This forces us to use the stylus, which gives a level of precision and tightness that benefits the battle mechanic. Swiping with the stylus is much like swiping with a sword, and the point at the end can be more exact than a fingertip. Granted, we can just as easily find a stylus that works with its capacitive versions, but they’re not the main input. I enjoy the stylus usage a lot more, especially on the smaller screens.
Because the Gamepad touchscreen is the game’s home, the TV is really only effectively used for a map. And, since the game moves screen-by-screen through catacombs and corridors, off-tv play while watching something else is undoubtedly the way to go, making the experience feel like the handheld versions that birthed it.
SEVERED applies RPG elements in noticeable areas without over-complicating the overall experience. The skills and leveling system anticipates where we are in the game, relying on specific collected body parts (hence the name “SEVERED”) to unlock and improve. From attack and defense enhancements to special abilities that steal enemy stat buffs, the advancement through these is easy to manage.
The first person view reminds us of classic PC RPGs, but the addition of puzzle-like elements makes them that much more unique and engaging. Some bosses are straightforward: attack and defend. Others ask us to defeat minions before the big guys devour them for stat bonuses. In some respects it feels like a rhythm battle akin to Punch-Out!!, where we have to memorize motions and attack patterns.
In fact, the only major difference between the Wii U version and others is the improved HD visual fidelity. The flat, poster-style design of the game looks terrific on any screens, and especially on a big TV. By virtue, it becomes the definitive version of the game.
DrinkBox have done a marvelous job of not only creating an instant classic but also by effectively porting it to other platforms, playing to those platforms’ strengths and weaknesses. SEVERED on Wii U isn’t the first place that the game has appeared, but it fits the device so well that it’s hard to imagine that it wasn’t designed specifically for it.
This review is based on an eShop retail code sent to SideQuesting by the publisher. Dali, the reviewer, has played SEVERED through demos on the PS Vita.
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