A Compact First-Person Soulslike
Would you like to play Dark Souls, but a bit smaller and more linear? A first-person Dark Souls, toned down in scope but packed with weapons, spells, and punishing combat? Verho - Curse of Faces is exactly that.
You travel through a strange, hostile world made up of several distinct locations, meeting odd characters along the way, and fighting through hordes of enemies. Core gameplay loop is very familiar: pushing forward through enemies, dying, learning, and eventually conquering areas and bosses. And it helps if you have an innate hatred for barrels and wooden boxes, because you’ll be smashing a lot of them, as doing so is often the best way to earn money and resources to survive the journey. Verho offers a surprisingly large selection of weapons, alongside runes that function as spells. There’s no traditional armor system (aside from shields) but instead you equip special rings, up to four at a time, which enhances your abilities. Despite its simplicity on the surface, I genuinely enjoyed my time with this game quite a lot.
Visually, it is clearly inspired by the King's Field series, with intentionally low-resolution graphics, low FOV and a heavy, oppressive atmosphere. The game is very moody, supported by music that enhances exploration and tension. Combat itself is fairly simple mechanically, but that doesn’t make the game easy. You will die a lot. Trial and error is a major part of the experience, with frequent moments where you turn a corner, take a few steps forward and instantly regret it. You will also learn to hate certain spike traps. Bosses are generally straightforward. If you’ve played other Soulsborne titles like Elden Ring or Bloodborne, you likely won’t struggle much with their attack patterns. Most of my deaths came not from boss complexity, but from the fact that your character is slow and not very mobile. This also isn’t a particularly long game, but it feels appropriately paced.
That said, there are a few drawbacks. I wish the game were a bit less linear. Few early areas are nicely interconnected, but later on the structure becomes far more straightforward: one location leads directly to the next, with fewer opportunities to branch off. There are some optional areas, but I wanted more of them. Voice acting is also inconsistent and sometimes awkward, and none of the characters left a strong impression. I honestly don’t remember a single name. Enemy variety is another weak point; many foes are reused with recolors or minor model tweaks, while behaving exactly the same.
Even with those issues, I had a genuinely good time with Verho: Curse of Faces. It’s a focused, atmospheric, and enjoyable Souls-like that knows its limits and works well within them.
Is this helpful to you?
Yes
(4 )
No
Report abuse