Lingotopia

One of the most useful things you can do with your spare time is learning a new language, because it’s most certainly going to come in handy at some point. However, it takes a bit of effort in order to become proficient, especially since it’s pretty difficult to get really familiar if you are not surrounded by people speaking that language. There are many tools to help you, on the other hand, including apps and games.

Lingotopia is a top-down adventure game in which you get the chance to learn a few words and phrases in a variety of languages, as well as have some fun while doing it. There are almost a dozen languages to choose from, although it’s worth mentioning that some of them only feature four or five words. Granted, the developer is actively working on adding more content and more translations.

You begin by selecting the language you want to learn, after which you are thrown directly in the middle of a town where everyone around you speaks the chosen language. It’s possible to click on objects and see how they are called, although it depends on the language you choose, because some are really lacking in this regard. Other than that, you must pay attention to what people say around you.

One of the other tests you have to overcome is writing the English translation to some of the words you encounter, but the interface is far from helpful most of the time, which can really hurt the atmosphere. The camera movement is simply unbearable sometimes, because it automatically snaps when you click to move, which makes it difficult to orientate yourself and find your bearings.

As far as the graphics are concerned, the colors and the models are not bad, but some work could go into the animations, and as mentioned before, the controls really need a complete overhaul. At this point, it’s very difficult to move around the environment because of the slow and clunky mouse input, which can really take the joy out of the experience.

In the end, Lingotopia is far from perfect at this point, but it has enormous potential if the developers keep at it. Hence, it’s a wonderful way to learn a new language, and we can only hope that the game is going to get better and better in the future.