In Verbis Virtus

In Verbis Virtus turns speech into the control scheme, which is the unusual thing that sets it apart. By our assessment, this is a first-person fantasy game for players who want to cast spells by speaking words aloud, and that makes the whole experience feel more like performing than pressing a menu of attacks. Its strength is obvious: when voice recognition cooperates, every spell has a little theatrical weight. The downside is equally obvious, because talking to cast can be awkward in a shared space and can feel finicky if the recognition does not catch the word cleanly. In practice it is slower and more deliberate than a standard action game, with a lot of attention on pronunciation and timing. It sits between puzzle casting and first-person adventure, not as a replacement for either. In Verbis Virtus is strongest when the player enjoys the novelty of vocal input and can live with the setup it asks for.