Chants of Sennaar (NSP, XCI) ROM + 1.0.2 Update

Chants of Sennaar: Separated throughout eternity, the Peoples of the Tower no longer communicate, yet a prophecy foretells a Traveler’s arrival to breach the barriers and reinstate equilibrium. Immerse yourself in a vibrant, poetic realm inspired by the Babel myth, where humanity’s history has faded into oblivion. Traverse an infinite labyrinth, unearth a foreboding truth, and unveil the enigmas of this captivating universe where ancient languages serve as both the lock and the key.

GAMEPLAY

Players explore a structure inspired by the Tower of Babel – which the titular Sennaar refers to – full of people who speak fictional languages, represented by logographic writing systems: Encountered languages must be translated using clues such as non-verbal communication used by other non-player characters, illustrated signs, or other contextual clues.

The player is aided by a notebook that contains the list of graphemes the player has encountered up to that point, and they may type in a word they assume is the meaning of a grapheme, which is then displayed above that graphene the next time they encounter it. Once the player encounters enough graphemes, the notebook offers tests to see if a player has correctly translated the graphemes by displaying drawings of nouns, verbs, or adjectives which the player must match the correct grapheme; if the player correctly matches all graphemes to meanings on the page, those graphemes will be considered solved, and their real English meaning will be displayed above them – if all graphemes from a sentence are solved, a full English translation is shown.

As players progress higher through the tower, they encounter new languages that must be translated. Different languages have different writing systems and different language characteristics: some languages signify plural as repeating the word (e.g. “doors” is written as “door door”), while others have a separate grapheme for marking the previous or next noun as plural (e.g. “[plural] door” or “door [plural]”).

Different languages also can have differing syntax, putting the predicate and subject in different places of a sentence. The graphemes themselves may also provide hints towards the meaning, with languages having determinatives (e.g. verbs, or nouns that involve humans). Some areas introduce stealth gameplay; if players are caught, they are sent to the entrance of the area, where they may try again.

PLOT

The protagonist awakens from a sarcophagus situated at the ground level of a large spiraling Ziggurat. Through exploring the mysterious structure, they find that every level is home to a distinct caste of people with their own culture and language. The protagonist must decipher each caste’s language, using the knowledge gained to help them ascend to the next level.

First, they encounter the Devotees, who seek a god-like being believed to be at the top of the tower. The Devotees are blocked by the imposing Warriors, who have a sworn duty to drive away those they consider “impure” while awaiting a message from the revered Bards on the level above. The Bards celebrate beauty and the arts, though their hedonistic lifestyle is only possible through the involuntary servitude of some of their members. They mock the idea of ascending further up the tower, as a deadly monster stalks. The protagonist can elude the monster and join the Alchemists, a group of miners and scientists conducting esoteric research. They attempt to unlock a giant gate to the tower’s highest level, where its mythical creators reside.

Beyond the gate, the protagonist finds the technologically advanced Anchorites, who wear virtual reality headsets at all times, shutting themselves away from the rest of the tower which they consider doomed. In a secret chamber, one of the Anchorites explains that their people built the tower long ago and were its first residents. Others then arrived and populated the lower levels, but would not communicate due to fear and misunderstanding, thus forming the castes. Responding in kind, the Anchorites entered self-imposed exile, a state of detachment perpetuated by their computer system’s hostile AI (which itself comes to be known as Exile). The protagonist discovers they were created to reconnect the castes; they are then tasked with dismantling Exile and translating between the castes using communication terminals on each level.

Through the protagonist’s efforts, the Devotees win over the Warriors by playing music and inviting the Bards’ servants down to their abbey; the Warriors assist the Alchemists in dealing with the monster; the Alchemists teach the Bards about their shared ancestry and help the Devotees with their dying plants; and the Bards perform a concert for the Warriors. Eventually, the Anchorites can connect with the other castes through the terminals as well.

Nearing the end of their mission, the protagonist gets captured by the Exile AI after the protagonist climbs to the highest point of the structure to find a ceremonial altar, but it does not activate. The game seemingly ends with the protagonist’s disappointment, restarting at the sarcophagus.

This time, however, the world has a glitched, uncanny quality to it, devoid of most characters and appearing damaged. The protagonist traverses the tower again, while Exile attempts to stop them by unleashing the monster. Ultimately, the protagonist realizes they are in the Exile’s virtual reality and manages to break free.

Upon returning to the real world, they find the Anchorites now disconnected from their headsets, socializing with one other and expressing gratitude. Resuming their mission, the protagonist is finally able to activate the altar at the tower’s peak, with several others in observance. The altar lights up and displays a series of glyphs, representing the ideals of each caste (God, Duty, Beauty, Transformation, Exile) as fundamentally similar. The game ends with members of all castes on top of the tower conversing, having overcome the language barrier.