Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a rich story with heart and fire
The last few years in the gaming space have been crammed full of big triple-A releases (even 'quadruple-A', according to Ubisoft), so in many ways, it’s never been a better time for players everywhere.
However, it's noticeable that as the big-name developers release larger and often bloated experiences with microtransactions, battle passes and such, a lot of these titles have lacked not just a solid and engrossing story but also heart. A fire to not only offer enticing gameplay but also to tell a story that means something and gives us a glimpse into the minds of those doing the work behind the scenes.
Abubakar Salim (who you may know as the voice of Bayek from Assassin's Creed Origins – one of the last good entries in the series, FYI, or as the star of HBO's Raised by Wolves) is working hard to change that, forming Surgent Studios and releasing their first game Tales of Kenzera: Zau.
The promotional videos around its release speak to the team's goal of aiming to tell a deeply personal yet relatable story within the Metroidvania medium, and from the moment you start up the game, it’s clear the fairly small team have put together something really special, with much care and attention to every detail.
You play as Zau, a shaman of Kenzera who, after the recent loss of his father, ventures through all corners of the world to appease Kalunga, the God of Death, with the hope of bringing back his father before it’s too late.
Zau and Kalunga start off somewhat frosty with each other, but along the journey form a great partnership, teaching each other important lessons they might not have quite untangled from their life experiences without one another and looking at grief through the lens of the game itself.
The back and forth the two have was easily one of our favourite parts of the game – a game can live and die on its dialogue – so the fact every conversation felt important, no words wasted, was great to see.
Equipped with your father's Sun and Moon masks, Zau can switch between each at will, changing up the abilities and style of attack available to him. The Moon mask allows you to shoot bolts of ice at your enemies from a distance, keeping them at bay and control of the arena, while the Sun mask equips Zau with a set of spears and unlocks his more immediate and ferocious mêlée attacks.
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Combat, as you’d expect, is challenging and fraught. You’ll need to move quickly and be as decisive as possible to survive long, dancing between each enemy and flitting through abilities to almost keep Zau buoyant in each arena. You’ll start off fairly strong, avoiding the usual trope of losing all your powers and needing to build them back up in order to get to the end, but that’s not to say there’s little to unlock as you move along.
As the game progresses, fights will become more intense as each arena will fill with a multitude of enemies with specific damage and needs to tackle.
You’ll have to sharpen your strategic mind and act quickly to stay alive. Do you take down the armoured enemies first? Push through the enemies weak to your Moon mask and then the rest, or is that enemy healer the threat you need to take care of first to secure your victory? It’s all a juggling act, which thankfully never gets to that upper level of frustration that some titles pushing for a challenge can do.
Tales of Kenzera: Zau is also serious about offering a challenge within its platforming, really pushing you to flex your thumb muscles and get those reflexes fired up while you juggle ice shots, dashes, hook shots and gliding to guide yourself through some pretty dangerous areas.
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If you’re feeling up to the challenge, you’ll find some more advanced mini-arenas dotted around which, as long as you can survive the punishment, will unlock charms that give Zau some pretty neat buffs to combat, experience points and more.
The art style is welcoming, intriguing and toes the line between oil painting and diorama, with echoes of 2021’s Zelda: Link's Awakening remake.
Each area represents an emotion or moment in grief that the team at Surgent Studios have really leaned into, making for some interesting explorations of nature to build on the core gameplay. It’s a title that invites anyone to play, and with a relatable story at its heart, it speaks to the wider draw of the whole experience.
The game's lore and world-building is a great exploration of what can be done within the Metroidvania sub-genre – African-centric worlds aren’t too often explored or celebrated in gaming, and it’s a delight to see it used here so deftly in this fantastical universe based on the Bantu cultures of Central and South Africa.
There’s a part in Tales of Kenzera: Zau that touches on that moment in grief or sadness where space is all you want, despite it not being what you necessarily need. “What a fool I was – chasing silence then praying for that silence to leave,” Zau says.
That one sentence, underpinning how grief and mental health can cloud our judgment, is a poignant reminder of what Tales of Kenzera: Zau wants to explore without feeling like it’s hammering the point over your head with a club.
Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a stunning, impactful and exciting first outing for Surgent Studios and, for us, a classic in the Metroidvania space that could go toe-to-toe with recent big hitters like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Blasphemous 2. Surgent Studios has delivered a beautiful story that resonated with us as we explored the world of Kenzera, and we couldn’t recommend it more highly.
Platform reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Tales of Kenzera: Zau is out on Apri 23 on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.
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