We often hear that Sherlock Holmes’s greatest power was his immense deductive ability. Since I was young, I’ve felt that everyone has been mistaken, that the great detective didn’t always use this logical capacity to deduce certain truths from proven hypotheses. Here lies the key: hypotheses are often proven long after they have been formulated. Everything fits together in the end, and they have served only as a catalyst that drives the entire process of searching, forming, and proving information. In other words, it was abduction, not deduction, that allowed Sherlock Holmes, the Baker Street character, to advance in his investigations.
This is almost always what we start doing in any puzzle game, and Chants of Sennaar is no exception. We would be true geniuses if we could automatically know the solution and how to approach it just by looking at the pixels on the screen. But no, we usually start by ‘playing’ with it, trying things, moving, touching, pressing…
Gradually, we receive feedback that we interpret in the most convenient way to eventually overcome the puzzle’s specific challenge. And perhaps that is why, in my opinion, puzzle games are the most difficult to design. A puzzle that is overly simplistic, requiring little to no assumption or deep thinking, often fails to be memorable because it lacks that ingenious ‘aha’ moment that leaves a lasting impression. A puzzle that is too complicated will force us to make a large number of assumptions that we must weave together and relate in the abstraction of our minds, which can be overwhelming for many players (me included). Finding the middle ground is thus key. In this regard the game is, in my opinion, leaning towards the simpler one, although I contemplate it more as a philosophical exercise where the experience tries to be more important than the puzzles themselves.
The name and structure of the game clearly refer to the Tower of Babel. ‘Sennaar’ seems to be a translation of ‘Shinar,’ which in turn refers to the land of Babylon where the tower was built. According to legend, it is here, amidst the wrath of God, that the diversification of languages among different populations originated.
In Chants of Sennaar, we are tasked with solving the same puzzle several times, each time deciphering five languages. The difficulty progresses, albeit slowly, and learning to decipher one language is undoubtedly a great help when starting the next. In the mystical tower that we must ascend, the residents will speak to us in their language using very short sentences. We will need to observe signs, murals, objects, rooms, and even documents, which, like the Rosetta Stone, will aid in transitioning from one language to another. The starting point is, in each case, a blank slate. Yet, this is not entirely accurate as our own language plays a crucial role: The residents, like us, also have ways to greet, use common verbs, and express concepts like plurality or negation; they laugh, express surprise, and show fear. All these elements become fundamental in our attempts to decipher the meaning behind each person’s words
Emotionally, the game allows you to feel two different things which, in my opinion, it achieves with flying colors. First, the obvious: solving the puzzle makes you feel like you are gradually learning to understand those around you. Suddenly a word that until now was a complete mystery allows you to help someone who needed your help, and you feel yourself slowly progressing, becoming an integral part of the place you are in. Second, although it usually lasts a short while, the first beginnings at each level are very precious. Those moments when you face your first conversation with someone you don’t understand at all, or even worse, when you think you have understood some loose word and it makes absolutely no sense in the context you are in… it not only reminds you that you still don’t know how the language works, but that what little you thought you knew is possibly wrong.
That feeling of being a tourist and thinking ‘what the heck are you even telling me?’ is unmatched. That feeling of being lost, defenseless in a way that is hard to explain, reminds me of my months living in a strange city, Birmingham in my case, where I didn’t understand 90% of the words I heard, which touched my heart deeply.
The game allows you to decipher each of its symbols as follows. First, whenever you encounter a new symbol, it will be recorded in a section where you can write what it inspires in you, what you think it means. This marks the beginning of the abductive process. Initially, it will be a supposition based on its context, the place where it appears or what is happening while someone says that word to you. As you see that word repeatedly in different contexts, you will likely refine your idea, or change it, if you realize your initial hypothesis was likely wrong.
And the game could function like this. Perhaps as an extra mode, the game could have been designed so that players never know for sure what each symbol means. Perhaps there should not even be an objective translation of each of its words. But the developers wanted to give us the pleasure of seeing our hypotheses come true. From time to time, therefore, the game will show us pages in the book we carry where we can associate different images with the language’s symbols, based on what we believe they mean. If we get it right, the symbol will ‘fix’ itself and the ‘official’ translation will appear. We will no longer have to worry about whether that word really meant that, and we can use it as one more foundation for building the rest of our assumptions. Gradually, we will complete each of the languages. In a similar style to ‘Return of the Obra Dinn,’ we will have to get several symbols right for the game to validate our assumptions, so we cannot simply try one by one until we get it right.
Each language, however, is characterized not only by its unique symbols but also by the structure of its grammar. The way plurality or negation is formed, as well as the ordering and orientation of the words, are crucial. That said, the game is designed so that there are only about 35 words per level/language, ensuring we never feel overwhelmed.
Having only a few words per language makes each level feel like a unique ecosystem. This could probably lead to a debate about how language affects and is affected by the world in which it’s spoken, but I’m not well-versed enough in those subjects to engage in such discussions. Suffice it to say, each inhabitant emphasizes words that make sense in their own ‘world’: what they fear, love, seek, and possess. For example, only one society has a symbol for ‘idiot,’ and it’s beautifully conveyed. This varies from level to level while maintaining some basic words that seem universal: concepts of the individual, the other, the community…
It’s true that the small number of words per language makes it less realistic than what could be achieved. The game could be improved by forcing players to understand the core formation of each symbol, something that clearly exists, as they are not randomly generated; they’re associated with specific words, and the development team has dedicated significant effort to create a truly functional language. I just think they could have increased the difficulty slightly, perhaps by requiring players to create new words. This is only hinted at in the end, and the online community has already begun doing it, showing that there’s a whole universe to explore in this regard.
In the end, the game’s challenge extends beyond simply translating those symbols into our own language. As a secondary yet mandatory task for reaching the secret/true ending, we must facilitate communication between the individuals of each level. This involves not just extra puzzles; the game also beautifully portrays how your efforts to increase communication between communities change them for the better.
This adventure makes you appreciate even more the effort to communicate and make oneself understood among people who, for various reasons, sometimes cannot do so. It’s a beautiful allegory that, far from seeking to unify all under one common language, focuses on the appreciation of others and the pursuit of mutual understanding. These foundations pave the way for more powerful and elaborate ideas, which could have been explored in a more complex version of the game. But as it stands, the game is both concrete and well-rounded. A small gem to decipher.
Non-Game Fish 
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