Grammarian Ltd review - "Good grammar CAN make you a living"

Starting off correcting "your" and "you're" and moving up to collective nouns can actually get you a luxurious sky condo - at least, according to the premise of Grammarian Ltd. As far as edutainment is concerned, I've honestly never had this much fun - but will correcting other people's grammar be as satisfying for you as it was for me?

Table of contents:

• Grammarian Ltd story
• Grammarian Ltd gameplay
• Grammarian Ltd verdict

GRAMMARIAN LTD STORY

In Grammarian Ltd, you live in a world where improper use of proper nouns can actually get you thrown in jail. In the year 2099, bad grammar is illegal, and even though you're simply a humble theoretical mathematics graduate, you somehow end up as a grammar validator thanks to a clerical error.

With your career on the line and your college degree out the window, you now have to correct everything from company memos to personal letters, all while trying not to get busted by your suspicious coworker. You definitely can't afford to get fired, not when your apartment is a mess.

The premise of this narrative alone already wins so many points from me - I absolutely adored the humour in the game along with the naturally charming cast of characters. From the oblivious boss to the hilarious case files you have to work on, every small narrative is simply entertaining, so much so that you might just forget that you actually have a job to do. Those bills (and coffee cups) won't pay for themselves, after all.

GRAMMARIAN LTD GAMEPLAY

As for your actual job, you have to get to work each day to read a new brief (which is your grammar lesson for the day) and use your knowledge to correct grammatical errors in certain texts. These can be love letters, detective files, news reports and practically anything under the sun. You slowly progress through each day until you reach the ultimate "test", after which, you'll get promoted (and get a pay raise) if you succeed.

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The money you earn at the daily grind helps you prettify your apartment, buy decor and food to boost your stamina and mood or add to the already lovely music playing in the background as you get to work each day. All these are complemented by the charming visuals and colourful character art in the game.

When it comes to the actual grammar, I came into this thinking I had it all mastered - but I immediately got served a slice of humble pie as I ended up tapping away at one mistake after another. You need to aim for chains to increase your pay at the end of each day, so tapping at the wrong word can break that chain (and bruise your ego pretty badly). I started out not even trying to read the brief, thinking I already knew it all, but the beauty of this game is that it really does teach you the right grammar in innovative ways that'll keep you interested - and make you realise that you're a mere Padawan and that you still have much to learn.

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WHAT'S THE APPEAL?

Of course, there's only really one gameplay loop here - wake up, commute (or power walk, if you're broke) to work, get the grammar validation done, go home, buy stuff if you wish, and go to sleep. It's a pretty basic cycle, and it can get tedious if you're not really aiming for a bump in your pay or an upgrade to your condo. You might also feel frustrated at the grammar tasks if you're not particularly feeling it during the day.

The advantage of this kind of loop, in my opinion, is that you can just boot up the game, get one day done (or have your fill of satisfying grammar corrections), and log off. It's a bite-sized method of learning or polishing your own grammar in a totally non-boring way, and I honestly wish there were more gamified learning experiences like this.

Grammarian Ltd offers a totally fun way for players to learn grammar without actually realising they're learning grammar. It might feel a little too close to home at times, especially if you're already clocking in at a regular nine-to-five on a daily basis, but the humorous narrative keeps things spicy. If there were an actual job like this IRL, I'd sign up in a heartbeat.