Verse VR Brings The Magic Of Poetry And Folk Song To Life

Verse transported me from the overwhelming din of a busy convention to the other side of the planet. During a quick hands-on session with this chill poetry game, I traveled to a Senegalese river village and a manicured Chinese garden, soaking up every word; every line of poetry and folk song as I wandered its immersive soundscapes.

Verse is all about texture. Highlighting curated folk poetry from every corner of the world, its painstaking attention to detail does a lot of heavy lifting to put you into the experience. Verse has you explore bespoke environments created with the help of cultural advisors and experts to help ensure that each environment measures up to the places it's replicating. You blink around using teleportation-based movement and admire the scenery with vignette camera movement.

Each area is peppered with glowing orbs. Pointing at them with the right controller and pressing the trigger prompts a poem, folk song, or informative pop-up to fill the screen. Songs and poetry are performed by curated voiceover artists with some serious chops, while informative bits of text like explanations about cultural flourishes and traditional musical instruments are without voiceover.

In the first level, I took a leisurely stroll through a traditional Chinese garden. Flowing poetry recited by a native speaker offered comment on moments in the garden like heartbreak, changing seasons, and the rain. Each poem lingers comfortably in the one-minute range, which makes for a hearty but digestible helping of verse. I've always been fascinated by the mechanics of language, so this is a rare treat. Especially for a language as famously idiomatic as Mandarin, I love looking for proper nouns in this sea of sounds I don't recognize to anchor myself as I try to read along. Games rarely scratch this specifically nerdy kind of itch for me, so naturally, I sought out every poem in the two levels I played.

While the Chinese garden is undoubtedly cool, my time in Senegal is easily the highlight of the PAX East demo. Verse's immersive approach to audio design shines in this more lively environment: kids giggle as they chase each other on the river bank, a rooster crows underneath a shady tree, food sizzles on a grill, and people gather around a tribal musician playing traditional music. All these sounds come together to really put me in that place and time.

I wandered this Senegalese snapshot, listening to women of the village sing as they work, take care of their children, and cook. I definitely prefer this segment, if only because the poetry was set to music. And because you're not doing much but watching the illustrations dance to the poetry as you read along, that musicality added a welcome dimension to the whole process.

That's where my main gripe comes in… Verse has won me over with its immersion, but the shtick runs thin after a while because things just don't really come together. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but nothing happens after you find every poem, song, or cultural note. The world stays the same: those kids playing on the river bank run along the same canned path for the entire time you're in the level.

I adore the picture Verse is painting thus far, but I really wish there was a greater sense of cohesion with each poem eventually feeding into a grand finale in some way. Something like listening to a specific poem bearing an effect on the world as a whole.

In its current state, Verse is rich in texture and vetted, painstaking authenticity. But while I'm impressed and would love to explore more, anyone looking for a video game might walk away underwhelmed. I can't help but see opportunities where even a small amount of extra reward for curious players or an effort to work in some player impact on the level would make Verse significantly more engaging.

Verse VR is coming to Quest, Steam, and the Epic Games Store.