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video game reviews

Terra Alia: A Multilingual Adventure VR Just Got Updated. Is it Better?

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I was sent a free copy of Terra Alia: A Multilingual Adventure VR to review for my blog. You can read the original review here. I was asked to revisit the title and reevaluate my initial review based on recent improvements and a new online multiplayer game mode. As always, while I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will remain unbiased.

If you’re looking for accessories for your VR headset, like magnetic prescription lenses or a high-quality charging cable, get it at ZyberVR. Use discount code CHURAPE for 15% off. You can also always buy me coffee. 

What is Terra Alia?


Terra Alia is a VR RPG that attempts to teach its players a new language. Magic and technology in Terra Alia are powered by words and phrases in another language, and it is up to the players to explore the world and learn them. The game accomplishes this through its minigames and puzzles. Players must speak the words to learn them and eventually cast them as spells. There are also word-matching puzzles that help players practice and associate the new words and phrases they learn. The power is out there, it’s up to you to find and harness it.

What’s new?

The most important change this time around has to be the performance. While the game ran fine when I first picked it up, there has been a noticeable improvement. Combat and movement feel smoother, and the voice recognition is better. It wasn’t unplayable before, but there were some challenges I couldn’t complete because the game didn’t understand me. It is cool to see that the team is hard at work trying to make their game better.

There are also three new locations to explore, with new quests to complete. The new locations are neat, and they come with some noticeable improvements to visuals and animations.

The biggest change is the inclusion of the online multiplayer game mode. This is a four-player game mode (2v2) where players race to be the first team to fill their vocabulary meter. There are holograms scattered across the field that players must find and correctly name. The mode is available in ten languages, and a creative way to think about multiplayer.

Impressions

I have to commend the team for working so hard to make this game work. You can see the passion behind the project with each update. This time around, the experience was a lot smoother and the game looked better. That said, the game is still hard to recommend.

As a tool to learn a new language, it works fine. Exploring the world to pick up new words to cast magic is a cool idea, and the mini-games make for good practice. It is a very creative approach to learning language, but one that can grow stale. The leveling felt less of a grind, but the grind still feels repetitive. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it makes this one of those games I can’t play for too long without losing interest.

The story is fine. It isn’t anything genre-defining, but it was good enough to hold my attention. The flavor of the world, especially for the new locations is neat and and helped keep my attention longer.

I have no interest in the Multiplayer mode, not that I could find the game. It is a neat concept, but I can see it losing its luster after a couple of games. It could be fun with a good group of friends, but I didn’t like the little I got to play enough to try. This is just personal preference.

So is this game worth it with its new update? It depends. Terra Alia is a very mid-RPG with an interesting gimmick. If you like the gimmick and want to pick up a few words in a new language, you’ll get your

$20 worth of entertainment. If you’re looking for a new game for your kids, this is an inoffensive one that teaches them a new language without being boring. If none of these apply to you, I’d move on. The gimmick isn’t strong enough to make the game a good RPG, but the gimmick is valuable for those who want to learn a new language. This game won’t make you fluent, but you’ll have some fun learning a new way to say hello.

You can pick up Terra Alia: A Multilingual Adventure for the Meta Quest for $19.99 (currently $10.99 until August 23, 2024).

video game reviews

Terra Alia: The Language RPG That Almost Could

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I was sent Terra Alia for free to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends. If you’re looking for accessories for your VR headset, like magnetic prescription lenses or a high-quality charging cable, get it at ZyberVR. Use discount code CHURAPE for 15% off. You can also always buy me coffee. 

Terra Alia is a VR RPG game for the Meta Quest that teaches players a new language. The game supports 10 languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Brazilian Portuguese. Players are put into a world full of magic, but the only way to use it is to learn a new language. 

There is a story to this game, but it doesn’t feel important. At least it didn’t hook me enough to care. The main draw to this game is the grind to learn a new language. The game does this through exploration, puzzles, and combat. 

I felt like exploration was the main loop for this game. Players pick up new vocabulary and phrases through exploration. To pick up a new word, you point at the word, listen to the translation, and pronounce it properly. The game offers a prerecorded pronunciation and uses the Quest’s mic to check yours. Players use the words and phrases they learn to solve puzzles, beat challenges, and cast spells. 

For the most part, the prerecordings are fine when it comes to single words, but they fall off when it comes to prerecordings. The recordings of some of the phrases were incoherent, and I found myself stuck because I couldn’t hear the pronunciation. Challenges are a pain because you can’t repeat the pronunciation of phrases. You can listen to single vocabulary words all you want, but you only get a quick shot at phrases. This made learning phrases difficult, and the challenges annoying to complete.

Combat in this game is where this game could have stood out more, but it falls flat after the novelty wears off. After a couple of battles, I found myself actively avoiding them because they felt like a chore. To cast a spell, players have to translate a word to their chosen language within the time limit. The system gives players a word like a dog and two options, and players must pronounce the correct word properly. It’s a fine system, especially with this kind of RPG, but nothing exciting. It also doesn’t always work which is a bit frustrating.

Terra Alia is good at teaching players new words in a different language, but don’t expect to become fluent. I found that the repetitive grind helped me pick up new words quickly, and I rarely needed to look up a resource. Unfortunately, once the novelty wore off, I didn’t find much reason to play. If you have young kids, this is a solid came to throw them into. It has a cute cartoonish style, the loop is simple and easy to follow, and it’s a nice intro to a new language. Anyone more hardcore about RPGs will find the experience lacking. It is a cool idea and I hope they can make it better, but in its current state, I can’t recommend it. 

You can pick up Terra Alia for the Meta Quest for $19.99.