“Silence can often pierce even the thickest fog of the mind,” muses the god of death as we take a breather at one of Tales of Kenzera: Zau’s tranquil meditation spots. After meticulously flipping and fighting our way across the platforming game’s lush yet challenging world, such a concise line – one of many – hits harder than expected. In this charming metroidvania (a sub-genre of adventure games that involve upgrading your character and exploring interconnected maps), Surgent Studios wants you to take a deep breath and remember what’s important.
You play the eponymous Zau, a charismatic shaman who seeks out the god of death, Kalunga, to return his father from the afterlife. This request comes with a hefty price, as to do this, Zau must travel across an intricate world to bring peace to three great spirits. He’s only one slice of the story, though, as Zau himself is a fictional character in a book penned by a young boy’s late father, designed to help soothe the pain of his own dad’s sudden passing. It’s a moving, universal story about one of life’s ultimate tragedies – Zau’s allegorical expedition pulls from studio lead Abubakar Salim’s own life experience and is overflowing with clever subtext, along with rich Bantu (an ethnolinguistic group across Africa) mythology.
As for how it plays, Tales of Kenzera: Zau follows the framework of other contemporary metroidvanias like Hollow Knight or Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. You’ll jump, dodge, dash, hack and slash your way through platforming puzzles and hordes of twisted creatures. Along the way, you’ll find a host of collectables and optional challenges across the game’s vibrant environments, fleshing out your arsenal with offensive and defensive upgrades.
This exploration process may feel a little too familiar to genre veterans, as there are some repetitious puzzle patterns and recurring enemy types. Yet regardless of experience, Tales of Kenzera: Zau is underpinned by an impactful story that compelled us to keep pushing through despite a few routine encounters. Those less adept with the genre will also find a generous learning curve in Tales of Kenzera: Zau, which is a boon for the game’s accessibility.
Though it takes some time for the difficulty to ramp up, the platforming puzzles in Tales of Kenzera: Zau are moreish. Environmental hazards like boiling geysers and deadly pendulums ramp up the atmosphere, creating palpable tension when pushing for increasingly hard-to-reach goalposts, like coveted meditation points that raise your base health.
Eventually, you’ll be playing Bop-It with your controller, switching between attacks and pulling triggers to tune the aim of your next assisted leap to safety. As a result, ancillary parkour tests were thrilling, with successful attempts at menacing obstacles rewarding us with a deeper look at the game’s superb mythos. However, we encountered a handful of unfortunate bugs that could easily cause moments of frustration while platforming, such as texture pop-in and freezing on the Steam Deck build. While minor in the grand scheme of the game, they’re worth noting – though hopefully, they will be ironed out for the game’s launch.
Combat is where Zau really gets its hooks in. In mastering the Dance of the Shaman, you’ll start with two fighting forms, Sun and Moon. You can strategically flick between icy piercing arrows and close-quarters bladed attacks, while in later multi-level arenas, platforming skills and reflexes are tested as you weaken enemy armour and chip at their formidable health bar. Whether you’re fighting the menacing, explosive Tokoloshe or the heavily shielded Roho ya Ngao, exhilarating photo finishes are just as common as your own devastating deaths – but we relished every opportunity to learn new moves and sharpen our technique.
Through adrenaline-pumping boss battles and melancholic asides, Zau maintains the role of a picture-perfect hero, balancing a brash, optimistic attitude with a sincere heart. The character’s empathy shines through all adversity and is catapulted by a stirring performance from the game’s director, Abubakar Salim. Meanwhile, the game’s ensemble supporting cast, whose riveting dialogue buffs the momentum throughout, build a rich and memorable world.
Despite the grand scale of the 2.5D map, each labyrinthian biome feels uniquely styled, with towering floating islands and desolate plateaus to explore. While the urge to speed through areas in search of danger can be hard to fight, enjoying the finer details and soaking in the dioramic, picturesque environments is well worth your time. This care for aesthetics also rings true for the sound design, with howling winds and insect calls juxtaposing against Zau’s twinkling movement. It’s all brought together by composer Nainita Desai’s evolving momentum-building melodies, which put the cherry on top of every death-defying sequence.
A successful balance of strategic action platforming and tender realism, Tales of Kenzera: Zau makes the most of its metroidvania trappings despite sticking closely to the genre’s reliable roots. By reminding us of what’s important in life, Surgent Studios tells an exceptional story in an inimitable world.
Tales Of Kenzera: Zau launches on April 23 for PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. We played on PC.
Verdict
Though Tales Of Kenzera: Zau plays it safe at times, its touching story, engaging combat, and fantastic performances will stay with us for some time.
Pros
- A heartfelt, complex story of family and overcoming grief
- Diverse platforming and combat options encourage strategic thinking
- Lush, challenging environments are a delight to explore
Cons
- It’s familiar territory for metroidvania fans