Chants of Sennaar Reviews

Great puzzle game using basic written linguistics. It is a terrific game to go blind into and represents what an indie game should be. Buy at any price.

Ele é muito bom na proposta de ser um jogo de quebra cabeça e trás um universo gostoso de se conhecer.

Angenehmes Spiel, die Rätsel sind gut machbar und manchmal muss man einfach etwas genauer hinschauen um die letzte Ecke zu finden die einem noch fehlt.

Nice game, challenging, interesting story and fun way to spend a weekend.

Really fun and unique approach to a puzzle game through learning (fictional) languages. The environmental storytelling is incredibly immersive as well.

A great game in a very specific niche genre of language interpretation. In every location you will gradually discover more symbols/words, and with time you will uncover their meanings through context, by applying logic, or simply by examining your surroundings. The game never feels boring and I personally did not encounter any serious roadblocks, it does a great job at keeping you invested while not giving away too many hints. The cultures of different people who inhabit the layers of the tower-city are very nicely made. Each floor has its unique visual theme and architectural style, and people who live there differ from people on the other floors. They cleary have different ways of life, speak differently (both the symbols and the grammar/language rules are drastically different between floors) and value different things. It all makes sense, and discovering the intricacies of the daily lives of all these people feels very good and rewarding. The artstyle is just gorgeous, it carefully highlights all the things you need to see, but still carries enough small details so the scene always feels alive and inhabited. Play it even if you are not a huge fan of this genre, I think everyone should experience such a masterfully crafted piece of art.

I've never encountered a puzzle game like this one, it's insanely complex in the best sense. I never imagined I'd enjoy a puzzle game based entirely on languages to be so good. The soundtrack is gorgeous, the puzzles are somehow complex enough to have me thinking about how to solve them for a while (the alchemists' weight puzzle almost made my head explode), but they're still possible to solve eventually. The story itself is insane, it took a twist I didn't see coming. I had so much fun playing this game and I'm sure I'll replay it later even now that I know how it ends :D

As a language nerd, this game heavily appealed to me. It's a great puzzle game about languages and honestly I think we need more games like it. I really enjoyed the environments and music; the game looks and sounds incredible! As someone who doesn't do too well with chase scenes or stealthing in video games, those parts were a bit difficult, but still fun! I loved learning about the world through the languages, behavior of the inhabitants, and environment. Even if you're not a language nerd, it's still very fun!:)

I luckily stumbled upon this game while searching for something with level progression locked behind knowledge (think Outer Wilds, The Witness, etc.), and it’s definitely not a bad one, even though it’s also hard to call it a shining example of this sub-sub-genre. Generally, the game leans more toward puzzles, so if you’re expecting some structural linguistics-inspired mechanics deeper than [spoiler]“oh, this one is a right-to-left script, similar to Arabic,”[/spoiler] you might be disappointed. That said, several times during my playthrough, it forced me to use an actual pen and paper, which I guess is cool. And since I started with the downsides, another aspect the game could maybe do without is backtracking, which sometimes felt unnecessary and overwhelming—even with a few shortcuts here and there. Sometimes it was hard to understand where I should go next, and it required some tiresome backtracking, which took up about 15 to 20 percent of the overall playtime. I generally enjoy games that don’t hold your hand and guide you through the gameplay, but only if the gameplay loop remains fun. Anyway, everything mentioned above doesn’t come close to being enough for a negative or even a neutral review. What this game excels at is atmosphere. The graphics are fantastic, with varied stylization and beautiful color schemes, which also serve as a guide to how the game is divided into segments. The stylized “languages” contribute to the overall feel, and the music is lovely (at a certain point, it even becomes one of the plot’s additional cornerstones). I also really enjoyed the slow-paced narrative and the overall story: no spoilers here, but it’s sweet and hopeful, and also very relatable to the real world (keep an eye out for easter eggs). So yes, the gameplay isn’t bad, and all the negatives are easily forgotten once you’re immersed in the game’s atmosphere, which makes Chants of Sennar an engaging, visually beautiful, and quite captivating game with a simple yet unique twist. It’s also short, making it perfect for a relaxing game weekend. Overall, I really appreciate the ideas introduced here (linguistics is fun!) and would love to see how the developer—or anyone else—might build upon them. 8.5/10

Beautiful, smooth graphics and great puzzles! I got stuck on a non-linguistic puzzle here and there, but overall it was the perfect difficulty for a casual puzzle lover (I love puzzle games, but I'm usually not very good at the harder ones). I especially loved the parts where I got to translate/interpret between the cultures, and the fact that not just the characters/vocabulary changed between them, but also the grammar.