As I sit around down to save aboutTales of Kenzera : Zau , I ’m immediately at a loss for words . My instinct is to open with some sapience about the number of grieving , the painful physical process that ’s at the center of Surgent Studios ’ debut . The longer I extort my brain for the thoroughgoing parole to describe it , the more I come to accept that there is no ecumenical truth . Grief is a messy emotion that takes each person roam down dissimilar paths . The only thing that ’s consistent about it is that it ’s a journeying .
Surgent Studios founder Abubakar Salim adapts that feeling inTales of Kenzera , a deeply personal projection create after his sire ’s overtaking . Here , Salim reimagines his own sorrow process as arichly detailed 2D Metroidvaniasteeped in Bantu culture , one filled with both strong-arm and mental battles . It ’s a fantastic escapade , but there ’s honesty in that approach . How else can you express the prominent than life history emotions that grief can bring ?
Tales of Kenzera : Zautells an emotionally impactful story reinforced by creative design decision that put a physical feeling to abstract emotions . Its struggle lie in its overture to the Metroidvania literary genre , as its surprisingly straightforward structure sometimes undercuts the winding fib of acceptance . It ’s an imperfect first appearance , but that ’s fitting for a plot about something as mussy as sorrow .
The Shaman’s path
tarradiddle of Kenzera : Zauopens with an effective frame tale that run aground its grander chronicle . It begin in a futuristic city , where a man named Zuberi tends to his recent sire ’s flat . There , he finds a playscript that tells the tale of a Shaman named Zau , whose floor parallel Zuberi ’s . He ’s also fall behind his father , but is dealing with it in his own way ; he sets out on a pursuance to revive his Baba with the help of Kalunga , the God of Death . That apparatus makesTales of Kenzera ’s dissertation clear from the leap : Grief is a story . While each person ’s story may look unlike , each contains worthful wiseness that we can gain by listening to one another . It ’s like finding the lesson in a fairy tale .
It ’s well-situated to see the self-aggrandizing ghostly painting .
That idea works as well as it does thanks to an emotionally honorable story that tackle its issue from several angles . Even if you did n’t know the well - publicized inspiration behind the undertaking , it ’s unmortgaged that it was born out of a raw , open home . Zau , and the character he meets along his journey , all deal with the level of heartache . The revival meeting quest begins from a place of abnegation and bargaining and works its way towards acceptance , though it is n’t so rigid about that mental process . The closing of Zau ’s journey is n’t fully written ; the futurity is his to shape .
Zau is a perfect hero for that history . He ’s an fallible booster who is give room to be a relatable muckle . Early on , he ’s brash and selfish in his pursuit . The first chapter sees him chasing down a young missy who run forth scared from him . Completely blind to her fear , Zau ends up falling from a rickety bridge and is beam tumbling down a series of falls . It is n’t just a authoritative video game diversionary attack to embellish out the period of play time — it ’s a teaching moment . He has to rise out from his mistake , coming to terms with that flaw in his character . Each obstacle makes him stronger as he see what it mean to be a apparitional therapist .
That dynamical highlights one thingTales of Kenzeradoes specially well . While it handle in universal root about grief , it ’s also a celebration of Bantu culture . It examines the specific way that the Bantu people deal with death , tying that into Surgent Studios ’ own formulate lore . Though we only see a slash of the world inhabited by a modest handful of characters , it ’s prosperous to see the handsome spiritual picture . It shapes the way Zuberi thinks about his own Father of the Church ’s passing in its frame tale . Hopefully , that Wisdom of Solomon will reach players too .
Let me get lost
In the lead - up toTales of Kenzera ’s launching , Surgent Studios made it clear that its gameplay decisions were n’t random . Salim says that the studiosettled on the Metroidvania formatbecause it mirrors the journey of grief . Players bulge out in an unfamiliar earth and determine to get a hold on it the more they develop . It ’s a sound thought that makes the genre feel more meaningful , though the philosophy does n’t always jibe up with the carrying out .
Tales of Kenzerais amazingly aboveboard compared toother games in the genre . Its various biomes roleplay out in a mostly additive style , with a few curt diversion along the way to seize collectable traditional knowledge , accomplishment - granting gaud , and health upgrade earned from meditate at a Baobab tree diagram . biome do n’t interweave and connect at multiple points ; each has one single entering and exit . It ’s arduous to get lose , let alone explore very much .
There are pro and cons to that approach . For those who find the snarl - like nature of Metroidvanias intimidate , this is a much easy entry peak . Its focus is more on crafting clear platforming challenge and puzzles that are satisfying to clear . There ’s a runny joyousness to clamber over tree diagram branches or pall between tree stumps that are perfectly placed over vicious piss . A concise set of extra power adds some smart puzzling to traversal too . When I get the power to immobilize water with an pointer , I have to use my mastermind to freeze waterfalls , turning them into surfaces I can wall jump off of . With profligate , fluid movement that ’s easy to control , players can travel rapidly to the next story pulse .
That lost friction , though , seems a little counterintuitive to the emotional journey the genre is being used to parallel . There ’s never a period where I feel like I do n’t understand the humans around me . It ’s rare that I even stumble a track blocked by an ability I ’ve yet to come up . Instead , I ’m able to follow a marking on a understandably defined map and traverse every obstruction with the skills I have from the jumping . Many objectives , like feel keys needed to open locked doors , have me nail a platforming gauntlet and then backtrack through it all again to get back to where I come from .
It all feels a little stiff and neatly fix by Metroidvania standards .
My toolset grows as I gain the power to set in motion off of grapple points or smash through blocked walls , but the earth does n’t open up to me the deep I get . It feels more like I ’m playing a linear 2D adventure biz with a set path . It ’s great at deliver that , but it all feels a little blotto and neatly defined by Metroidvania criterion . That feeling does n’t couple so well with the comparatively complex journey .
Though the structure does n’t quite match the story , Surgent Studios excels when it comes to create richly detailed 2.5D environments . Rather than playing on the genre ’s tropes ( grassland , fiery cave , icing world , etc),Tales of Kenzeratakes role player to more thoughtfully construct areas that each have their own look and feel . Wanderer ’s Path is a shining and sunny starting area that ’s construct for basic platforming . It feel like home , a safe area that keep me in my comfort zone . Later , I find myself in the much darker Wildwood , a tangled forest lined with concealed ambush and a foggy backdrop . It feels more unsafe and incertain , paralleling the heartbreak bow as the initially cocky Zau becomes more vulnerable in his emotional journey . I may be exploring minute paths , but I can feel the profoundness that exists beyond those beautiful landscapes .
Battle-tested
Combat has its limit too , but it ’s embark on from a much solid foundation . Zau ’s moveset revolve around two mask that he can tack between on the fly . The Sun mask lets him rip off stock hack - and - slash combos with a flaming twist , while the Moon mask lets him fire off arrows from afar . I can switch between those skills instantly in battle with the spigot of a button , create a fast - paced interplay between long - range and tight - range attacks . Surgent Studios refers to that moral force as a “ dancing , ” and that mind to the full come across in flying , balletic scrap encounter .
There ’s some surprising depth to it all that break itself as Zau acquires more power . By the final few hours , I can fire a flurry of pointer at a fly critter , hit it with an ice shot to suspend it in blank space , launch a spear at it , bash into it with my paries - ruin bash , and spend some feel vim to hit it with a pillar of flame . That ’s overkill for one measly enemy , but that stage of self - verbal expression cause a seemingly uncomplicated system feel much more complex .
This is the kind of marriage between play and meaning that every studio apartment should strive for .
The only disappointment here is that there are n’t a lot of great opportunities to show off . Tales of Kenzerafeatures a fairly low phone number of monstrosity that reoccur in arena - same battles dissipate throughout the mapping . The only added turn is that some puppet have elementary shields that require the veracious mask to break up , but there ’s not much strategy beyond that . Thankfully , the escapade has a concise eight - time of day runtime to match its small graduated table .
There are several pip where I can finger thatTales of Kenzerais a launching game , but others palpate like Surgent Studios is already wise beyond its eld . scrap and motion are both fabulously smooth , rising to match much bigger project likePrince of Persia : The Lost Crown . Though what ’s more notable is how nothing here feel like it ’s simply fun for fun ’s rice beer . Every decision connect back to either its exploration or grief or its tribute to Bantu culture . From a memorable soundtrack draw on African custom to trap - fill biomes meant to provoke anxiety , this is the variety of marriage between shimmer and meaning that every studio apartment should strive for .
While the adventure does n’t always mirror its personal journey as powerfully as it could , I reach the right name and address by the end ofTales of Kenzera . Once I attain the last challenge , I palpate like I ’ve to the full total into my own as I smoothly zip through platforming gauntlets and crush the last Bos with easiness . I ’m provide with a sense that the brash , sloppy Zau truly has grow in his journeying . He has n’t just learn to accept his Baba ’s dying , but gain the strength to carry forward and grow into his own as a Shaman . It ’s as much a polar coming of age tale as it is a somber reflection on grief . When one chapter ends , another begins . Tales of Kenzerareminds its instrumentalist to keep turning the Thomas Nelson Page even when it feels like their news report has reached its conclusion .
tarradiddle of Kenzera : Zauwas tested on PC andSteam Deck .
