SEVERANCE

About

SEVERANCE is a single player and multiplayer survival management game with horror and thriller themes. It was developed by Sykes Games and was released on October 31, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

SeveranceSeverance is a 1–5 player co-op paranormal investigation game, with a twist... YOU can become the ghost. Severance is a 1–5 player, online co-op, tactical horror game. You and your team of investigators enter haunted locations to track and identify 20+ unique ghost types using professional paranormal equipment. Use tools like EMF Meters, Video Cameras and Possession Dolls to gather evid…

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81%

Audience ScoreBased on 415 reviews

gameplay14 positive mentions

stability23 negative mentions

Innovative gameplay allowing players to be the ghost, providing a fresh and fun twist on the ghost hunting genre.
Engaging and enjoyable multiplayer experience, especially when playing with friends.
Active and responsive solo developer who frequently updates the game, listens to community feedback, and works on bug fixes.

The game is in an early access state with numerous bugs, technical issues, and some game-breaking glitches.
Lack of tutorial or clear instructions makes it confusing for new players to understand controls and game mechanics.
Limited content currently with few maps, ghost models, and repetitive evidence mechanics leading to potential early repetition and balance issues.

gameplay
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
68%
6%
The gameplay offers a unique asymmetrical experience blending cooperation and competition, highlighted by an engaging ghost mechanic that many find fun and addictive. While the core loop is enjoyable with promising concepts, the game currently suffers from bugs, underdeveloped mechanics, limited map variety, and control issues that hinder its full potential. Active developer support and ongoing updates suggest improvements ahead, but players may find it rough around the edges in its current state.
- “The gameplay loop is enjoyable, the gimmicks are unique and the ghost gameplay is especially fun.”
- “Its blend of investigative gameplay and asymmetrical design creates a unique balance between cooperation and competition, offering moments that feel both tense and dynamic.”
- “Very fun in multiplayer and an addicting gameplay loop even when you lose.”
- “Shameless Phasmophobia ripoff, with bad mechanics and is buggy and unoptimized.”
- “The UI was bad, and the game mechanics were not there.”
- “Gameplay could be explained more, settings don't tweak graphics, control bindings aren't mentioned, no jump button.”
stability
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is notably buggy and unstable, with frequent crashes, freezes, and glitches affecting gameplay and controls, which hampers tasks like gathering evidence. However, as an early access title, many reviewers acknowledge its potential and commend the developer’s active efforts to address these issues through updates. Stability improvements are ongoing but currently impact the overall experience.
- “Starting with the menu, where the interface often freezes with no way to fix it without restarting the entire game.”
- “Got it as a gift and pretty much told them to refund it right away; buggy, no proper tutorial, can't be singleplayer, and it crashed multiple times within 10 minutes of playing. Not worth the pain right now.”
- “Game is buggy, deaths happen too quick, and you're never able to gather evidence.”
humor
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its unique and hilarious gameplay moments, especially when playing as the ghost, which leads to entertaining and laughter-filled experiences with friends. Many users find the ghost's mechanics and player interactions both funny and creatively amusing, even if some elements, like AI-generated visuals, are less well-received. Overall, the game delivers a blend of spooky and comedic fun that enhances social play.
- “Playing as the ghost is so funny, and something I didn't realize is that when you're hunting as the ghost, the investigators can hear your proximity mic which can be hilarious!”
- “I scare myself more when trying to scare my friends and it’s absolutely hilarious and we have a blast!”
- “Not really scary but 100% hilarious if playing with the right people who can take the sharp corners”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
29%
21%
The game's graphics are generally praised for their quality, detail, and ability to create a scary, immersive atmosphere reminiscent of Phasmophobia but enhanced with better visuals and the option to play as the ghost. While some find the creepy visual elements lacking, most users appreciate the game's art design, effects, and overall presentation, especially given its beta status. The developers also receive positive notes for responsiveness and support.
- “Ghost attacks more and is scarier, you can actually be the ghost, better graphics, more characters, and more equipment.”
- “The graphics are great, and the developer is super kind, helpful, and really listens to the players’ feedback.”
- “The graphics are good, the detail inside of the map is great!”
- “As far as visuals go, and the 'creepy' aspect of the visuals and feel of the game, it's almost non-existent.”
- “Graphically, the game looks decent – I can't deny that.”
- “Gameplay could be explained more, settings don't tweak graphics, control bindings aren't mentioned, no jump button.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive and chilling qualities, effectively blending tension, ambient sounds, and real-time audio cues to create a captivating and lively ghost-themed experience.
- “The atmosphere is one of the game’s strongest assets.”
- “Severance is a chilling new ghost-themed horror game that manages to perfectly blend tension, atmosphere, and teamwork.”
- “The game has a lot of potential — it’s really fun and has a great atmosphere!”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, including frequent crashes, poor performance, and bugs, making it unstable and frustrating to play. Users also note it as an unpolished cash grab and a poorly executed Phasmophobia clone. Improvements in stability, performance, and lobby functionality are needed.
- “Good game but it needs more performance, stability, and better lobby and create lobby improvements; all others are awesome!”
- “The sound also needs to be optimized as I am deaf now.”
- “Shameless Phasmophobia ripoff, with bad mechanics, and is buggy and unoptimized.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game offers solid replayability through its unique mechanic of allowing players to assume the ghost role, adding tension and novelty. However, expanding the roster of playable investigators and ghosts, along with more interactive ghost elements, would enhance its long-term appeal. With further development and quality-of-life improvements, it has strong potential for highly engaging replay value.
- “3 investigators and 1 ghost is a decent minimal ratio for fun replayability.”
- “With more development, polish, and a few quality-of-life improvements, I truly believe this could become an amazing and highly replayable game.”
- “The ability for a player to become the ghost rather than only investigate is so creative and adds both tension and replayability in a space that can easily feel familiar.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The game currently has no microtransactions, providing a fully free-to-play experience after the initial purchase of under $8 USD. However, some users criticize it as an unoptimized cash grab with performance issues and liken it unfavorably to similar games.
- “The game as of right now has no microtransactions, which means it's entirely free to play after the (less than) $8.00 USD you spend to play.”
- “This game feels like a cash grab, worse than even the 'ghost busters' game, with asset flips and unoptimized code causing crashes.”
- “The game is an asset flip piece of garbage, insanely unoptimized, and constantly crashes my PC.”
- “Compared to other titles, the monetization here is just slop, lacking originality and technical polish.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express mixed emotions about the game’s emotional impact: some feel a lack of originality dampens the experience, while playing as the ghost provides a thrilling sense of control and enjoys the jump scares.
- “When I played as the ghost, it made me feel that I could control what happens, the jumpscares—everything I love that.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel that the character development could benefit from a greater variety of character designs for both investigators and ghosts, as well as additional mechanics for ghosts to build energy for haunting.