Info about Chants of Sennaar:

Official game description:
Winner of Best Indie Game at the 2024 New York Game Awards and nominated multiple times at other ceremonies including The Game Awards and the BAFTA, Chants of Sennaar is a critically-acclaimed puzzle and adventure game developed by Rundisc.
Divided since the dawn of time, the Peoples of the Tower no longer speak to each other, isolated by fear or mistrust. It is said that one day, a Traveler will find the wisdom to break down the walls and restore the balance. Travel the endless steps of a prodigious labyrinth, uncover the truth and unveil the mysteries of this fascinating universe where ancient languages are both the lock and the key.
Inspired by the myth of Babel, discover an enigmatic and vast tower. As the Traveler, delve into a world full of mysteries, where Peoples have grown distant, unable to communicate with each other anymore. Begin your adventure in a prodigious tower inhabited by five distinct Peoples, observe, listen, and strive to mend the bonds of distrust.
With a smart gameplay system, explore and solve various puzzles to uncover the mysteries of five different interconnected languages. Always guided by your trusty notebook, note each symbol, keep track of your surroundings, engage in conversations with people and unravel the meaning of every glyph. Each step will pave your way to the top of the Tower as each word will restore the link between People.
Dive into an enthralling and colorful world full of secrets. Tumble headlong into a beautiful world inspired by impactful European comics authors where every floor of the Tower possesses its own visual identity, supported by distinctive technological levels, architecture and culture. Embark on a poetic and enchanting journey driven by a soul-stirring, lyrical soundtrack, made by Thomas Brunet.

Release date: 5 Sep, 2023

Categories: Puzzle Solving, Deductive Reasoning Puzzle, Exploration, Single-player Story, Note-taking Gameplay, Point-and-click Adventure, Stealth Gameplay, Environmental Storytelling


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Unique language-based puzzle mechanic (weight 0.97): The core gameplay revolves around deciphering unique languages through observation, deduction, and contextual clues. Players translate glyphs, learn grammar, and understand cultural nuances to progress, creating a rewarding sense of linguistic discovery and cultural understanding. This mechanic is consistently praised for its originality, depth, and engaging nature.
- Stunning visuals and immersive audio (weight 0.93): The game features a distinctive and aesthetically pleasing art style, often described as beautiful, gorgeous, and visually stunning. The combination of the game's graphics, level design, and color palettes creates a captivating and immersive experience for players. The soundtrack is also frequently lauded for complementing the visuals and enhancing the overall atmosphere.
- Balanced, enjoyable gameplay experience (weight 0.89): The game offers a well-balanced and enjoyable gameplay experience. It provides a satisfying level of challenge without being overly frustrating, and the difficulty curve is well-managed. The game's length is also praised for being appropriate, preventing it from becoming repetitive or tedious.
- Rich world-building and lore (weight 0.83): The game features rich world-building, with each area having distinct cultures, architectures, and lore. The environments are varied and detailed, creating a sense of a lived-in world that rewards exploration and investment in the game's story. This aspect enhances the overall immersion and provides a compelling reason to progress.
- Compelling and emotionally resonant story (weight 0.2): The game features a compelling and emotionally resonant story that explores themes of communication, understanding, and unity. The ending is often described as moving, beautiful, and thought-provoking, leaving a lasting impression on players. The narrative effectively ties together the gameplay mechanics and world-building, creating a cohesive and impactful experience.
- Realistic language learning simulation (weight 0.18): The game effectively simulates language learning, showcasing unique grammatical structures and cultural nuances. Players appreciate the opportunity to learn and apply these linguistic concepts within the game world. This aspect adds depth and realism to the gameplay, making it particularly appealing to language enthusiasts.
- Satisfying puzzle-solving and accomplishment (weight 0.09): The game provides a satisfying sense of accomplishment when solving puzzles and deciphering languages. Players feel rewarded for their efforts in understanding the game's mechanics and lore. This positive feedback loop encourages continued engagement and exploration.
- Relaxing and immersive atmosphere (weight 0.04): The game creates a relaxing and immersive atmosphere through its music and sound design. The environments are well-crafted and contribute to the overall sense of immersion. This aspect enhances the player's connection to the game world and makes for a more enjoyable experience.
- Well-polished and enjoyable experience (weight 0.04): The game is generally well-polished and bug-free, providing a smooth and enjoyable experience for players. Reviewers express strong liking for the game, often describing it as one of the best they have ever played. This indicates a high level of overall quality and attention to detail.
- Innovative and unique concepts (weight 0.03): The game is praised for its innovative and unique concepts, setting it apart from other titles in the puzzle genre. Reviewers appreciate the fresh ideas and creative mechanics that contribute to a memorable and engaging experience. This originality is a key factor in the game's appeal.

Common complaints:
- Frustrating navigation/backtracking issues (weight 0.28): Many reviewers found the game's navigation to be frustrating due to the lack of a map, confusing level design, and slow movement speed. This leads to excessive backtracking and getting lost, hindering the overall experience.
- Poorly implemented stealth/chase sequences (weight 0.24): Stealth and chase sequences are frequently criticized as being out of place, poorly implemented, and frustrating. These sections detract from the core puzzle-solving experience and are often cited as a major drawback.
- Underwhelming and rushed ending (weight 0.05): The game's ending is often described as rushed, underwhelming, and anticlimactic. Reviewers felt that the final stages lacked depth and failed to provide a satisfying resolution to the story.
- Inconsistent difficulty curve (weight 0.03): There is no consensus on the game's difficulty. Some reviewers found it too easy, while others found it challenging or frustrating, indicating an uneven difficulty curve.
- Weak final language/translation quality (weight 0.02): The final language and its associated puzzles are considered weak and uninspired. The translation quality is also criticized, with some reviewers finding it confusing or inaccurate.
- Short playtime for the price (weight 0.01): The game's length is considered short for its price. Reviewers felt that the game ended too quickly, leaving them wanting more content.

Gameplay feedback:
- Decipher languages through observation/deduction (weight 0.3): The core gameplay revolves around deciphering languages in a Tower of Babel-like setting. Players learn languages by observing character actions, environment details, and comparing different languages to infer the meaning of glyphs. Each language has unique syntax rules, sentence structures and a limited vocabulary, requiring deduction and inference based on context clues.
- Journal tracks glyphs/translations (weight 0.28): Players record glyphs and their interpretations in a journal, which automatically updates translations as new information is discovered. This mechanic is similar to "Return of the Obra Dinn," where confirming glyph accuracy locks in translations. The final floor features a dictionary that becomes semi-automated, giving the feeling that a PC or AI is assisting.
- Point-and-click with puzzles/stealth (weight 0.1): The game features point-and-click adventure mechanics with puzzles, exploration, and occasional stealth or chase sequences. The game is relatively linear, but the puzzles are intriguing and complex, despite simple base mechanics. Some areas are very back-tracking heavy and labyrinthine.
- Tower of Babel setting/story (weight 0.03): The game is loosely based on the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, where each level has a unique civilization, culture, and language. The player controls a character who seeks to unite the inhabitants of the tower and restore peace. Reaching the top of the tower does not signify the end of the game, as there are still hidden elements to uncover.
- Various puzzle types present (weight 0.02): The game includes puzzles that require finding specific objects, switch puzzles, item searching puzzles, and word guessing puzzles. To validate a solution, players must assign multiple meanings to drawings from a comprehensive list to prevent random guessing. The game confirms your understanding of words and encourages you after piecing together solutions.
- Brute-forcing possible, but inefficient (weight 0.02): Some translations can be tricky, and players may resort to using process of elimination, guess-and-check, or guides to speed things up. The game prompts you to guess the meaning of images in your journal using words you've collected, but this can be easily brute-forced. Brute-forcing words is possible, but learning them through gameplay is more efficient.
- Text-based puzzle exploration game (weight 0.01): The game is a text-based puzzle exploration game, representing a new type of text-based puzzle. The game features a 'word book' where you can record new words and add your own annotations based on usage scenarios. The game's text design primarily uses a one-to-one correspondence between a character and a noun/verb.
- Translation puzzles between languages (weight 0.01): The game features translation puzzles that involve translating sentences between two languages while maintaining correct word order. The puzzles are solved more through interpretation than literal translation of the languages. Linguistic barriers kept five crowds isolated until the player translates.
- Original, thought-provoking mechanics (weight 0.01): The game features original mechanics that make you think and make players feel smart. The game concept is good and the mechanics are unique.

Performance notes:
- Excellent optimization, smooth performance (weight 0.03): The game is well-optimized and runs smoothly on a wide range of hardware, including the Steam Deck and older PCs. Reviewers reported high frame rates and smooth controls, with some specifically praising the game's performance on lower-end systems.
- Stable, mostly bug-free experience (weight 0.01): Multiple reviewers reported encountering very few or no bugs during their playthroughs. This suggests a stable and polished game experience.
- Good Steam integration, auto-save (weight 0.01): The game has good Steam integration, including cloud saves, achievements, and trading cards. It also features an auto-save function, providing a convenient and user-friendly experience.
- Blinking mechanic visually straining (weight 0.01): The blinking mechanic, particularly in certain levels, can be visually straining due to dark transitions. This could lead to discomfort or frustration for some players.
- Potential staircase navigation bug (weight 0): One reviewer reported a potential bug related to staircase navigation, where the character would only move in one direction. This issue may impede player movement and require further investigation.
- Unmemorable, ambient soundtrack (weight 0): The soundtrack is atmospheric and ambient but not particularly memorable. It serves its purpose without standing out.

Recommendations:
- Highly recommended puzzle experience (weight 0.45): The game is overwhelmingly recommended as a unique, enjoyable, and high-quality puzzle experience. Reviewers highlight its engaging gameplay, satisfying content, and reasonable price, often describing it as a must-play and a worthwhile investment of time and money. Many recommend it to both puzzle enthusiasts and newcomers to the genre.
- Appeals to language/puzzle enthusiasts (weight 0.12): The game is particularly praised for its unique language-based puzzles and its appeal to those interested in linguistics, languages, and cultural themes. Reviewers recommend it to fans of similar games like Heaven's Vault and Return of the Obra Dinn, highlighting the sense of accomplishment derived from deciphering the game's languages.
- Play without guides/hints (weight 0.03): Reviewers emphasize the importance of playing the game without walkthroughs or hints to fully appreciate the puzzle-solving experience. They suggest exploring the environment thoroughly and experimenting with the game's mechanics to maximize enjoyment and self-discovery. Some suggest a 'hard mode' without language verification.
- Game is a masterpiece (weight 0.01): The game is described using superlative terms such as "masterpiece", "god-tier", and "marvel", indicating exceptional artistic and technical achievement. These reviews convey a strong sense of awe and admiration for the game's overall quality and design.
- Innovative indie game (weight 0.01): The game is seen as a rare and innovative title that showcases the creativity and originality of indie game development. Reviewers highlight its unique qualities and its contribution to the puzzle genre.
- Similar to Obra Dinn (weight 0.01): The game is favorably compared to other well-regarded puzzle games like Return of the Obra Dinn and Case of the Golden Idol, suggesting a similar level of quality and appeal for fans of those titles.
- Consider specific control schemes (weight 0.01): Some reviewers recommend using a mouse and keyboard for the interpreter portions of the game, citing the need to make notes on the text. Other reviewers recommend using a controller.
- Contender for indie game (weight 0.01): Some reviewers consider the game to be among the best indie games of the year, indicating a high level of satisfaction and recognition within the indie gaming community.

Other player notes:
- Language bridges cultural divides (weight 0.05): The game's core theme revolves around the Tower of Babel myth, exploring language as a bridge between cultures and highlighting the importance of communication, unity, and understanding to overcome societal divisions and xenophobia. The narrative emphasizes connecting different cultures and achieving universal harmony.
- Distinct, culturally rich levels (weight 0.03): Each level introduces a distinct culture with its own language, visual style, and societal structure, creating a cohesive and historically plausible world. The game effectively uses art and level design to reflect the unique characteristics and peculiarities of each population, enhancing the immersive experience.
- Simplified, intuitive language system (weight 0.02): The game simplifies languages to a subject-predicate-object structure, teaching players basic linguistic concepts like plurals and negations. The writing systems are inspired by real-world examples, and the game cleverly uses words and sentences to reflect the unique syntax and grammatical structure of different language systems.
- Accessible, average difficulty/length (weight 0.02): The game's complexity is easy to understand, with a normal difficulty and an average playtime of around 12 hours. The game is suitable for a wide audience, and while the story could be clearer, the game delivers on its advertised vibes.
- Meaningful multiple endings (weight 0.01): The game features two different endings, with a more satisfying conclusion for players who complete extra tasks. The themes are focused enough to make the true ending feel profound, encouraging players to explore the game's world and narrative more deeply.
- Unique Moebius-inspired art style (weight 0.01): The game's visual style is heavily inspired by artists like Moebius, Philippe Druillet, and François Schuiten, creating a simplistic but striking aesthetic. The art style features geometric viewpoints and solid colors reminiscent of ligne claire, contributing to the game's unique visual identity.
- Easy achievements and high completion (weight 0.01): The game has an absurdly high finish rate of about 55.5% according to steam achievements, and almost all achievements can be obtained without much effort during the playthrough. The reviewer found the game easy to Platinum without needing a second playthrough.
- Features cats that can be petted (weight 0): The game features a lot of cats, and the player is allowed to pet them. This is a minor detail, but it adds to the game's charm and appeal.

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