If you don't read this review do take this bit of info in hand: Always activate a portal when you see it (more later).
When I first saw this game, I was on the fence. Whilst I like the look of the game, I've had too many experiences where form outweighs function. Then I found out it was about deciphering languages I figured it would be a bit tedious and took it off my Steam wishlist. But I still wanted to play it, given the solid reviews. Game Pass tempted me into the world, and I bit.
The first hour or two presented me with a good bit of lateral thinking and a fair few moments that made me feel smart. It was a little point-and-clicky, but that was fine as I could control the pace at which I added to my clue-base. But as I ascended the ladder I found that I got stuck more and more frequently, and often due to trivial things. This, however, was countered by the satisfaction of deciphering the language. But the balance shifted the higher I got. There were some puzzles that were tricky enough that I only got through sheer luck and had to accept that the game had bested me on those. But in general, the puzzles are pretty solid with a few 'what the heck' moments when you brute force a puzzle only to find the solution still doesn't make that much sense.
My main beef with the game ties into this. When you're solving a problem, you don't know if you have all the information to help you. Compare this to a cryptic crossword. With a cryptic crossword you can be helped by the definition, the cryptic clue, your experience with clues, partial completion of the solution, and understanding of the language of the crossword. The only point at which you'll find a solution and not fit it to the clue is when either a) you're ignorant of English language or b) you're ignorant of the language of cryptic crosswords. But, you know everything is there; it's in the clue or it's on the grid. With Chants of Sennaar you don't know if you have all the information you need. So you hunt around in case you've missed something. Sometimes, you have, but more often you haven't and you just need to exercise a little lateral thinking. And this is the rub, the levels are big and labyrinthine. So you can easily spend ten minutes running around the map to see if you can piece a few bits together, only to find you have all the information and just need to apply yourself a little further. The more you do this, the more of a grind it becomes.
It was obviously a design choice to 'open world' this puzzle game, and there is gatekeeping to stop you going too far, but you just never really know if you're fighting a puzzle that's at the same level as you at that point (if the gaming metaphor works, which I don't think it does).
In short, there are just a few too many elements to the game that aren't as enjoyable as the detective work. And nowhere is this more visible than at the end of the game, which (minor spoilers) involves using your understanding of the different grammars in the game to piece together the final throes of the story. The puzzle here is the crowning achievement of your ascent; a deeper understanding of the languages. It would be a great way to end the game were it not such a grind. This coupled with the fact that I hadn't activated three of the portals (I had simply seen them) meant I had to back track and hunt for a good 45 minutes (the levels are all mazes - it ties into the puzzle aesthetic and theme - but it becomes a grind). So the last hour of the game was just tedious for me, to the point where my wife found a walkthrough and we just cheated for the last section. We knew what we were doing, and could've worked it out only we would've made a few mistakes where we weren't sure and the pay off just wasn't there.
So, all that said. My thoughts? The game deserves recognition as the puzzle mechanism is pretty ground-breaking as far as I can tell. The graphics, sound and environs are nice. And whilst I didn't enjoy being in the world, I appreciate the artistic merit. Controls are mostly smooth and responsive, save for the occasional issue. The language and image based puzzles are nice to solve, for the most part, marred now and then by ambiguity and abstraction. The story's pretty good, and you put it together like a puzzle in itself, all wrapped up by the final stages of the game. I couldn't quite hold all the story parts in my head at the same time, but I got the general gist I think. I completed the game, so I must've liked it, and I remember kind of itching to get back in the saddle. But the bits between the puzzles just ruined it for me. I feel like it could've been a six hour game and been a masterpiece.
When I first saw this game, I was on the fence. Whilst I like the look of the game, I've had too many experiences where form outweighs function. Then I found out it was about deciphering languages I figured it would be a bit tedious and took it off my Steam wishlist. But I still wanted to play it, given the solid reviews. Game Pass tempted me into the world, and I bit.
The first hour or two presented me with a good bit of lateral thinking and a fair few moments that made me feel smart. It was a little point-and-clicky, but that was fine as I could control the pace at which I added to my clue-base. But as I ascended the ladder I found that I got stuck more and more frequently, and often due to trivial things. This, however, was countered by the satisfaction of deciphering the language. But the balance shifted the higher I got. There were some puzzles that were tricky enough that I only got through sheer luck and had to accept that the game had bested me on those. But in general, the puzzles are pretty solid with a few 'what the heck' moments when you brute force a puzzle only to find the solution still doesn't make that much sense.
My main beef with the game ties into this. When you're solving a problem, you don't know if you have all the information to help you. Compare this to a cryptic crossword. With a cryptic crossword you can be helped by the definition, the cryptic clue, your experience with clues, partial completion of the solution, and understanding of the language of the crossword. The only point at which you'll find a solution and not fit it to the clue is when either a) you're ignorant of English language or b) you're ignorant of the language of cryptic crosswords. But, you know everything is there; it's in the clue or it's on the grid. With Chants of Sennaar you don't know if you have all the information you need. So you hunt around in case you've missed something. Sometimes, you have, but more often you haven't and you just need to exercise a little lateral thinking. And this is the rub, the levels are big and labyrinthine. So you can easily spend ten minutes running around the map to see if you can piece a few bits together, only to find you have all the information and just need to apply yourself a little further. The more you do this, the more of a grind it becomes.
It was obviously a design choice to 'open world' this puzzle game, and there is gatekeeping to stop you going too far, but you just never really know if you're fighting a puzzle that's at the same level as you at that point (if the gaming metaphor works, which I don't think it does).
In short, there are just a few too many elements to the game that aren't as enjoyable as the detective work. And nowhere is this more visible than at the end of the game, which (minor spoilers) involves using your understanding of the different grammars in the game to piece together the final throes of the story. The puzzle here is the crowning achievement of your ascent; a deeper understanding of the languages. It would be a great way to end the game were it not such a grind. This coupled with the fact that I hadn't activated three of the portals (I had simply seen them) meant I had to back track and hunt for a good 45 minutes (the levels are all mazes - it ties into the puzzle aesthetic and theme - but it becomes a grind). So the last hour of the game was just tedious for me, to the point where my wife found a walkthrough and we just cheated for the last section. We knew what we were doing, and could've worked it out only we would've made a few mistakes where we weren't sure and the pay off just wasn't there.
So, all that said. My thoughts? The game deserves recognition as the puzzle mechanism is pretty ground-breaking as far as I can tell. The graphics, sound and environs are nice. And whilst I didn't enjoy being in the world, I appreciate the artistic merit. Controls are mostly smooth and responsive, save for the occasional issue. The language and image based puzzles are nice to solve, for the most part, marred now and then by ambiguity and abstraction. The story's pretty good, and you put it together like a puzzle in itself, all wrapped up by the final stages of the game. I couldn't quite hold all the story parts in my head at the same time, but I got the general gist I think. I completed the game, so I must've liked it, and I remember kind of itching to get back in the saddle. But the bits between the puzzles just ruined it for me. I feel like it could've been a six hour game and been a masterpiece.