Drinkbox Studios has released some excellent games over the years including the amazing metroidvania style game Guacamelee!, and now have brought their latest masterpiece to Nintendo systems. Severed is a first person game focused on touch screen controls and a creepy atmosphere. How did it hold up in the transition to Wii U? Rather well actually.
When playing Severed, you will almost certainly be focusing exclusively on the gamepad and not the TV due to the emphasis on the touch screen. Severed is one of the best uses of the Wii U gamepad I have seen, especially since it takes full advantage of the touch screen capabilities while also giving you some traditional controls as well. The interactions with the environment happen in a variety of ways, such as swiping the screen to remove obstacles, find hidden gems and moving gears to open doors.
The game has an amazing horror atmosphere and the music helps that. It gives you a sense of creepiness and a feeling that you are always in danger. There is always some terror waiting for you, lurking where you do not expect. The first person perspective combined with the way you move, work well with the music to create one of the best feelings of anxiety ever. I cannot say enough good about the music, it really does its job well.
There are some negatives though. The game’s combat can be very difficult to get a hang of and can be unforgiving at times. Adapting to multiple enemies will take a lot of time and effort, as you will need to learn to keep moving and make certain enemies a priority while not ignoring other enemies. Its not all bad and once you get the hang of it, you can do very well. Its just that there is some difficulty in learning this. Its fun once that’s out of the way so be patient.
Severed is a great experience and I would recommend it, just be aware you will need some patience with it.