I had the pleasure of playing Chants of Sennaar at Gamescom 2022, and I was immediately captivated by this indie puzzle game. Set in a Tower of Babel-inspired location, the game challenges players to decipher multiple languages. The demo had already hooked me, and the full release did not disappoint.
However, I soon discovered that Chants of Sennaar truly shines as a couch co-op experience rather than a solo endeavor. The puzzles can be quite challenging, and at times, I found myself struggling to understand the languages spoken by the characters. All the dialogue, both written and spoken, is presented in glyphs, which are the languages used by the tower’s residents. It’s up to the player to translate these glyphs through contextual clues and environmental puzzles.
The first language introduced in the game is relatively simple, starting with basic words and instructions and gradually progressing to more abstract concepts. It serves as a gentle introduction to the mechanics of deciphering the glyphs. The game provides a notebook where players can jot down potential solutions. For example, a square with a dot might mean hello or goodbye, while interlinked circles could signify help, and an upside-down triangle might indicate here or there.
As players progress, they learn new words by overhearing conversations, interacting with characters, helping them, and reading signs or murals. Occasionally, players have the opportunity to match glyphs with their meanings. The notebook becomes filled with sketches that illustrate the concepts represented by the words. Successfully unlocking all the meanings reveals the true translations and proper grammar for constructing sentences. It’s an incredibly rewarding experience to witness the dialogue transform from simple phrases like “Hello/goodbye, please help me go here/there” to more complex expressions like “Hi! Please help me get across.”
The complexity of the second language introduced in the game significantly ramps up the challenge. In this language, used by the Warriors, plurals are denoted by a separate glyph rather than repeating the word. This distinction was not immediately apparent to me, but my housemate, Tom, quickly grasped it.
Tom casually remarked, “I think that squiggle means plural, mate,” barely looking up from his laptop as he sat on the other sofa. This observation became the key to unlocking much of the language. Throughout the night, Tom and I reviewed interactions, discussed potential solutions, and made progress at a much faster pace than I could have achieved alone.
It was fascinating to witness Tom’s thought process diverge from mine. He approached the puzzles with a different perspective, offering suggestions that I had previously dismissed. At one point, he even speculated whether the Warriors’ language had its own unique grammar and syntax, which I initially doubted but later realized was a valid consideration.
The initial stages of deciphering each language prove to be the most challenging. With no context or understanding, everything feels new and confusing. However, as we unlocked more words and gained momentum, the remaining meanings fell into place like a cascade of dominoes. Tom and I ended the session feeling accomplished, but little did I know that the next language would present an even greater challenge.
This time, not only did we encounter a separate glyph for plurals, but there was also one for negatives. Instead of having specific words for “no,” “not,” or “don’t,” a wave-like glyph was used to indicate negation. Furthermore, the grammar structure differed from what we had encountered before. Unfortunately, Tom is no longer here to assist me. We both moved out over the weekend, leaving me to tackle these new languages alone, much like the mythological residents of the Tower of Babel.
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Source: DOTESPORTS
