"Killing friends with a word delights, when the mic cooperates"
About
Cursed Companions is an online co-op dungeon crawler built around your microphone. You explore procedurally generated dungeons in first person, casting spells and downing monsters by speaking phrases aloud, while each player is also handed a forbidden word that kills the team if spoken. Beyond the standard 8-player co-op there are three Acts with their own bosses, a Challenge Mode, an Endless Mode, and a 16-player Traitor Mode where hidden saboteurs work against everyone else. It sells in early access for around six euros.
Verdict
There is a sharp, funny game inside Cursed Companions, and a full lobby fumbling their forbidden words is proof the concept works. The trouble is how often the build gets in the way, from a spell that won't register despite perfect pronunciation to a floor that swallows you whole. Content runs thin once the novelty fades, and solo play exposes how much the fun depends on the people around you. At six euros with an attentive team patching away, it's a fair gamble for a group, but temper your expectations until the recognition and stability catch up to the idea.
You'll like it if …
- +You have a regular voice-chat group that thrives on self-inflicted chaos
- +You forgive rough early access edges when the core idea is fresh
- +Social deduction modes like a large traitor lobby appeal to you
You'll dislike it if …
- −You mostly play solo and need lasting progression to stay invested
- −Uncapped resolution and toggleable visual effects are non-negotiable for you
- −Crashes and disconnects in a paid build kill your patience
Breakdown
- +Casting spells by voice and dodging your own cursed word produces genuine panic and misfires that friends remember
- +The traitor layer at 16 players turns careless speech into a weapon and drives paranoia
- −Voice recognition drops correct phrases and picks up words nobody meant to trigger, so spells fail mid-fight
- −Poison-aura monsters and some boss encounters feel awkward to navigate rather than hard by design
- +Three Acts, Challenge and Endless modes give groups reasons to keep queuing
- +Players with long sessions report the cosmetics and progression hold up in a full party
- −The novelty thins fast solo, with repeated monster types and few maps
- −Some players felt they had seen everything the loop offers inside the first fifteen minutes
- +Absurdist humour and a light whimsical tone carry the atmosphere without leaning on story
- −Horror stays mild and there is no real narrative structure to speak of
- +The soundtrack draws specific praise and the outfits and maps have character
- −Motion blur and chromatic aberration ship with no toggle and cause stutter and motion sickness
- −A hard 1080p cap leaves higher-resolution setups stuttering
- −Cameras clip and players spawn mid-air
- +Developers respond to bug reports quickly, sometimes within minutes
- −Crashes and disconnects hit hardest at 16-player lobbies and higher difficulties
- −Collision bugs drop players through floors and teleport them outside the dungeon
- −Voice chat is broken on Linux and Steam Deck, and the microphone input can switch without consent
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