Severed puts a sword in your hand and a puzzle in your head. The 2016 game for 3DS, iOS, Wii U and Vita asks players to guide a mother through a forest full of enemies while solving puzzles that change the way she moves. It is a small game with a large idea, and mostly it lands.
Trailer, via fuzzyren works.
The Mother and Her Sword
The player controls a mother who walks with a sword in her hand, cutting down enemies with simple swings. That part is easy enough. What makes Severed stand out is how it changes the rules of movement itself. Some puzzles force the mother to move in new ways, and those moments are where the game finds its identity.
The puzzles ask players to think about how the mother can get from one side of a room to another, not just what button to press. That shift in focus is the whole point of the game, and it holds up across every platform it appeared on.
“The game is a tight, clever puzzle game with a strong sense of identity.”
Platforms and Their Feel
Severed ran on four platforms, and each had its own feel. The 3DS version made good use of the bottom screen for touch controls, while the iOS version kept the same look at a smaller size. The Wii U and Vita versions carried the same puzzles and the same difficulty, though the controls felt slightly different on each.
Here is how the four versions compare:
| Platform | Controls | Strengths |
|---|---|---|
| 3DS | Touch + buttons | Best use of second screen |
| iOS | Touch only | Portable, quick sessions |
| Wii U | Buttons | Comfortable controller support |
| Vita | Touch + buttons | Portable, full game |
None of the versions broke the game, but the 3DS version stood out for how it used the second screen. Players could draw paths and mark spots directly on the touch panel, which gave the puzzle solving a physical edge that the other versions lacked.
Difficulty and Its Cost
The puzzles in Severed are not gentle. They ask players to think several steps ahead, and some of the later rooms demand patience. The game does not hold hands, and that independence is part of its appeal.
But the difficulty also comes with a cost. Some puzzles repeat ideas the game has already shown, and a few moments ask for patience that feels earned rather than fair. When a puzzle takes several attempts, the game can start to feel less clever and more frustrating.
The enemy encounters do not add much to the mix. They exist to fill space between puzzles, and they are rarely more than a small annoyance. The mother’s attacks are simple, and the enemies fall easily once the player knows where to swing.
Where It Lands
Severed succeeds because it commits fully to its central idea. It trusts players to think about movement, and it rewards that trust with clever solutions that feel satisfying when found. The puzzles are the reason to play, and the platform differences are mostly a matter of convenience rather than a real split in quality.
The game is not perfect. Its difficulty peaks in the middle stretch, and a few puzzles feel worn out by the time the credits roll. But the best moments, where a new rule opens up a whole room of possibilities, are genuinely clever.
Severed is a small game with a large ambition, and it mostly delivers on both. The puzzles carry it, the controls vary by platform, and the difficulty tests patience more than skill. It is a game worth playing for anyone who enjoys thinking over swinging.
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