Verho: Curse of Faces is the Best King's Field-Like you can play right now
... and I'm not kidding!
If you’re expecting a review—this is not that. If you want to know my thoughts on this game—I love it! Just go buy it already. Only stick around if you want to hear the rantings of a Mad Lad who’s gulped the Kool-Aid that Verho so tastefully poured into my chalice.
Also, I interviewed the developer SaikingS last week, go check that out too!
For starters, the combat—oh baby, the combat—is an absolute treat. It’s first-person melee, which amounts to a lot of smacking something and running away, but the constant threat of botching your timing and eating an attack means you’re always just one or two errors away from restarting an area. And this is fine! It grants the developer a lot of leeway in designing the distinct wind-ups and cool-downs of the enemies you face, as well as the unique feel of the weapons you use to strike them down.
Verho utilizes a sort of reverse stamina meter: you need to charge your attacks before they do meaningful damage. Once you release the strike, it comes out almost instantly, letting you rinse and repeat this cycle until you find a good rhythm. Fast, single-handed weapons charge in 0.5 seconds or less, leaving your off-hand free for options like shields and torches that allow for more defensive play or navigational convenience. Slower weapons take up both hands and hit noticeably harder; blocking with them is nothing compared to a real shield, but why block when you can just dance around your opponent’s threat range while charging up a few heavy strikes?
There’s magic in this game, too—you pick up runes that let you cast various spells if your intelligence stats are high enough. Many early-game spells are straightforward projectiles, with the most useful inflicting lingering effects like Burn or Poison. Some pass through enemies entirely, while others have multiple blasts like a scattershot. By the late-game, there’s no shortage of wildly original spells. Some send ripples across the ground, damaging everything in their path, while others apply an extra layer of elemental damage to your weapon. My personal favorite summoned a floating sword to follow me around and strike any enemy I engaged. There is an immense amount of customization here for whatever kind of magic user you want to be, and I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of all the options.
Rings also play a role, though they mostly provide passive buffs to specific values you care about—health, mana, damage, defense, certain attack types, and various resistances. I didn’t find any that introduced entirely new gameplay elements (like turning me into a dragon or something), but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re hidden away somewhere out there. Consumables serve a similar, value-targeted purpose. While you do get options like throwing knives and fire bombs, I don’t especially enjoy grinding for finite items—especially not when magic is as accessible as it is here.
Exploring the map was incredible. It reminded me of Dark Souls II the most, in the sense that there are a handful of distinct paths available right from the beginning, some leading to key items and others to entirely new regions. Every so often you’ll hit a grand scenery change where you’re clearly stepping into a new ecosystem. I loved these moments—new terrain, new enemies, and the potential for new gear. Midway through, I started getting a distinct Metroid Prime vibe. You know that specific feeling when you push through a grueling, difficult segment and are suddenly greeted with a massive, expansive new zone to explore?
Speaking of environments and enemies—the art direction this game utilizes is just gorgeous. You can tell the artists were comfortable working in this clearly hand-made polygonal look. The animations, the textures, and the sheer layout of the levels are soaked in this “early 3D was rad as hell” ethos, making everything from ponds and bridges to fountains and caves completely readable without needing the satin veil of nostalgia to excuse how it looks. It’s so... punk? Like the developers are shouting, ‘I don’t care what you think of my ideas, I just NEED to get them out into the world!’
Okay, think I want to pause here. Check out my video where I show off how to get the Karath Tablet!