Greetings, friends, and welcome to Mobile Game Monday, where we chat about games you can play on the go. If you like gaming on a phone or tablet, this is the place for you. Join us every week as we go on all sorts of adventures.
A New Year inspires new beginnings; for some, this means resolutions. If you have resolved to better yourself by learning something new, why not learn a language? Lingo Legend takes learning a new language to the next level by making it into a (surprisingly decent) game.
Lingo Legend
Lingo Legend is a language-learning game created by Hyperthought Games in 2022. The game currently offers 10 languages: Japanese, Chinese, Dutch, Korean, French, Portuguese, German, Russian, Italian and Spanish. Additionally, if you want to learn a language not on the list, you can vote for it to be added.
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Developed by language experts, Lingo Legend teaches you more than 3,500 of the most important words and phrases from your chosen language. This includes over 150 categories of vocabulary, grammar and common phrases.
Gameplay
This language-learning journey starts, like most adventure games, by creating an avatar. Then, the player chooses between working on the Farmstead or going on an Adventure. Either way, you will work through a series of flashcard exercises that begin teaching you the basics of your chosen language.
For example, I began my Spanish-speaking journey by learning people and pronoun vocabulary. Then, I moved on to greetings and conversational phrases. Currently, I am learning grammar, such as conjugating verbs. Some languages even include tracing exercises to teach stroke order when learning characters.
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Different question types challenge your brain to ensure you understand the information. You cannot hide behind a multiple-choice question if you have to spell out the phrase yourself. I found that while these types of questions are more difficult, answering them correctly is much more satisfying. Being able to apply your learning rather than guessing means you are genuinely absorbing the content.
So, once you have chosen your language and created your avatar, now you need to decide which path to take. Do you prefer a cozy life on the farm or a more adventurous journey? Each route offers a different type of gameplay, but both teach you language skills. Unfortunately, each endeavor costs energy, which has a daily limit unless you watch ads for more or upgrade to a premium account.
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Farmstead
If you prefer the farm life, the Farmstead is the route for you. On the farm, tend to whimsical crops and cute creatures called Naalas. Complete work orders by milking your livestock, growing crops and using those crops to create baked goods in the bakery. The language practice comes from tending to your Naala; each session levels your furry friend. Additionally, get rewards like eggs, which you can incubate and hatch even more critters.
As you level your farm, you will collect more rewards like cosmetics, currency and supply crates. Those gamers who enjoy games like Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing will get the most out of the Farmstead mode.
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Adventure
Adventure mode sends your avatar out into the wild on exciting journeys. Fight against various creatures hiding in the woods using your new language skills. You do this in the form of a deck-building card game. When in battle, for each card played, you must answer a question correctly for the action to be successful. Progress through the map and use your cards to outwit your enemies. Along the way, you will gather materials that you can use to craft helpful gear.
Complete quests to get experience and gold, which you can use to buy more cards for your deck. This mode has its own progress tier and set of rewards. Fans of deck builders like Hearthstone will feel right at home here. For even more rewards in both modes, you can pay $9.99 a month for a premium subscription. The premium plan gives you unlimited play time with no ads, bonus tier rewards, extra features and early access to new content.
Our Adventure Ends Here
Imagine how many more people you can discuss video games with if you speak another language. Sure, there are more important reasons to learn another language, but this is Mobile Game Monday, after all. Although you can replenish energy by watching ads, this does slow down your progress quite a bit. However, you can always train for free, and this helps to reinforce what you have already learned. In other words, the game really focuses on retention and truly understanding the information, not just temporarily memorizing it. There are also plenty of ways to customize the learning journey to help you learn your way.
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Overall, Lingo Legend is a high-quality game that is genuinely fun and educational. I appreciate that the game offers two different game modes to appeal to various types of gamers. While I probably will not become completely fluent in Spanish simply by using this app, it is a great way to learn the basics and get started. The challenges and rewards are great motivators to stick with it. If you try out Lingo Legends, use my referral code, QV8BF, and we will both receive 1,000 kudos.
Lingo Legend is now available for free in the Play Store and the App Store.
Take it easy, play it safe and Happy New Year, gamers!
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