This fantasy hack & slash was released in 2001, and it became a classic by today. In those days the game’s top graphics held a lot of players spellbound. As I see it today, there are only a few products which are able to give such mood and experience as Severance did. This short article was written in 2005 (and this is why it’s so short) when I bought the game in a “Bestsellers” pack with Colin McRae 2 and Insane. As a big fan of speed I was just flipped at the pictures from Severance on the cover, but I said: “Why not? There is enough room on the shelves and I bought the pack for the racing games.” Soon I thought otherwise. I let the game take a chance on me, and Mr Colin stayed on the shelf till the end of that summer, because I wanted to complete Severance.
A lot of people says that don’t be alone when you are playing a horror-fantasy FPS, because you will regret it. And they were true: Thanks to the sound and visual effects sometimes I really kicked the legs of the computer desk, or walking in the damp crypts I found myself squeezing the mouse with sweating hand. But don’t run forward so much! Severance: Blade of Darkness had a big red circle with 18+ inscribed when it get to the shops, marking aggression, violence and scaring content. This rating is correct, although today its old graphics is decreasing its scariness greatly.
This is a fantasy action game with FPS or TPS (you can change it) point of view, in which you have to fight yourself through several levels, a heap of opponents and some traps to reach the main villain and save the world, as it is fitting to a good hero. It has a standard story and appearance, but the world and its mood can charm the player easily.
You can choose between four characters. There are a dwarf warrior, a barbarian, a knight and an elf-like amazon. Evidently, they are from different races and classes, so they are skilled in different fighting styles, they use different weapons. They are advancing through the game, learning new sightly combat move combinations, getting new weapons and armors. They fight realist duels against orcs, skeletons, zombies, trolls and golems (note: the combat system of Oblivion can hide behind it). The locations are various: every one of them has its own atmosphere, and the developers were paying attention to the details. Of course, it’s easily guessed where the level designers get their ideas from, because you can find an Indian temple as well as European castles among the locations.
For me, Severance is the greatest of the hack’n’slash genre. I never met any other game in the genre that could come up with any similar game experience and mood. What’s more, today I see this FPS “combat simulation” is like one of the stepchildren of game industry. It’s a pity, because Rebel Act Studios did a great job with Severance.
—Somesz—
Title: Severance: Blade of Darkness
Developer: Rebel Act
Publisher: Codemasters
Homepage: n/a
Style: action, horror, hack & slash
What I liked:
fantastic atmosphere
unique combat system and combinations
wonderful locations
scare factor
What I didn’t like:
no such thing
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