The Therapist Gamer

Severed was made by DrinkBox Studios, who also made "Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack!" and "Guacamelee!" The game is in first person but the movement isn't like in traditional first person games - it's more like an old-school dungeon crawler game where you can only go left, right, forward, or backward. As you move around you can search the environment for items, ways to solve puzzles, or fight enemies.  You play as a young-ish woman whose family is missing - and who's had an arm lopped off. Despite her injury she sets out to rescue her family.

 

The combat is done by using the touchscreen.  This is a mechanic that I would usually dislike but it worked very well in Severed.  The monsters will be in your face and you swipe the screen to attack them.  You can quickly deal lots of damage by making little slashes across the enemy, or you can elect to deal more damage per slash by making them longer - but naturally long slashes will occur more slowly. When you defeat an enemy there will be a brief moment when time slows and you can strategically slash off parts of the enemy.  You use these monster parts for various upgrades. For example, you can upgrade the long slashes so that they do more damage, or make so that you have more time to sever the enemy body parts (I'd recommend upgrading this first because then you'll be able to upgrade more things over time). There are also some puzzles in the game that are not too complex, but not obvious either.

 

There are a few different areas throughout the game and each time you defeat a boss you'll gain access to a new area.  You can also discover a variety of items along the way that may also give you access to new areas (like in the Zelda games).  Even with the unique "first person slasher" gameplay, there are some well implemented RPG elements and you'll feel like you're getting stronger over time.

 

The game is maybe about six to eight hours, and it's a fun ride.  I felt engaged throughout the entire game and frankly wished that there was more.  If you feel similarly then you can go back to early areas in the game and discover all of the hidden items and secrets. It's a shame that more people don't have Vitas because this is a great game that deserves a wider audience.