2.
Severed ; There have been quite a few games in 2016 that had fantastic and emotionally enriching stories, and none other were they as resonant as in Drinkbox's firstperson dungeon crawler
Severed which is about loss, grief, and moving on. I loved
Guacamelee and would follow Drinkbox's games wherever they went. For their next venture, they went exclusively to the Playstation Vita. I literally bought a Vita just for this game. I'm glad it's finally now on other devices (iOS, Android, 3DS, Wii U). I had no idea how big of a departure this would be from
Guacamelee not just in terms of gameplay but also in tone. This game much like
Hyper Light Drifter is purely melancholic in its tone and atmosphere. As for the typical hero's journey, there are early deaths in the family, but the hardest and subversive part is the protagonist Sasha having to move on from all these hardships. This game is funereal. It's the videogame equivalent of Darren Aronofsky's
The Fountain in terms of being about moving on past your grief, in a fantastical manner. In this oppressive and lonely world of nasty monsters, there are only two other talking creatures that you interact with which adds to the purgatorial atmosphere. Easily, the coolest and most interesting female protagonist of 2016.
Not only does the game have excellent storytelling, it's packed to the gills with variety in locations, enemies, mechanics, and the perfect level of challenge, rounded by top-notch presentation. Who expected such depth from just the main interaction of swiping? The neon-bathed art style is immediately eye-catching compared to any other dungeon crawler. The
original soundtrack by Yamantaka Sonic Titan and Pantayo is memorable, it's like a mix of tribal instruments and modern rock structure. The track
"Home Revisited" is like out of the best work of a JRPG composer.
Severed is just well-executed on all levels, and left a big impact on me.