So, I'm unfortunately a self proclaimed Avoider of the Puzzle Video Game Genre. I've tried to play a couple... The Witness, Myst, Baba is You... gave up on every single one of them. But when I saw Chants of Senaar featured in a random "must play indie games" list, I was so intrigued by the premise of exploring an unknown world, learning about the people, and deciphering their language that I put all my hesitation aside and decided to give it a shot. And I'm so glad that I did!

This game is gorgeous. Every screen is frame-worthy and very memorable. Translating the languages is challenging enough to get the gears in your brain turning but not so difficult to the point that it hurts. Love that you can take notes in-game. The puzzles are good! Felt like a genius everytime I figured something out. When I did have to look up something, it was usually because I walked past a key item or room rather than the puzzles themselves.

Some things could be improved on or completely removed though... The backtracking is fine, but holy hell the amount you have to do just to get the true ending felt like a drag. If it wasn't for that and the god awful stealth segments (seriously, what is with the stealth segments? I'm glad other people in the reviews agree it's the worst part of the game), this game would easily be 5 stars. The game has it's flaws, but I still loved it a lot. Definitely want to try out more puzzle games now!