What's New in SEVERANCE's Newest Update?

Developed and published by Sykes Games, SEVERANCE is a new horror co-op Early Access title that released in October. In it, up to five friends will gather together and have two options: team up as a group of investigators against the paranormal activity, or one of them becomes a ghost, and the others group up.

The latest update is one of the biggest ones that SEVERANCE has received so far, and it includes content as well as quality-of-life improvements, balances, and bug fixes.

Let's start with the most exciting category, so here's everything that's new in SEVERANCE:

• The Ghost has new behaviours now.
• A new Ghost trigger, which happens when interacting with the fireplace.
• There's a new death animation.
• New system: when the breaker is off, all rooms become cold.
• There's a new room, and it holds the breaker.
• The Tarpon Springs rooms have been reworked for better looping.
• A new feature: the Tablet, which holds all the information about Equipment and Ghost types.
• New gear: Master Key, Headlamp, and a UV Light.
• A new Evidence system has been added: light switches, breaker boxes, and door interactions have a chance to leave fingerprints.
• New feature: a football and a net to play with while waiting for the team.

That's quite a few additions! Next up, I'd like to cover the quality-of-life improvements:

• Various rooms in Tarpon Springs have been adjusted for better looping and game flow.
• Water effects have been improved to better show when it's flowing from the shower head or filling the bathtub.
• The audio for the shower has also been improved.
• Equipment held by other players looks more accurate and aligns properly.
• Ghost Orbs have been changed to be smaller but more visible.
• The Crucifix will look burnt after being used.
• The Laser Grid has been renamed for clarity.
• The Camera animations and sounds have improved.
• The Phone UI has been touched up.
• The headlamp mesh and light will activate correctly.
• Various rooms' effects have been polished.

And last but not least, here are the balance changes added:

• Players' sprint has been increased (3s to 3.5s), and the cooldown reduced (5s to 4s).
• The Ghost sprint cooldown has been reduced from 120s to 90s, and the Sanity drain increased from 5 to 6.
• The Ghost's Scream has been reduced from 120s to 90s.
• The Ghost can now throw items harder.
• Visuals on doors will be more evidently changed when the Ghost walks through them.
• Players can no longer leave instantly, as the Van has to start up first, allowing for more counter-play for the Ghost.

If you'd like to check the bugs, you can find the whole post here! SEVERANCE is available on Steam's Early Access now.