Fix Microphone & Voice Recognition in Cursed Companions

Voice recognition is the backbone of Cursed Companions. When your microphone works for proximity chat but spells, curse words, or cursed doors refuse to trigger, the problem is almost always the voice-control audio path — not your hardware itself. Crimson Forge Studios documents several fixes on their official FAQ, and this guide consolidates every known solution so you can get back to dungeon runs quickly.

Confirm the Problem First

Enable Speech-to-text captions under Settings (Esc). When you speak, green text should appear in the UI. If teammates hear you in proximity chat but no green captions show, voice-control detection is broken while chat audio works fine. This distinction matters because the fixes differ from general mic failures.

Open Settings → Microphone → Test. Say "Long Live the Queen" and watch for moving audio bars plus an OK confirmation. Success here means the game hears you for spell triggering. Failure means continue through the steps below before launching another dungeon run.

Fix 1: Reselect Your Microphone

The most common fix: go to Game Settings → Microphone and switch the dropdown from Default to your specific device name (Realtek, HyperX, USB headset, etc.) or vice versa. Swapping forces the game to rebind the voice-control pipeline. This often resolves issues that appear after changing Windows sound settings while the game runs.

If swapping once fails, exit to desktop completely and relaunch Steam and the game. Windows sometimes leaves audio drivers in a state the game cannot recover from without a full restart.

Fix 2: Windows Sound Settings

Navigate to Windows → System → Sound → More Sound Settings. Disable every input device except the microphone you use for gaming. Set that device as default input. Extra virtual cables, monitor mics, and webcam mics confuse both Windows and the game's voice layer.

Increase noise cancellation in Cursed Companions settings if room echo triggers false positives. Pair with headphones so speakers do not feed back into the mic — a common cause of echo where you hear yourself through teammates.

Fix 3: Reset Voice Detection

Some players report that regular spells work while curse words, cursed doors, and sarcophagus interactions fail. Navigate to Settings → Reset Voice Detection. This targets the curse-specific recognition layer without wiping broader settings. Retry a cursed door after resetting.

Fix 4: Text-to-Speech Fallback

Press Enter to open chat, type your spell or phrase, and send. A robot voice reads the text aloud with proximity range, triggering spells and curse mechanics identically to spoken input. Streamers, café players, and anyone with a broken mic can finish runs this way. It is also useful for phrases your accent struggles with — see our voice commands reference for common categories.

Fix 5: Linux, Steam Deck, and Proton

Community-tested Steam launch options for Proton and Steam Deck:

SteamDeck=1 PROTON_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1 PROTON_USE_NTSYNC=1 %command%

Add these in Steam → Cursed Companions → Properties → Launch Options. Native Windows remains the officially supported platform, but this workaround mirrors fixes used in other voice-recognition titles like Phasmophobia.

Fix 6: Hardware-Specific Issues

HyperX microphones that random mute: try setting NVIDIA Broadcast as the default input device. Realtek driver problems: update drivers or switch to a Bluetooth headset — several players report Bluetooth bypasses Realtek bugs entirely. Try front vs rear audio jacks on desktop PCs if one port delivers unstable input.

When Voice Chat Disconnects

If spells trigger but teammates cannot hear you, check Settings for Voice Chat: Connected. Wait ten seconds on load — the game reconnects to voice servers. Persistent "Not Connected" status requires a full restart. Verify Push-to-Talk is disabled unless you intentionally enabled it.

Exporting Error Logs

If nothing works, capture logs immediately after the failure (logs overwrite on new sessions). Steam → Cursed Companions → Manage → Browse Local Files → cursedcompanions_Data → StreamingAssets → ReceivedLog.txt. Share this on the official Discord or email support@crimson-forge.com. Include your dungeon seed from Settings if the issue involves desync.

Prevention Checklist

• Test mic before every session with "Long Live the Queen."
• Never change Windows audio devices mid-game without reselecting mic in settings.
• Use headphones to prevent echo loops.
• Keep speech-to-text captions enabled during learning runs.
• Review full microphone setup for optimal recognition quality.

This section expands on community-tested patterns from version 1.0 co-op lobbies. Teams that treat voice clarity as a loadout requirement — not an optional setting — extract more treasure, die less to friendly curse triggers, and reach Act III without burning out on repeated Antoinette wipes. Use the linked guides on this wiki as a field manual alongside the in-game H guidebook, which updates dynamically when you encounter new monsters or die to unfamiliar mechanics.

Procedural dungeons mean no two runs share identical layouts, but systems stay consistent: spell phrases rotate each in-game day, forbidden words punish careless speech, shop access is single-player at a time, and the day-end countdown kills anyone who misses quota. Internalize that loop before chasing achievements or Traitor Mode lobbies. Cursed Companions rewards groups who debrief after wipes honestly — mechanical mistakes, communication slips, and technical mic failures need different fixes.

When public Steam matchmaking feels empty, the official Discord remains the healthiest place to find eight-player co-op or sixteen-player Traitor sessions. Pair external text chat with in-game proximity voice so curse officers can spell out forbidden words without speaking them. Streamers should enable speech-to-text captions for VOD clarity and use Enter text-to-speech when room noise makes open mic unreliable.