Severed 12+

I first downloaded this game in middle school and LOVED the art style and gameplay but wasn’t able to 100% it. revisiting it a few years later, the puzzles and exploration aspects are so much fun. Trying to find all of the secrets on the map is tedious, sure, but it feels super rewarding when you finally get everything. The puzzles are very forgiving if you mess something up and generally easy enough to figure out without a guide. There are a lot of different types of puzzles too, which is nice. I’m seeing a lot of people complaining in the reviews about the combat system in standard mode as well, but as someone who picked it up yesterday for the first time in 3+ years almost none of the battles gave me an issue. They are (at least a little bit) strategy based, but they're all easy enough, even without using the blind or rage attacks. You just gotta get the hang of the timing and pay attention to the attack indicators. The story is pretty good and the visuals are amazing. The art style isn't really one I've seen very often in games and the whole game really feels like a work of art. You can tell how much love went into making this game. All the monster designs are great, the way sasha's appearance changes as you progress is great, the room designs are amazing, i could go on and on about how much i love the art in this game. anyways its a 10/10 game i would highly recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a fun, beautiful, 4-5 hour game.

Thematically, Severed is a classic dungeon-crawling quest: you begin amid the ruins of your home except in a strange otherworld, your arm's been cut off and your family kidnapped by monsters, then a demon gives you a sword and you set off to find your family. It's a bit like Zelda for people who thought the visual designs of that series weren't unsettling *enough*, and also wished it had taken a more viscerally literal interpretation of the term "Heart Piece."

Aesthetically, the game is striking, with Aztec-inspired designs rendered in bold strokes of color, and some poignant musical motifs (and judicious use of silence) that make for effective emotional interludes. Mechanically, this is a game meant for mobile (even if it was originally released for PS Vita). Swipe-based combat may sound simplistic, but it's really more about timing and managing the countdowns of multiple enemies' attacks -- you mostly gain upgrades through severing the body parts of your foes, but you can only do so after you build up enough focus, so it's often a matter of keeping enemies alive for that final stroke as much as it is about killing them. My one complaint is that the combat can get a bit repetitive toward the end (some more variations in attack patterns would have been welcome), but it stays a challenge throughout.

I'm pretty thoroughly impressed by this game. Well worth the money.