Since its release in 2022, Severance Fascinated the spectators with its mysterious atmosphere and its freezing exploration of alienation in the world of work. While season 2 of the series is preparing to deliver its grand final on Apple TV, fans are rediscovering its dystopian universe, where employees are deprived of their personal memory when they are at the office. As gaming fans, this irretrievably evokes another cult work: The Stanley Parable.
It would be tempting to think that it is only a simple coincidence, but it is not one. As confirmed by the creator of Severance On Reddit, the independent game was indeed a source of inspiration for the series. This revelation even more sheds light on the many parallels between these two striking works.
Works with sterile aesthetics
From the first minutes of Severancethe spectators are struck by the sanitized and agonizing aesthetics of the offices of Lumon Industries. The endless corridors, the empty and impersonal rooms, the disturbing symmetry of the sets … everything recalls Labyrinthine spaces of The Stanley Parablewhere the player moves to dehumanized offices. In both cases, these environments are not simple sets: they fully participate in the feeling of oppression and absurdity which permeates the universe.
An alienation linked to the world of work
One of the central themes shared by the two works is alienation at work. The Stanley Parable illustrates this idea by putting the player in the shoes of a lonely employee, trapped in a system that gives him no real free will. For his part, Severance Pushes this logic even further by separating its characters into two distinct entities: the Innie, locked up in the office without any memory of the outside world, and outy, which ignores everything from his work.
The resemblances such as these are numerous between the two works. Severance Of course other inspirations: Matrix, The office or The Truman Show Jostle in the list of Muses of Dan Erickson, the creator of the series. But The Stanley Parable The most palpable of them remains. If the series and the game share many common points, Severance does not just copy The Stanley Parableshe magnifies the themes through a more linear narration and a constant dramatic tension.
By confirming this influence, the creator of Severance Only reinforces the idea that the two works respond, each in its own way, in their criticism of the dehumanization of work and the loss of identity which results from it. Additional proof that video games can be a major source of inspiration for ambitious audiovisual accounts. If you haven’t tested yet The Stanley Parablethis can be the time to do so.
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