In Verbis Virtus, the first offering from Italian indie studio ‘Indomitus Games’ has a very simple premise at the core of its gameplay. It asks the question ‘wouldn’t it be cool if you could cast spells by yelling them at your monitor?’ But is the answer a yes or a no? Let’s take a look and see.
The first thing I noticed when playing In Verbis Virtus was the very original art style. Although all of the classic Unreal Engine shading is there, the team have employed their considerable artistic ability to evoke a real sense of delving into a forgotten temple. At times it can be accused of going a little over the top though, particularly with their liberal use of bloom effects that are so overbearing that they made my eyes hurt. Other than that though, the game is very pretty.
Another resounding success lies in the sound design, both in terms of input and output. The game only very occasionally didn’t pick up on the spell I was casting. You can choose to cast them in either English or the fantasy language of the game ‘Maha'ki’ and using my distinctly average microphone, both of them seemed to work very well. As a little test, I decided to impersonate various accents from ‘cockney geezer’ to ‘racially insensitive Chinese guy’ and the game pretty much knew what I was saying every time. The in-game audio is also very good, with a score that meanders between foreboding strings and spaced-out synths to create a very eerie soundscape. The sound effects are very reactive, with alien shrieks and shimmering echoes emanating from the various flora and fauna that inhabit the caverns and temple rooms.
Unfortunately, beyond the aesthetic and the technical, In Verbis Virtus begins to crumble like an ancient tome. The level design is confusing and I often found myself lost in what seemed like an endless maze of identical cavern tunnels, regularly having to back-track through the same sections over and over. These periods of repetition quickly became boring and I often found myself wondering what I was supposed to be doing, only to discover that I’d missed some key item or spell which I then had to back-track all the way through the game to acquire. The puzzle design is also a little tepid at times, often being either painfully obvious or unusually convoluted. One example of this is a puzzle which requires you to have read one of the many snippets of lore which are to be found lying around. I’m all for being involved with the story, but In Verbis Virtus pretty much gives the story second billing to the mechanics and then suddenly expects the player to be well versed in it. Furthermore, platforming in an FPS is quite rare for a reason. Even in Half-Life it could be a little frustrating and In Verbis Virtus regularly expects you to dance about on incredibly thin ledges. These sections are unnecessary and serve only to frustrate and hinder your progress. Finally, the game is buggy, so very buggy. Models will fly around and attach themselves to invisible ropes in mid-air, dangling off of nothing. While this can produce moments of hilarity, it really removes you from any immersion you might have been feeling and reminds you that this is very, very alpha.
I think In Verbis Virtus is a game which shows why early access is not always a great idea. With 12 months of polishing up, getting rid of the annoying platforming sections, adding some more voice acting so that the story is dictated to the player and ensuring that he/she doesn’t miss anything, this could be a solid little indie title. But in its current state, it is a technical demo that allows you to repeatedly shout “let there be light!” at your monitor. I’d recommend watching this space rather than opening your wallet, at least for the next few months anyway.