If you're like me, you probably love to learn languages but can't keep yourself motivated or interested enough in common apps to keep up a streak. Or, you just don't have easy access to conversation partners and turn to apps like Teuida and HelloTalk. Well, language strugglers, rejoice because there's an exciting tool that's perfect for us linguaphiles who also love visual novels!

Konstantine and Jasmine meet the MC

Gameplay

"Explore the forgotten roots of civilization while learning a language."

Created by Hiro, a long-time language teacher and learner, Laga is a story driven game set in the ancient Middle East after the fall of the Tower of Babel. The game simulates real-time conversation through the lens of an exciting (and sometimes chaotic) adventure in an ancient land.

Equipped with an (optional) language learning engine, the game was created in recognition of the benefits of learning a language through real-life experiences. Despite its intended purpose, the story doesn't need or require the language engine to keep player attention—it's just as fun on its own, so you can give it a base playthrough in your native tongue and then try and challenge yourself in your target language!

Language Learning

You may be wondering how on Earth a visual novel is supposed to help you learn a language. It's really simple, actually!

When you start the game, you will be able to choose your native and target languages from a list of nearly 30. Then, with the click of a button, you will be able toggle between the two as you play. I personally choose to keep my target language as the base, only switching to do a quick check when I'm unsure of what's being said.
Two screenshots showcasing a dialogue box. One has a sentence in the native language and the other has it in the target language.
The Laga natives will speak your target language and beginners have the option to only include the 400 most common words of their target language. For example, if I were to choose the beginner option, I'd be given a hybrid of beginner Spanish and advanced English words which would help me practice and continue with the story without too much difficulty. Once you're more comfortable, you can turn off this feature and continue in your target language with the toggled translations only.

Along with integrated translation, Laga has a host of other supplementary features, including a personal dictionary and four mini games (a couple of which require access to a keyboard that can type your target language's unique characters, if applicable). Hiro also hopes to integrate Anki, a free flashcard app, and some more features.
Four screenshots, showcasing one mini game each
At the time of writing this, Laga supports 28 languages without the use of automatic translators, like Google Translate, and is looking to include a definite few more. Suggestions are also encouraged!

Currently, Laga supports: Japanese, while previously supported, is currently back in progress as there are a few mechanical issues with it that need to be looked at.

Final Thoughts

I've been a language lover for my entire life but, even with 7+ years of learning Spanish in school, I just can't retain it. I've also been self-teaching Korean for about 4 years, and it's pretty much the same thing. I can read both languages pretty well and I can understand them somewhat when listening, but I usually either need too much time to process for a conversation or, I simply don't know what it is I'm reading haha...😅

Hiro created Laga to be more effective and emotionally engaging than apps like Duolingo and Rosetta Stone and, so far, he's doing a great job! I found myself really invested in Jasmine, the sometimes off-putting but friendly cafe owner, and Konstantine, the rougish adventurer who I wished we had more of in the demo. Even though I've finished the current version, I'm going to go back and play it again in Korean. I can't wait for the full game to be released and I look forward to continuing my language journey with it.

If you're interested in the game and keeping up with its development, you can follow the Itch.io page and subscribe to the Substack newsletter.

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