Chants of Sennaar Review

Chants of Sennaar is a new adventure puzzle game that has been neglected among the vast number of video games coming to the market. Not even many critics have reviewed it. It does not mean the game is weak or undervalued, but simply it has not attracted notable attention, Especially considering it’s genre. However, we believe the game to be one of the best independent games on the market, and we will discuss why.

Chants of Sennaar is based on old stories about the Tower of Babel and its people. Of course, it is not going to be the same story you have probably heard before. But the world in which the game takes place is similar to the story of the people of Babylon who could no longer understand each other’s language. The story does not play a central role in this title. Even when the game starts, it goes directly to the gameplay and does not prepare you for a twisted tale or something like that. The developer has put the narration at the heart of the gameplay.

You must interact with the world, see the different points of interest, and deal with the environment to probably find out about what’s going on. The game is metaphorical in its narration and does not consider itself obliged to answer your questions. However, the game as a whole does not have a deep tale and can only provide a light one to motivate you through your adventure, and that is not a bad thing, because you need to focus.

As we said, the game emphasizes the gameplay more than the story. Just unlike today’s more cinematic adventure games in which, your activities are so streamlined. But in the puzzle part, Chants of Sennaar is far away from the old classic adventure titles too, and goes its own way. Here you are faced with puzzles based on unknown fictional languages. In this world, there are five races with different cultures, none of whom understand each other’s speech. You, as one of these people, have no understanding of the language that everybody speaks or the writings that you witness. So the main challenge is understanding different words and doing things based on them.

The game has a long list of glyphs, each of which carries the meaning of a word. The more you advance in the game, the more glyphs are added to them. You have a notebook where you can see glyphs and even name them temporarily. Over time, by talking to people, dealing with different puzzles, checking the environment, looking at the sketches that the main character draws in his notebook, and with some luck, you can understand the real meaning of the glyphs and use them in your journey.

This tampering with the letters of fictitious languages may not be too interesting for some people, in which case the game is not suitable for you. Especially since other activities like a bit of platforming or some stealth are there just to diversify the game, and they have no meaningful presence. Here it would be best if you enjoyed discovering the secrets of ancient languages, not classic puzzles. Of course, apart from the specific puzzles of the game, you have to deal with not having a map. Because the Tower of Babel that the developer built for the game is big and full of corners that you have to visit without having any map.

Although Chants of Sennaar is an indie game, it also shines in the visuals department. The game has a large world with beautiful scenery. There are no detailed or realistic models, but the interesting architecture and saturated colors will make you stare at the game. Of course, if you don’t like the game’s saturated colors, it is possible to reduce the intensity of the colors in the game settings section.

If you are not busy with famous titles like Starfield or Sea of Stars and are looking for a whole new experience in the adventure genre, Chants of Sennaar is a product that can keep you entertained for about ten hours. Unfortunately, the game has no real replayability value, instead, it costs only twenty dollars, and it already has discounts in online game stores.

The review code was provided by the publisher