ETAO Podcast, Episode 23.

Chris McQuinn stops by to discuss DrinkBox Studios’ latest, the touch-based first-person dungeon-crawling amputate-’em-up Severed. You’re a warrior named Sasha, seeking out your lost family in an ever-threatening and arrestingly otherworldly environment. Monstrosities stand in your way (of course) and monster parts get sliced off (as the title suggests) and things only get weirder from there.

Chris and I discuss why it felt right to tell this story of loss and perseverance with bold dreamy color palettes, Punch-Out!!-style puzzle mêlées, and older-than-old-school RPG exploration. We also talk a bit about how the game’s faux-3D spaces work under the hood, and the innate complications of a multi-platform release.

And Chris divulges his own favorite control scheme for Severed, which happens to be the Wii U controller. (Yes, of course with a stylus. Dude wasn’t raised in a barn).

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• We’re back! This is the longest hiatus we’ve ever taken, and the longest we ever plan to take. Expect new episodes aplenty and much enjoyment for all concerned.

• Here’s that great Rami Ismail piece on submission processes for console games, day one patches, and (tangentially) No Man’s Sky.
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“All The People Say (Season 2)” by Carpe Demon.
“Death” and “Mountain Ghost Town” by YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN, from the Severed OST.

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