For being as accessible as it is while still getting across the feeling of helpless culture shock at the outset of every new civilization, Chants of Sennaar hits a remarkable sweet spot. It may be too hard for some, too easy for others, but anybody playing it will feel the satisfaction of both learning to understand each culture, as well as watching the big picture come together.

Personally, I think just about everything this game does could be taken a step further into the obscure and it would be for the better - more structural differences between languages, more emphasis on each language being a reflection of that culture's values, more context clues and less of the freebies/Rosetta Stones that are given to you frequently. The pacing in the final area is also a bit strange, but ultimately these are minor complaints when there's so much to love here.

Visually, this is one of the best looking games I've played in a long time and it's a shining example of why fixed camera angles should be used more in games. every single shot has so much attention given to the composition, and what the game wants to show you about the world. every single screen is a clue of some sort, guiding you towards learning about the meaning of glyphs, the things a culture revolves around, what they fear, etc.

The game also fully earns the message that it carries out about bridging cultures by putting effort into understanding one another. By having you go through the Tower's different civilizations one by one, understanding each new one through the lens of other cultures with different values, you begin to see through lines and learn how to find the meeting points between them.

Even with high expectations going in, it's far better than I had anticipated, and one I'll be thinking about for a long time.