Severed Preview

​Get ready to touch your enemies to death!

The trailer is out for Drinkbox Studios’ next title, Severed, and there is a lot you can discern just from watching it, but I was lucky enough to speak with the game's designer Chris McQuinn about what you can’t suss out from the several-minute clip.

The story features an as-of-yet unnamed female protagonist, who loses her arm. The setting is supposed to be a dream-like fantasy world she wakes up in with a lot of questions running around in her head. Although I didn’t get too many details, as they are still working on them, a portion of the plot focuses on the chase to retrieve her wandering severed arm. The metaphors are strong with this one.

The game itself is a first-person RPG-like dungeon crawler. Compared to others you may be used to, Severed incorporates touchscreen controls to navigate and kill baddies. As you progress, you’ll be able to gain abilities that further enable you to tackle enemies that may have proven too challenging during previous encounters. There will also be spells and items, enhancing your battle experience.

Funnily enough, Chris said the first-person battles were inspired by Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! While fighting foes, they’ll have certain weakness and special tells that will allow observant and upgraded players to slay them with greater ease. Based on a few scenes, it looks like the enemies are quite fantastical in nature, keeping things interesting for the eyes. You also can be completely surrounded by enemies, and choosing who to engage first will determine your chances at survival.

Drinkbox Studios hopes to have a playable demo of Severed ready for PAX Prime in August at the latest, maybe by E3 in June. They also hope to actually release the game by Spring of 2015. Platforms are presently unannounced, but they are looking into any system with touchscreen capabilities: Vita, 3DS, or even mobile.