Severed is a very innovative game for 2011. When touchscreen gameplay became a new phenomena we had no shortage of titles like Infinity Blade and Fruit Ninja pioneering ways to merge touchscreen input with the precise thrill of an action game. The results weren't always elegant, but they were novel. DrinkBox Studios (Guacamelee!, Mutant Blobs Attack) has sought to replicate this already bygone fad in its latest Vita-exclusive first-person dungeon crawler Severed. The funny thing is that by being a few years behind the curve it's almost retro enough to be back in vogue.
Trends are cyclical after all. Where Resident Evil's peculiar camera angles and clumsy controls turned many off the series in the early 2000s, those awkward design decisions now feel delightfully offbeat. The same goes for the recent Ratchet & Clank reboot, as the 3D platformer/shooter genre has shifted from oversaturated to borderline endangered.
Assuming the role of a one-armed warrior in search of her family in a haunted forest, Severed takes a page from Infinity Blade by using touchscreen swipes to mimic the feeling of swordplay. Scribble your finger back and forth over an enemy's weak spot and you'll watch a flurry of blood and numbers spill out dictating your damage. Swipe into an enemy attack as it launches and you'll parry your foe, leaving them stunned and vulnerable. One small but ingenious design decision allows you to deal more damage if you draw a longer line. It's an elegant and effortless way of translating the light attack/heavy attack dynamic from button-based brawlers onto a touchscreen.
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