Before FromSoftware was famous for the Soulslike genre, the developer had another RPG that is well regarded by fans. The King’s Field series was a unique one, with first person RPG gameplay with a unique identity, but not all of the mechanics have aged well. Numerous indie devs have been inspired by King’s Field and have made their own games serving as spiritual sequels, but none have managed to scratch that itch, with most falling into the same pitfalls, more on that later.
Verho – Curse of Faces, from Kassur Games and CobraTekku Games is different though. What we have here is a game that manages to modernize the concept, while avoiding the issues so many others fall into. The first person combat is chunky and requires precision, while you do not get many defense options besides a few shields, backstepping and jumps. This is not to say the game is a basic hack n slash by any means, just that Verho – Curse of Faces puts most of its benefits in offensive stats as well as Dexterity and Strength.
Verho – Curse of Faces does make good use of magic options, and the variety of weapons that are fit for magic based users are a sight to see. Whatever your build, Verho – Curse of Faces nails the precision needed for a King’s Field style of game. You need exact timing to maximize damage for instance, and then you will achieve much more, something the game does its best to encourage you to figure out. This sounds basic, but it is something other King’s Field successors just struggle with.
Another area where Verho – Curse of Faces stands out is the world itself. Many King’s Field successors just feel like random areas stitched together and this results in a world that is a bit incoherent and not worth exploring. This is not the case in Verho – Curse of Faces, which goes for quality over quantity, with a smaller world, but one that feels authentic and real.
There are so many things to discover in Verho – Curse of Faces, with NPCs to interact with and quests to do. It may not be a AAA title, but Kassur Games and CobraTekku Games really did a great job here, with some great enemy variety, amazing music, and a good story. The bosses in Verho – Curse of Faces are extremely well designed and offer a great challenge as well.
Admittedly, some of the moves you will use do feel like reskins of other moves, but there is a lore explanation. In fact, if there is one complaint with Verho – Curse of Faces, it is that it feels like there was a bit of copy and paste of the mechanics and spells to save on time. Still, the overall experience in Verho – Curse of Faces is great and with the right level of chunkiness in the gameplay, excellent voice acting and the worldbuilding that feels satisfying.
Verho – Curse of Faces does have a bit of roughness, and feels like it can use more polish, but it does feel fun to play, and more importantly, it feels authentic to King’s Field. Verho – Curse of Faces understands what made the King’s Field games work so well, but does its own thing to push the concept further. If you like King’s Field, then you need to check out Verho – Curse of Faces.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
