Chants of Sennaar

Chants of Sennaar is an adventure game about deciphering the languages of people who live in an expansive tower. In order to learn more about the world and solve puzzles, the player will have to decode the meanings of dialogue and written text. Chants of Sennaar is one of the few games that explore interpreting language as a core mechanic. This, along with its vibrant world, make Chants of Sennaar a unique game.

As the player explores the world, they will encounter character dialogue and written text presented in different languages. Semantic components of the languages are represented as symbols. The player has a notebook that will keep track of the symbols they encounter and their guesses at the meaning of each word. Once the player has gathered enough clues, the notebook will prompt them to match a few glyphs at a time to illustrations of their meanings. If the player matches a page of symbols correctly, they will be confirmed and any further instances of those logographs in text or dialogue will be automatically translated. Guesses will appear as grey text in speech bubbles and inscriptions that the player finds, while confirmed words are opaque.

Though Chants of Sennaar doesn’t require a background in linguistics, it subtly teaches the player about the topic as puzzles become more challenging. For example, its constructed languages may have different sentence structures or ways of denoting plurals. For people who are more familiar with these concepts or are looking for more of a challenge, some players of Chants of Sennaar recommend only filling in the notebook when it becomes necessary. This is due to the notebook correcting smaller errors for the player. However, some words are more difficult than others to decipher, especially when playing this way. The game already offers an extra layer of puzzles for players who are determined to leave no stone unturned. This ties into the narrative, which offers different endings depending on what the player has completed throughout the game.

While progressing through the world, the player will need to solve simple logic-based puzzles along the way, such as pulling levers to affect flowing water. Interacting with their surroundings and the people residing in the tower will allow the player to put unknown symbols into context. Very occasionally, puzzles that involve interacting with characters will include stealth gameplay elements. These sections involve timing rather than reflexes and are relatively forgiving.

The unique environment of Chants of Sennaar is another notable element of the game. Based on the Tower of Babel story, the characters are part of distinct cultures, each residing in different parts of the tower. Each culture has its own language for the player to decode. Chants of Sennaar’s bright colours and flat shading pulls from Franco-Belgian comic aesthetics. This vivid world works to bring characters and their languages alive.

This description was written by Cay Macres and edited by Oriane Tury.