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Gamescom 2016: Severed On The Wii U Ticks The Right Boxes (Wii U)

by Daan Koopman - August 29, 2016, 6:40 am EDT
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A grand PlayStation Vita title is now heading to Wii U and 3DS. Does it hold up?

Drinkbox Studios can do no wrong in my book. I enjoyed their previous titles a lot, which made me excited about what they were doing next. Did I expect Severed? Not really. While they did some fun games on PlayStation Vita, I never expected them to make a game that need a touchscreen to function. While I have no issues with that, others were less enthused about the idea. The general consensus ended up tipping in the game's favor and that was a nice thing to see. Now the game, which has been on multi touch devices only before this, is coming to Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. At Gamescom 2016, I got to try the console release and see how that performed.

For those unfamiliar with Severed, the best way I can describe it is a first person dungeon crawler. You travel from space to space, researching the various environments, solving puzzles and battling some nasty foes along the way. Every movementbrings up to a new location and new things to see. The game also has a lot of RPG elements. Character upgrades are unlocked by tearing off limbs from enemies, performing well in battle and unleashing a dedicated focus meter.

It may sound simple to swipe a few times at an enemy and destroy it, but blind swiping won’t work for very long. Every opponent is different and specific swipes are required to dispatch them. They try to defend their weak spots and dodge your attacks. It requires strategy to overcome the challenges and knowing when to act is absolutely crucial. The same goes for puzzles or navigating the environments. It isn't a mindless game; critical thinking is required, and that’s makes Severed stand out.

Severed worked well on the Vita and mobile phones, but can a game like this translate well enough to a single-touch screen like the GamePad? Surprisingly enough, the answer is yes. With the stylus in hand, I completed the challenges with ease. The swipes were accurate, and interacting with the environment was simple and effective. Certainly, it does feel weird to play a game like it with the stylus, but I was enjoying myself a lot. It was comfortable to look around rooms with the left control stick and use the stylus in my right hand with the GamePad in my lap.

There’s only one problem with the GamePad focus – you don’t get to see how the game looks on the big screen. There is beautiful imagery being displayed on your television, but the focus has to be on the GamePad’s screen. It’s strange, but it makes the game stand out more for those who are watching instead of playing.

After twenty minutes of Severed, I wanted to keep playing and take it home right then and there. It has an incredible art style and a flair to it that feels gripping. Something I am super curious about, but didn’t get a chance to see, is how the game plays on the Nintendo 3DS. I know that the lovely graphics are banished to the bottom screen, which I’m not exactly pumped about. I reckon only time will tell if that was the correct way to go about this. As far as the Wii U version is concerned though, I was pretty pleased with how this version ended up playing, which bodes well for its release in a couple of weeks in North America.

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Genre Action
Developer DrinkBox Studios
Players1

Worldwide Releases

na: Severed
Release Sep 22, 2016
PublisherDrinkBox Studios
RatingTeen
eu: Severed
Release Sep 22, 2016
PublisherDrinkBox Studios
Rating12+

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