Verho - Curse of Faces

Дата публикации: 27-07-2026 07:00:00

There are games that tell you exactly where to go, what to do and why. Verho: Curse of Faces takes the opposite approach. Here, you're thrown into a cursed kingdom where answers are few, mysteries abound and curiosity becomes your most important tool. After my first few hours in Yariv, one thing was clear: I wanted to see what lay hidden round the next corner. The premise is as simple as it is fascinating. Meeting someone else's gaze means certain death. Humanity's last hope therefore lies in mysterious masks that both protect the wearer and shape their identity. It's a unique idea that quickly piqued my interest.
<bild>The wide range of options available for masks means that players are keen to try out several different classes.</bild>
A kingdom that has long since given up
The first thing that struck me was the sense of isolation. Yariv doesn't just feel abandoned; it feels like a kingdom that has long since accepted its fate. I thought back to Hollow Knight. Just like in Hollow Knight, you encounter surprisingly few souls along the way. The few NPCs that remain feel more like lone survivors than inhabitants of a living community. The world tells its story through ruins, abandoned buildings and environments rather than lengthy dialogues. I got the same feeling as when I first wandered through Hallownest; a place where the grandeur has long since faded, but where the echoes still linger.
The visual style is a love letter to the late 90s. The blocky models, pixelated textures and characteristic fog bring to mind the first PlayStation generation and the Nintendo 64. However, nostalgia is never used as a crutch. Instead, it enhances the eerie atmosphere and makes the world even more distinctive.
<bild>No, the game isn't set in an Austrian cellar</bild>
The dialogue brings to mind the first Diablo. Almost every character speaks with a fateful gravity that heightens the sense of hopelessness. It's clear that Verho has taken elements from various games within the adventure genre and blended them together to create something entirely his own. The ambient music does the rest. It lies discreetly in the background, heightening the sense of loneliness without ever taking over.
A modern love letter to King's Field
Verho never tries to hide its old-school roots. Quite the opposite. At times, the exploration feels like a modern love letter to King's Field. There's no map, no waypoints and no aids to guide you to your next destination. The game relies on you observing your surroundings, remembering the routes and finding your way on your own. Personally, I appreciate that philosophy. When a shortcut opens up or you revisit a previous area, it feels like my own discovery, not something the game has simply handed to me.
<bild>The masks come with a moustache; this is a requirement in Verho.</bild>
Instead of traditional classes, the game builds its system around masks. Each mask changes your playstyle and encourages experimentation. I quickly became hooked on the Knight mask. Two-handed weapons, brutal blows and a playstyle where brute force always takes precedence over finesse suited me perfectly.
A world that beckons
What kept me playing was the story. Verho never reveals the whole truth, but lets the player piece it together for themselves. Each new area raises more questions than it answers, and there's a constant sense that something bigger lies ahead. That curiosity drives the game forward far more than the combat itself. Unfortunately, the game's weaknesses also become more apparent the longer the adventure goes on.
The hit detection feels unreliable at times. On several occasions, I found that enemies hit me even though I thought I was out of their range. At the same time, there are situations where my own attacks feel difficult to predict, particularly against smaller enemies such as bats. The result is that some battles feel frustrating for the wrong reasons.
<bild>The crossbow is a formidable weapon in Verho, where close-quarters combat isn't enough.</bild>
The platforming sections could also have done with a bit more precision. I fell off ledges on several occasions when I was convinced the jump would be long enough. The issues aren't catastrophic, but they occur often enough to disrupt the flow of the game. I also miss having a logbook. In a game where the story plays such a big part, it would have been nice to be able to re-read previous dialogue or important clues.
If you take a break for a couple of days, there's a risk that important details will slip your mind, and that feels like an unnecessary limitation. Technically, however, there's very little to complain about. On the PlayStation 5, the game runs smoothly and I never encountered any serious bugs or performance issues whilst playing through it.
<bild>A classic feature of adventure games is the list of items you have to keep track of.</bild>
Verho: Curse of Faces is a game that dares to go its own way. It captures the same melancholic loneliness as Hollow Knight and combines it with an exploratory element clearly inspired by King's Field. The result is a world that constantly draws me in and a story that keeps me wanting to see what lies around the next corner. At the same time, a few recurring annoyances hold the overall experience back.
Unreliable hit detection, platforming sections that lack the precision they require, and the absence of a logbook mean the experience loses its flow more often than it should. For those who appreciate dark action RPGs with a distinct retro feel, there's still plenty to enjoy here. The atmosphere is the game's absolute highlight, and the world lingers in the mind long after the credits have rolled. With a few much-needed improvements, Verho could have been in the running for significantly higher ratings.
<bild>The conversations are few but long.</bild>

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