Dane Cook and Robert Bowling Announce Vicious Vocab, a Genre-Bending Word Game With a Big Twist

Robert Bowling, a former Call of Duty creative strategist, and comedian Dane Cook have announced Vicious Vocab, a single-player narrative game that puts a surprising spin on familiar word-game mechanics. Players’ words trigger effects and can shift the experience into entirely different kinds of gameplay, making the project a blend of word puzzle, action and narrative.

The five-person team, called funcool games, describes it as “Scrabble meets Balatro in a backroom casino”. Words can cause damage, which players can counter by spelling a suitable response, such as using “water” or “ice” against fire. The game is planned to have more than 20 narrative endings and achievements, with multiplayer intended for a later expansion; players will also be able to continue with the traditional word-game mode.