In Verbis Virtus

About

In Verbis Virtus is a unique fantasy adventure where you cast spells using your own voice, facilitated by the Unreal Engine. As a wizard, explore a lost temple, solve puzzles, battle monsters, and uncover its mysterious past using the ancient language of the gods, Maha'ki. Experience a captivating world filled with beauty and terror in this immersive game.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 884 reviews

gameplay78 positive mentions

stability22 negative mentions

The concept of using your own voice to cast spells is amazing and adds a unique layer of immersion to the gameplay.
The game features beautifully designed environments that create a mystical atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience.
The puzzles are challenging and require creative thinking, making the gameplay engaging and rewarding.

The game suffers from significant performance issues, with frame rate drops and bugs that can hinder progress.
Movement can feel clunky, which is frustrating in a game focused on puzzles and platforming.
Voice recognition can be inconsistent, leading to miscast spells and frustrating moments, especially during combat.

gameplay
242 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
64%
3%
The gameplay of this game is centered around a unique voice-activated spellcasting mechanic that adds a level of immersion and novelty, making it a standout experience. While the puzzles are generally well-designed and engaging, the combat mechanics are often criticized for being clunky and detracting from the overall experience. Despite some bugs and a need for optimization, the game offers a captivating blend of exploration and puzzle-solving that appeals to both casual and dedicated players.
- “A very unique gameplay experience.”
- “The biggest draw of this game for me, as for most people, was the speech-into-spells mechanic.”
- “The voice-activated spellcasting mechanic (which on paper seems gimmicky) incorporates fantastically into the gameplay.”
- “The gameplay's absolutely terrible: consistently no idea which direction you're headed or what your objective is, combat feels clunky and enemy animations feel basic, and a lot of stuff isn't explained all that well.”
- “While the vocal spellcasting is a very interesting concept in theory, in practice it means you have to spend time memorizing a bunch of gibberish, or frequently interrupt gameplay to crack into your journal to play the game effectively.”
- “When the mechanic works, it can make you feel as if you were a wizard, but when this voice recognition doesn't work, it can make you feel really frustrated, which has a resemblance to a game where control won't respond according to your command.”
graphics
188 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
36%
2%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty and detail, creating a visually stunning atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. While some players noted that the graphics can feel overwhelming or lack cohesion at times, many appreciated the unique art direction and vibrant environments. However, a few reviews mentioned that the graphics engine feels outdated compared to modern standards, yet this retro aesthetic resonated positively with some players.
- “The graphics are absolutely gorgeous.”
- “The graphics in this game are breathtaking, and the pacing is nice and smooth!”
- “This game brings you a unique experience with gorgeous graphics.”
- “The game engine graphics are outdated for when the game came out, but I grew up playing games like Penumbra and Amnesia: The Dark Descent, so the more retro late 2000s graphics really threw me back to a time when I played games much like this. I'd like to imagine the choice of graphics was inspired in some fashion by those older atmospheric puzzle games.”
- “The graphics lack the dirt-in-your-eye photorealism of a 5-star title, but I don't think that this is a bad thing.”
- “I tried turning the resolution and graphic settings down (the game also has an impressive number of adjustable settings), I tried running it in windowed mode, and in 'safe mode,' but none of that had any effect on the terrible frame rate.”
story
176 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
64%
8%
The game's story is primarily conveyed through journal entries and inscriptions, creating an intriguing but fragmented narrative that some players found engaging while others deemed it bland or poorly presented. While the lore and backstory are appreciated for their depth, many reviewers noted a lack of character interaction and immersive storytelling elements, leading to mixed feelings about the overall narrative experience. Despite its shortcomings, the story's themes and atmosphere resonate with some players, making it a noteworthy aspect of the game for those willing to piece together its mysteries.
- “The story available here is up to you to piece together through arcane inscriptions hidden throughout the game, your character's journal entries, and your own observations of the architecture still left standing of this lost civilization.”
- “This is a very special game that explores the story of a man (or woman?) who is searching for a way to bring back the most important person in their life, no matter the cost, and I think it portrays this struggle in a very original and unique way.”
- “The lore and the journal entries are very well written, and provide excellent immersion into the story and getting to know just what happened in these ruins.”
- “The story and writing was either very bland or sometimes bad.”
- “Sadly, there's no plot worth the name.”
- “The story is bad, or at least the little story that it was presented for me.”
atmosphere
86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
72%
24%
3%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beautiful and immersive design, combining stunning visuals, captivating music, and a mystical ambiance that enhances the gameplay experience. While some players noted occasional inconsistencies in cohesion, the overall sentiment highlights a rich, atmospheric environment that effectively supports the game's lore and puzzle mechanics. Many reviewers recommend the game for those who appreciate atmospheric exploration and spellcasting, despite some critiques regarding outdated graphics and storytelling methods.
- “With few exceptions, the game does what it sets out to do extremely well, and delivers lots of fun, engaging puzzles in an extremely atmospheric collection of environments, all the while giving you some interesting lore and backstory.”
- “A really nice game brimming with atmosphere provided by the excellent art design and captivating music.”
- “I recommend this game for its unique and immersive atmosphere along with fascinating lore and challenging puzzles.”
- “The most striking part was the visuals and atmosphere, although they sometimes lacked cohesion.”
- “The atmosphere and tone of the game had me forgetting that I was wandering through an--at times--poorly designed maze because the sights that maze had to show me expertly sold the premise of the game: that this was a place where pilgrims underwent a rite of passage.”
- “They could have added a lot to the atmosphere, made the world feel alive.”
music
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
37%
7%
The music in the game is widely praised for enhancing the atmosphere, with a captivating soundtrack that complements the environment and specific moments effectively. While some players noted that the music can be a bit loud initially, the overall balance between music and ambient sounds is well-received, particularly highlighting the combat tracks. Overall, the soundtrack significantly contributes to the immersive experience of the game.
- “The environment of every chamber is boosted with the selection of music, and there are some one-time specific tracks as well for more impactful moments.”
- “The soundtrack score is very atmospheric and keeps you in the mood and in the moment.”
- “A really nice game brimming with atmosphere provided by the excellent art design and captivating music.”
- “If I must say a negative thing about the music; because of the combination of the mysterious environment and some nerve-inducing tracks, you find yourself preparing for a more immediate danger just up ahead.”
- “I would recommend using headphones and a mic that is close to your mouth, though, as using speakers can mess up your spell casting during parts of the game with a lot of music and background noise.”
- “The music on the other hand does wonders.”
optimization
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
27%
33%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting significant performance issues even on recommended hardware, leading to frame rate drops and stuttering. While the graphics are praised for their vibrancy and detail, many users find the game unplayable due to these optimization flaws, which detract from the overall experience. Despite some instances of acceptable performance, the consensus is that the game requires substantial improvements in optimization to be enjoyable.
- “While visually impressive, performance does struggle at times, particularly in the more dense areas of the game.”
- “The graphics are awesome, very vibrant, and the game runs smoothly.”
- “It's very challenging but with great graphics and everything runs smoothly.”
- “The game has huge performance issues, and the recommended GPU is in no way accurate.”
- “I gave up after loading into the second level and noticing another huge performance drop.”
- “Still badly needs to be optimized; I'm experiencing severe 3D fainting during gameplay.”
stability
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been reported to have several stability issues, including frequent glitches, buggy mechanics, and problems with collision detection. While some players experienced crashes and issues with alt-tabbing in full-screen mode, others found that the overall gameplay experience outweighed these bugs. Despite the reported instability, many users still enjoyed the game and would recommend it.
- “It was somewhat buggy, and some mechanics could be cheesed if you were clever (though open-ended puzzles often have that vulnerability).”
- “Alt-tabbing out of the game is a little buggy when using full-screen.”
- “Glitches: you slide a lot and you don't stop, even when you're button mashing to move and jump.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its playful use of funny spell names and the amusing experience of voice activation, where players often find themselves yelling out silly sounds. Many users enjoy the comedic moments that arise from mispronouncing spells, adding a lighthearted touch to the gameplay, although some feel that the lack of explanations and engaging puzzles detracts from the overall experience.
- “Some spells work with funny words - the first spell, for example, I got to work with only 'plum plum!' and couldn't stop laughing.”
- “While the voice activation is a very fun feature of this game (especially when you can't remember a spell and are yelling out funny sounds), as you venture further, other features will get you hooked.”
- “It's funny when you are first learning the spells and keep making a small mispronunciation of some sort, and it won't work at times.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a strong emotional connection to the game, highlighting feelings of satisfaction and intelligence when solving challenges independently. The sound design is noted for creating a magical yet eerie atmosphere, enhancing the sense of tension and immersion. Overall, the game evokes nostalgia and a deep engagement reminiscent of earlier gaming experiences.
- “The game made me feel smart, and I will always remember and commend that.”
- “The sound ambiance is magical and creepy at the same time, making me feel like I was being followed or that something was about to murder me.”
- “I haven't done that with a video game since I was a preteen, and it made me feel all the more satisfied when I finally worked out on my own how to complete a task the game presented to me.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly when it comes to defeating bosses, which detracts from the overall enjoyment of the puzzles.
- “But killing the bosses in the end is tedious and annoying.”
- “It just makes the puzzles even more tedious.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players find that the inclusion of achievements and document collection goals significantly enhances the game's replayability, encouraging them to revisit the game for a more complete experience.
- “The achievements are also fun, and the document collection goals increase the replay value.”