Tales of Kenzera: ZAU Review – Metroidvania with Cultural Love

It is always cool to see a new studio coming forth with a title made of unbound love and passion, and Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is one such game. For those who are unfamiliar, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a single-player Metroidvania by newly formed Surgent Studios – founded by Abubakar Salim, who many may recognize as the voice of Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins.

Brief and lost are always difficult topics to handle, but Tales of Kenzera: ZAU tells such stories beautifully at a personal level. Based on a story written by a father to his son who is going through a difficult time of grief over the death of his beloved figure – you follow a young shaman named Zau as he makes a pact with the God of Death, Kalunga, to revive his father from death. To do so, Zau must go on a treacherous journey to convince 3 Great Spirits who oppose Kalunga to submit to the God of Death.

Speaking of Kalunga, the God of Death serves as a guide for Zau throughout his journey, and heightens the mood through his interactions with the young shaman. In Metroidvania, it is uncommon to have a central lead who is not quiet, but despite Kalunga not contributing to gameplay, his presence by Zau’s side made for an enjoyable atmosphere. As mentioned, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU tells a tale of lost, but presented at a more personalized and evocative level, which is something fresh in the genre.

Cultural Love

Further setting itself apart from its brothers and sisters in the genre, Surgent Studios embraces Bantu culture in Africa and presents its beauty in the game, delivering an authentic feel. A huge kudos to the studio, because it gives us an experience like no other as we learn and appreciate the diverse cultures in the world. The game even allows you to choose Kiswahili voice audio in addition to the English option, allowing you to play such epic adventure fully in the auxiliary language that is quite commonly spoken in various parts of Africa, especially in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.

Despite being a fictional fantasy world, the characters and environmental designs truly capture the culture, with each aspect meticulously crafted to its fullest elegance. The studio’s choice of incorporating fantastical elements strengthens the game’s theme even more, especially how much it revolves around shamanistic practices.

Power of Masks 

In terms of gameplay, the title manages to live up to the quality expected from a solid Metroidvania, particularly its responsive and snappy controls. Something especially important in this genre due to platform challenges and fast-paced combat. The main unique aspect of the game’s combat is Zau’s ability to use the powers of two different masks, where the one associated with Sun focuses on melee, while the Mask of the Moon specializes in long-range combat.

These two masks can be swapped between each other mid-combat according to your current situation. It may seem straightforward at the start, but over time you will be presented with a vast array of skill options that enhance the capabilities of each mask. For example, Mask of the Moon can eventually also fire Bamba’s Stone projectiles to freeze enemies, or it can summon torrents of water to support you in platform challenges. What’s more, each time you inflict damage on an enemy, you recover a Spirit Bar that is useful for restoring health or unleashing ultimate attacks. Every enemy you defeat also gives energy known as Ulogi to accumulate into skill points.

Trinkets and Bosses 

If you expect a challenge, this game is on the milder side, whether in combat against legions of enemies you face or platforming challenges. Do keep note that some foes may have layered armor and are immune to stagger, so that is part of combat that you need to be wary about, encouraging you to try to penetrate through their defenses before approaching them aggressively at close range.

To further strengthen Zau, you may equip him with special Trinkets, which are acquired through certain optional platform challenges. There is a catch, and that is you can only use one Trinket at a given time and they are only accessible at a workbench at several specific points in the map. Level design-wise, I unfortunately don’t find it as memorable, as even though it is enough to facilitate some exciting gameplay moments, the atmosphere and nuances feel bland.

Some of the boss battle segments are quite engaging, but in terms of game content – it is limited and is reflected in the price tag. There is no doubt a lot of great potential that can be further maximized from this seemingly simple gameplay, but it is clear that Surgent Studios is trying to maintain expectations through a game with sufficient foundation as their first successful work as a new developer. But to be able to answer the standard and be able to compete with the best Metroidvania games on the market, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU still falls a bit short.  

Still Lots of Great Potential

Overall, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a good game that plays it safe, placing focus on its evocative story and cultural representation, but delivers a title with no big surprise that blows you away that others in the genre have been doing for the past years. It is not a bad game, as it has some fun boss battles and exciting platform challenges, but that is what is expected as you progress through any Metroidvania.

This does not make Tales of Kenzera: ZAU a weak Metroidvania, as for a debut game, Surgent Studios does a relatively great job in sprinkling something unique to the genre, especially considering the project scope and target pricing. If you’re someone who enjoys Metroidvania, seeking new games to try out, especially one with a distinctive style, this game is no doubt a recommendation.

Simply put, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a game developed with much love, tells a story that will touch you personally with a beauty of culture on its front, and offers solid gameplay, that while not amazing, is fun enough for its worth.

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is slated to launch on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC on April 23, 2024.

The game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU

Publisher: EA

Developer: Surgent Studios

Release Date: 2024-04-23

Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox Series X|S

Wield the dance of the shaman. Reclaim your father’s spirit. Brave the beautiful and treacherous land of Kenzera with the God of Death in Tales of Kenzera™: ZAU, a metroidvania-style adventure crafted by Surgent Studios.

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