There’s a strange sense of rhythm that begins to form the more you play Severed, Toronto-based developer DrinkBox Studios’ follow-up to their award-winning platformer, Guacamelee.
One thing the studio is famous for is not retreading the same ground with their titles and instead opting to explore new ideas and concepts. This trend continues with Severed, a new first-person dungeon-crawling RPG that has players methodically moving through static screens from a first-person perspective, and fighting enemies with carefully placed swipes on the Vita’s touch screen.
Both Guacamelee and Severed share similar art styles, making Drinbox’s next game instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with the studios’ unique Mexican-influenced approach to visuals.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKxHFdK562Q?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent&w=680&h=413]
At first, Severed doesn’t make much sense, especially if you have no context for how the game actually plays. First-person dungeon crawlers are also a dead genre, and a notable game falling into this obscure category hasn’t been released in years.
At the beginning of Severed’s demo, the player is introduced to the game’s female protagonist, the game’s colourful world, and a strange severed hand, although specifics concerning Severed’s story are still vague. According to Drinkbox Studios’ co-founder, Chris Harvey, this is intentional.
“I think the idea with the game is we want players to just kind of come to their own conclusion about what the story is. It’s intentionally vague, but I can tell you the underlying themes of the game are death, regret and loss,” said Harvey.
Severed’s art style is impressive and very similar to Guacamelee. Sony
Those familiar with first-person dungeon crawlers will feel right at home with Severed. Each room is explored by entering it and turning the camera left and right. Players can’t walk around or interact very much with the objects around them and a small map in the corner of the screen lets you know where you are and what areas of the map haven’t been explored yet.
What makes Severed unique is its combat is conducted entirely with the Vita’s touch screen. At first the game’s combat system might seem overly simple, but the further you progress through the demo the more complicated it becomes. Taking down foes in Severed requires strategy and tactics, especially when it comes to blocking incoming enemy attacks, performed by quickly slashing in the same direction as your foe.
The first few enemies I encountered were easily dispatched and all I needed to do to take them down was slash randomly at the screen, but later enemies required me to attack specific regions of their body. Balancing multiple foes also becomes part of the game as combat becomes gradually more complicated. Fighting more than one enemy at once is very reminiscent of classic Japanese RPGs that force players to target the most powerful foe in the battle, while still managing smaller groups of enemies.
Once you get the hang of Severed, you’ll quickly realize there’s a rhythm to taking out enemies. Sony
“It was kind of a long process getting there. I think it started with the idea of creating sort of a Punch Out like game but with sword fighting and touch, and then sort of ended up adding this old school dungeon crawler thing from a really long time ago. I’d say there’s probably Zelda influences in the dungeon. We’re trying to keep it simple and pure to that. The game has that Punch Out thing but with the enemies and as you get more powers later it sort of feels like a real-time almost final fantasy kind of battle,” said Harvey.
This is when the strange feeling of rhythm starts to set in that makes Severed so compelling. There’s an intangible sense of sanctification as you carefully slide your finger across the screen, slashing away at the game’s enemies. Severed’s beautiful visuals, whether it’s cutting up a strange orange pear-like fruit to regain health, or marveling at an expansive vista that seems to be included in the game for no other reason than to look pretty, are compelling and that special brand of awesome fans have come to expect from Drinkbox Studios
Performing a “Severed” attack removes a limb from your enemy which then can be literally used to upgrade your character, although upgrading was limited in this build of Severed. Harvey explained that his studio has plans to make character development a big part of Severed.
Severed is full beautiful stylized art. Sony
Guacamelee was easily the best and most inventive platformer available on the PlayStation Vita and arguably is the PlayStation 4’s top sidescroller as well. From the brief portion of Severed shown off at Sony’s PlayStation Experience, it looks like Drinbox Studios’ next title is set to be equally as compelling.
According to Harvey, Severed is expected to be released for the PlayStation Vita at some point this summer, although a specific release date hasn’t been announced yet.
Source:: canada.com
