Games that Severance Fans Should Try

Apple TV’s Severance has proven itself to be one of the most intriguing and exhilarating shows of the 2020’s. Its science fiction premise is expertly crafted, centering on the corporate employees of the company Lumon, who have surgically separated the memories of their work and home lives into two separate consciousnesses. Through this central idea, the show constantly engages viewers with themes of identity and morality, whilst also providing endless mysteries and shocking twists.

Between the twisting corridors of the severed floor, endless charts of numbers on computer screens, and moments of offbeat office humor, Severance provides a distinctly odd atmosphere and

a confusing sci-fi world that would make for an amazing video game
. As fans await the next season, there are plenty of great gaming experiences with similar themes and science-fiction concepts that they can keep themselves busy with.

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8

Antichamber

Mind-Bending Puzzle Gameplay

Systems

Released

January 31, 2013

Developer(s)

Alexander Bruce

Created by a single developer, Antichamber is an underrated puzzle platformer with a strange visual style Severance fans would find familiar. Much of the game takes place within long winding corridors which twist and turn in architecturally impossible ways, similar to Lumon’s severed floor. The boxed instructions found around every corner contain plenty of cryptic clues to decipher.

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The actual narrative of the game is intentionally ambiguous, with bright colors and eerie, quiet music throughout. The new abilities and laser mechanics added later on create a rewarding experience when completing certain difficult puzzles. Antichamber gives players the feeling of being trapped in an endless maze, and provides plenty of head-scratching moments to keep Severance fans guessing.

7

Escape the Backrooms

Shocks Around Every Corner

Systems

Inspired by

the widely influential creepypasta,
Escape the Backrooms allows players to explore the fictional “backrooms” in all their unsettling glory, with plenty of desolate white hallways to entice fans of Severance’s underground office space. Horror and gruesome detail are the central focus here, creating moments of tension as players hide and run away from the hideous-looking monsters found in every level.

Tight hallways, harsh lighting panels, and environmental puzzles only add to the eerie atmosphere of it all.

The multiplayer component adds the notion of shared entrapment,
similar to that of Lumon’s severed employees, as they work together to see the outside world. For fans of Severance who love a fun horror challenge, this is a perfect pick.

6

Disco Elysium

Figuring Out Who You Are

Released

October 15, 2019

Developer(s)

ZA/UM

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Providing an intriguing mystery/detective narrative, Disco Elysium is a great experience for any Severance fan to try, with strong similarities from the beginning. Memory and identity are key themes, with the detective’s initial amnesiac state giving players the opportunity to follow whatever personality type they choose.

One of the game’s central mechanics,

called the Thought Cabinet,
allows players to categorize the information they discover about themselves. They can choose which traits or ideologies they will suppress or focus on, in a way that mirrors the internal conversations of Severance’s “innie” and “outie” personas. With a slow-burn narrative filled with interesting conversations and information, Disco Elysium will have players invested until the end.

5

Job Simulator

Dumb Fun in the Working World

Simulation

Virtual Reality

Systems

Released

April 5, 2016

Developer(s)

Owlchemy Labs

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

In Job Simulator, players are given the opportunity to experience the working world in all its satirical mundanity. The game features a similar level of offbeat humor to the workspaces on the severed floor, and

offers an engaging VR simulated experience.
As the player loads in, they get four occupations to choose from. Each one comes provided with their own set of necessary tasks to complete and time-wasting opportunities to distract themselves with.

In particular, the “office worker” section offers some great moments of enjoyment when throwing paper airplanes or shooting staples, whilst also mirroring the setting of Lumon with its own tongue-in-cheek “SRS Business Inc.” There are generic motivational posters surrounding the entire office, and even simplistic computer screens like those found in Macro Data Refinement. It makes for a fun, light experience Severance fans would find amusing.

4

Soma

Thrilling Moments of Morality

Released

September 15, 2015

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

Set in an abandoned research facility far beneath the ocean surface, Soma creates a tense and thought-provoking horror narrative, taking Severance’s themes of identity and mystery to their extremes. As players explore the dark corridors and cramped ventilation shafts of PATHOS-11, they will find themselves running from terrifying monsters and artificially intelligent beings. Both of these start to create

moral conundrums and that are bound to stick with players
for a long time.

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There’s plenty of tension as players uncover this world’s mysteries, and multiple environmental puzzles for those wanting even more to keep their brain occupied. It’s difficult to discuss Soma without spoiling its best narrative moments, but its strong focus on identity and what it is that makes a human are sure to keep any Severance fan gripped.

3

Portal (Series)

Life As a Test Subject

Widely considered among the best science-fiction games ever made
, Portal and its sequel Portal 2 share much of the same science-fiction DNA as Severance, with added puzzle mechanics and artificial intelligence. The setting of Aperture Science echoes Lumon Industries through its white-panelled walls and elevators, adding to the eerie world-building through the broken and dilapidated state of the factory the player explores.

Through the games’ challenging puzzle platforming sections, players will also find similar notions of human testing and work through the “tests” they complete. The robot antagonists GLaDOS and Wheatley make

plenty of dry comedic remarks at the player’s expense,
working similarly to conversations with the severed floor’s unsettling management team. The Portal games are essential for any gamer, and perfect for Severance fans.

2

The Stanley Parable

The Fun of Ignoring Instructions

First-Person

Simulation

Mystery

Released

April 27, 2022

Developer(s)

Crows Crows Crows

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Famous for its satirical meta-commentary on gaming as a medium, The Stanley Parable presents players with many of the same central components as Severance,

with themes of identity, dry humor and office-based exploration.
From its first moments, the desks are empty and any questions about what the player character’s job is are left intentionally unanswered.

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Perhaps the best part of the game is its snide narrator who directs players’ route around the office. When his instructions are ignored, this narrator lashes out in moments of comedic frustration that mirror Lumon’s upper management. In fact, Severance creator Dan Erikson cited the game as a major influence on the show. It’s a great experience that fans shouldn’t miss out on.

1

Control

Strange Government Conspiracies

Action

Third-Person Shooter

Supernatural

Released

August 27, 2019

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Through its unconventional setting and reality-bending story, Control is an experience that any fan of Severance would adore. In the game,

the player has free rein to explore the Federal Bureau of Control,
a governmental agency with an abundance of desolate office spaces, large meeting rooms, and hoards of paranormal entities to encounter and incapacitate.

Through the mundane-appearing “objects of power” and the game’s trippy visual style, Control excels in creating an atmosphere shrouded in mystery, adding to its world-building through the optional item pick-ups littered around every room. Open documents are found on empty desks, detailing past events and paranormal tests gone wrong.

Informational videos recorded by Dr. Darling
offer endearing moments amidst the madness, giving plenty for Severance fans to find themselves utterly captivated by.

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