Severance too bloody
Gory fantasy action game turns stomachs in Sweden and Spain
The soon-to-be-released "Severance : Blade of Darkness" has apparently run into distribution problems in both Scandinavia and its native Spain, with several major retailers refusing to stock the game due to its "mature" rating and gruesome hand-to-hand combat. Juan Diaz-Bustamante, marketing chief at developer Rebel Act Studios, reports that "it seems that the larger chains of Sweden are refusing to stock the game due to its mature rating. We really don't like it, as we never intended to create a violent videogame."
They might not have set out to create a violent game, but they have certainly succeeded. Although Severance is a great game (we've been playing with a review copy for over a week now) it has to be said that it is rather gory at times. Heads and limbs are severed with frightening ease, and it's not uncommon for a well-placed blow to slice an orc's leg clear off, leaving the poor thing hopping around on its sole remaining leg for a few seconds, blood spurting freely from the gory stump, before it finally keels over and dies. It's even possible to pick up a severed limb and beat your enemies around the head with it.
There is an option to play with reduced gore for the weak of stomach, but to be fair you can see why some stores aren't entirely happy with the idea of stocking the game, and after Codemasters went out of their way to market it as their first mature rated game it's a little silly for Rebel Act to try and claim that they "never intended" it to be violent...