| Chants of Sennaar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Rundisc |
| Publisher | Focus Entertainment |
| Designers |
|
| Programmer | Thomas Panuel |
| Artists |
|
| Composer | Thomas Brunet |
| Engine | Unity[1] |
| Platforms | |
| Release |
|
| Genre | Adventure |
| Mode | Single-player |
Chants of Sennaar is a 2023adventure video game developed by Rundisc and published byFocus Entertainment. It was released for theNintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,Windows, andXbox One on 5 September 2023,iOS andAndroid on 26 August 2025. The game is inspired byHeaven's Vault andCaptain Blood. The gameplay mostly involves solvingpuzzles andminigames which generally require decoding and understanding thefictional languages of the tower. It also features occasional sections ofstealth gameplay. The plot is inspired by theTower of Babel myth, and the player translates between various different tribes that do not understand each other.
The game received generally favorable reviews from critics who praised its design and puzzles, andThe New York Times named it one of its top ten games of 2023.
The player - referred to as "the Traveler" by the developers - explores a structure inspired by theTower of Babel – which the titularSennaar refers to – full of people who speak fictional languages, represented bylogographic writing systems. Encountered languages must be translated using clues such asnon-verbal communication used bynon-player characters,illustrated signs, or other contextual clues. The player is aided by a notebook that contains the list ofgraphemes the player has encountered up to that point, and they may type in a word they assume is the meaning for a grapheme, which is then displayed above that grapheme 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 ofnouns,verbs oradjectives which the player must match the correct grapheme to; if the player correctly matches all graphemes to meanings on the page, those graphemes will be considered solved, and their real meaning will be displayed above them. If all graphemes from a sentence are solved, a full translation is shown. As the player progresses higher through the tower, they encounter new languages that must be translated.[2]
Different languages have differentwriting systems and different language characteristics: some languages signifyplural asrepeating 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 thepredicate andsubject in different places of asentence. The graphemes themselves may also provide hints towards the meaning, with languages havingdeterminatives (e.g. verbs, or nouns that involve humans).
Some areas introducestealth gameplay; if the player is caught, they are sent to the entrance of the area, where they may try again.[3]
The Traveler awakens from asarcophagus situated at the ground level of a large spiralingziggurat. Through exploring the mysterious structure, they find that every level is home to a distinctcaste of people with their own culture and language. The Traveler 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 theirhedonistic lifestyle is only possible through theinvoluntary servitude of some of their members. They mock the idea of ascending further up the tower, as a deadly monster is said to devour those who try. The Traveler is able to elude the monster and find the Alchemists, a group of miners and scientists conducting esoteric research. They then have to discover how to unlock a giant gate to the tower's highest level, where its mythical creators reside.
Beyond the gate, the Traveler finds the technologically advanced Anchorites, who wearvirtual 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. The Anchorites live in self-imposed exile, a state of detachment perpetuated by their computer system'sAI called Exile, which artificially prolongs their lifespans and attempts to preserve the static status quo. The Traveler 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 Traveler's efforts, the Devotees win over the Warriors by playing music and invite the Bards' slaves down to theirabbey; 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 are able to connect with the other castes through the terminals as well.
Nearing the end of their mission, the Traveler is captured by the Exile AI as the protagonist attempts to climb to the highest point of the tower. The Traveler reawakens and finds a ceremonial altar, but it does not activate. The gameseemingly ends with the Traveler's disappointment, restarting at the sarcophagus. This time, however, the world has aglitched, uncanny quality to it, devoid of most characters and appearing damaged. The Traveler traverses the tower again, while Exile attempts to torment them, but the Traveler eventually manages to break free from Exile's virtual reality and defeat Exile.
Upon returning to the real world, they find the Anchorites now disconnected from their headsets, socializing with one another and expressing gratitude. Resuming their mission, the Traveler is finally able to activate the altar at the tower's peak, with several others in observance. The altar lights up and reveals that the graphemes representing ideals of each caste (God, Duty, Beauty, Transformation, Exile) in their respective languages are in fact the same grapheme rotated in 3D. The game ends with members of all castes on top of the tower conversing, having overcome thelanguage barrier.
Chants of Sennaar was developed by independent french studioRundisc, consisting of Julien Moya (art direction and game design) and Thomas Panuel (code and game design).[4] Moya's wife, Rachelle Bartel, provided the illustrations for the language journal at this stage.[5] Panuel and Moya had previously createdVarion, released in 2018. While it had few sales, they felt it demonstrated their ability to develop and release a game on their own.[5]
Chants emerged at the start of theCOVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.[6] Initially, they wanted to have a game about a protagonist that used stealth, but Moya playedHeaven's Vault, a 2019 game with a similar mechanic around language deciphering, and the 1988 gameCaptain Blood.[7] WithHeaven's Vault, the pair felt that they could better implement such a system into their game. Additional games that inspired the puzzle-solving aspects ofChants includedReturn of the Obra Dinn,Outer Wilds andThe Talos Principle.[5] While the narrative was inspired by theTower of Babel, the direction of their narrative was based on theblind men and an elephant parable, where individuals only have access to parts of the whole of information they need.[5]
The visual design was influenced by a range of cultures, movements and artists, as Moya said "We knew the ancient city had to be covered in architectural marvels and labyrinthian side paths".[8] Among the architectures they used includedbrutalist, Indian, sub-Saharan,industrial, andart deco, as well as Romanesque and Gothic structures right near Toulouse, France. From artists includingThierry Urbain,François SchuitenJean Giraud, andPhilippe Druillet, Moya said "We immersed ourselves in their work, and learned how to play with radical colors."[8] Additionally, they used the isometric approach and strangeness of several adventure games from the 1980s, includingLa Abadía del Crimen,Get Dexter,Knight Lore, andFairlight, as part of their level design forChants.[5]
They worked onChants of Sennaar over the next year and a half.[6] They brought it to the 2021Gamescom convention, seeking out a publisher to help with marketing.Focus Entertainment saw potential in the game and offered to help fund the rest of the game's development. With the extra funding, they were able to bring a freelance sound designer to help add sounds and music to the game over the next two years.[6]
Chants of Sennaar was released for theNintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,Windows, andXbox One on 5 September 2023.,[9] and foriOS andAndroid on 26 August 2025.[10]
With the success ofChants, Focus renewed their contract with Rundisc for their next game in June 2024, which will be another original intellectual property.[11]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (NS) 84/100 (PC) 85/100 (PS4) 78/100 (XONE) 86/100 |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Digital Trends | 4.5/5[12] |
| Edge | 9/10[13] |
| Eurogamer | 4/5[14] |
| Nintendo Life | 7/10[15] |
| Polygon | Recommended[3] |
| Push Square | 8/10[16] |
| The Games Machine (Italy) | 8.4/10[17] |
Chants of Sennaar received positive reviews onMetacritic.[18]Eurogamer likened it to innovativeAmiga games and called it "a fascinating, thoughtful game".[2] AlthoughPolygon found the puzzles occasionally frustrating, they said, "WhenChants of Sennaar is on a roll, there's really nothing else like it."[3]Hardcore Gamer praised its concept and called it "immensely clever and unique". They especially liked the epiphany of solving what words mean and learning about the different cultures.[19]Digital Trends praised what they felt were "ingenious puzzles", "thoughtfully built languages", an "engrossing setting", and "striking art style". They ultimately selected it as an editors' choice.[12] Commenting on its lack of pleasurable hooks,Slant Magazine describedChants of Sennaar as "an interesting and impressive game that ultimately feels more than a bit academic".[20]Push Square "highly recommended" the game, which they found "terrifically unique", though they found the stealth sequences irritating.[21]
Zachary Small ofThe New York Times namedChants of Sennaar as one of his top ten games for 2023.[22]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Golden Joystick Awards | Xbox Game of the Year | Nominated | [23] |
| The Game Awards | Games for Impact | Nominated | [24] | |
| 2024 | The Steam Awards | Best Soundtrack | Nominated | [25] |
| New York Game Awards | Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game | Won | [26][27] | |
| Statue of Liberty Award for Best World | Nominated | |||
| Independent Games Festival | Seumas McNally Grand Prize | Honorable mention | [28][29] | |
| Excellence in Visual Art | Honorable mention | |||
| Excellence in Design | Nominated | |||
| 20th British Academy Games Awards | Game Beyond Entertainment | Nominated | [30][31] | |
| New Intellectual Property | Nominated | |||
| Nebula Awards | Best Game Writing | Nominated | [32] | |
| Hugo Awards | Best Game or Interactive Work | Nominated | [33] |