Influent Game Review

I first played this game in 2016 and stumbled across it again. I wondered why I only had 30 minutes in my Steam play time for this game, so let’s load it up and see what caused me to cut it short.

So, the story starts off with a developer named Andrew Cross created a device that can scan objects and translate them into any language. Neat, so far, really cool. We get a montage of text conversation between Andrew and a girl he likes that Andrew’s device was stolen by a tech company and he needs to raise money through streaming in order to take them down in court. That’s a big jump, but okay.

The girl he fell in love with created an android that can use Andrew’s technology to both stream and learn the languages chosen. Oh, and the android can fly/hover in the air. More on that later.

I chose Spanish, as I have a few years of learning vocabulary in that language. However, after an hour of play time, I realized why I stopped playing almost ten years ago.

You see, I get motion sickness like when playing the Call of Duty games, but I don’t fault that on the game itself. The Call of Duty games are super fun, and I was enjoying my time so far with Influent. Thankfully, you can change the mouse sensitivity.

There are twenty languages to choose from, with the goal of the game being to learn three hundred words in the game. I got up to 80 words before the motion sickness forced me to stop playing. And I think I got to a good point to where I got the gist of what I needed to write this review.

Influent is on Steam for $30. I got it on a big summer sale back in 2016 and I don’t think it’s worth $30. The immersion is cool, and you can pick up the vocabulary very quickly, but it makes for a good introduction into a language, not a language learning software like Duolingo or other programs.

For some reason, the game controls are smooth while controlling the android (first person), but they get clunky when in third person (controlling Andrew). Thankfully, you do not need to control Andrew at all except for the very beginning of the game when he realizes that the android has sealed his apartment door shut (which is why you are learning only from what is in the apartment).

Basically, you learn every item in Andrew’s apartment, and that is your limit. It’s not bad for a first time learning game, but I would love to see a sequel where you have to speak in another language to other people, but that may be a project for another game. The game is comparable to flashcards and that’s why I don’t think it’s worth $30. Because for $30, someone can purchase a older edition of a Spanish/English textbook and learn a lot more vocabulary than what the game offers. It is better suited for young students to introduce them to new languages rather than adults looking to learn a new language. There is no grammar to learn. Mostly nouns, some verbs and adjectives. I was able to learn 80 words in less than an hour, so someone looking to complete this game will be able to beat it in less than five hours. But does it actually teach you languages? No. It teaches you vocabulary, which is a great start to learning a language, but you never get to form a sentence, and there is no real punishment for getting wrong answers when you are quizzed on the vocabulary.

But, I did notice when starting that there are over ten save slots for the game. Meaning, if you want to get more bang for your buck, you can start a new game and learn three hundred words in a completely different language.

Just be warned to those who get motion sickness easily such as myself – take it an hour at a time or it will be instant regret.