Very few games have touched me to the core, and I can tell you, this one, it’s going to hit hard. EA graciously invited us to a preview for the upcoming game, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, made by Surgent Studios. When it was first announced back in 2023 at The Game Awards by Abubakar Salim, who we all know and love from many franchises (Assassin’s Creed: Origins), talked about it a little.

The story of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is surrounded heavily with themes of grief, and it was inspired by his personal experience. The session starts with Salim showing us a cinematic about the creation of the game. Salim truly is an amazing storyteller, and immediately captivates everyone’s attention. He talks about how his father was the one to introduce him into games, which is why he decided to tell his story through a game. It’s also a way he can honour him and honestly I think it’s pretty darn beautiful, especially after having just a glimpse of the game for now.

If you don’t know, Salim is also the founder of Surgent Studios. I love how he told us excitedly how the studio was created as a “creative vehicle”, to share stories and connect more beyond gender, race, etc. It was all down to what really makes us all human. The ability to just be vulnerable with each other. And although this year has been an amazing year of games already, god, it’s about time we had something that will crush our emotions and tear us apart (in a good way, of course). This is where I KNOW Tales of Kenzera: ZAU will shine.

A TALE AS OLD AS TIME

As mentioned earlier, the game is about grief and coping with loss. It’s about an experience to not just honour Salim’s father that has passed, but its about all our loved ones that we have lost along the way. The story follows a young boy grieving the death of his father in the beautiful city of Amani, Kenzera in 2089.

One day, he reads a Bantu tale left by his deceased father and this brings him into a whole new world in which he becomes shaman, Zau. He then makes a deal with Kalunga, the God of Death. In exchange of three great spirits, Kalunga promised to bring his father back from the dead. Salim later goes on to explain that, some of these questions that Zau ask, are ones that he asks himself everyday.

Now something that really nudged my mind was “WHY Metroidvania???” And Salim answers this perfectly: “The rules and structures of a Metroidvania behave like grief”.  At first, I did not understand, but he continued on explaining how you are first placed in an alien world, but the longer you are in it, the more comfortable you become, you start to adapt to it. If you play Metroidvanias, then you understand.

Sun & Moon Gameplay

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is centered around 3 main elements, The Coming of Age, The Dance of the Sun and Moon Masks, and Setting Foot in a Mystical Realm. The game is of course a single player story game based on Mythical characters inspired by the Bantu lore. When talking about the Sun and Moon masks, this is more about the combat system. Zi Peters, the Lead Designer goes more in depth about it. The masks are inherited from Zuberi’s deceased father and it signifies the duality of the combat’s movesets.

The Sun and Moon Masks show the dynamic interplay of Zau’s emotions as well. It’s amazing just how movement are tied with emotions in Tales of Kenzera, and this shows when switching between the masks. The Mask of the Moon is more long-range and crowd control focused and the Mask of the Sun is more for close-range combat and single-target focused. How players must go back and forth between each playstyle is just an analogy of the whirlwind of emotions Zau feels. Don’t worry, Zi promises that they did not want to be restrictive with mask swapping, but instead encouraged players to use them both equally.

 THE DUALITY OF WORLDS

When it comes to enemies, you’ll find Zau constantly being outnumbered and straddled with overwhelming odds. The enemies also are varied and have the freedom of movement, making the player think more critically. Boss fights are seen as high punctuation points in the game, and themed perfectly with each biome. Zau will learn from all these themes. Something to take note of here is that the developers want you to go on this personal journey with Zau, going through the ups and downs in a world that he honestly isn’t prepared to explore at all. It’s a great moment as you are joining Zau at such a pivotal moment in his life.

The game introduces mechanics that are also tied well with the theme. There are mechanics such as Ability Barriers that change the intensity and the pacing of your gameplay. Now these barriers require a specific ability for you to progress, and you can find these available through an ability shrine. The concept here creates a mild sense of being lost and not really knowing where to go as a player, which will in turn make you explore more. There are more gameplay mechanics such as Loops and Bounces, but you’ll find out about that more soon enough!

Ackeem Durrant, the Art Lead and Character Design, spoke passionately about the art style of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU. The art style is very different from what you see today. It has very whimsical yet heavy tones. He talks about how the game is so colourful even though it is about grief, but he responds that death may be about the mourning of loss, but we often forget that it is also about the celebration of life.

Every biome created in the world of Kenzera has different layers that make it unique. We’re then given an example of how the first areas are seen to be purple, which is a symbol of balance, peace and spirituality. This isn’t just about the environment but characters, shapes an even items carry these specific themes with them. The Highlands biome is seen as a mixture of Anxiety and Responsibility. This is to represent the journey from grief towards acceptance. Then we have the Woodlands, which represents fear and loss. Once you’ve accepted responsibility, it’s time to accept the emotions that come with it. Ackeem also talks about how there are some themes of claustrophobia.

The last theme we are seen in a biome filled with magma, and this represents anger and acceptance. You finally move through all these emotions that have been boiling up, and now you finally do something positive with it. It’s creative, and you can see it in every single biome, every single character. Everything you see, it all has meaning, and I love that.

THE ANCESTORS CALL TO YOU

With so many emotions in play, the music becomes an important part of the story. The emotions are messy. It’s chaotic. Taking a look at the world of Kenzera, it is rich and colourful. Composer Nainita Desai said it was not easy to build a soundtrack of transformative power of loss and love. The music was made to be steep with orchestral elements, infused with ethnic traditional music instruments.

She felt it was important for players to feel the ancestors, the shamans, and the folklore in the music, but at the same time, there are afro futuristic sounds, with synths and beats which represent the present-day world in Kenzera, with its innovation and progress. It was challenging for the orchestra, but Nainita did not back down. Boss fights were full of war drums and hand percussions.

There were contributions from choirs and vocalists from all over Africa, with group chants in Swahili to make the feel more authentic. The same choir that was used in Black Panther was also used for the game. Nainita also stressed how important it was for the emotional moments to be as big as the boss fights.

WHERE THE SUN AND MOON COLLIDE

Salim confirms that the main story will take 8-10 hours to complete, but the side content is an additional 12-15 hours. When asked about the hours, he said it was important to respect the player’s time as well. There are so many good games out there, and so much for us all to consume. He is right! I know most of my peers are hooked on Helldivers 2 or Stardew (not me!) at the moment.

He described Tales of Kenzera: ZAU as a “good season of TV”. I was also genuinely surprised that the price point was a mere $20, but Salim says he wants the game to be accessible to everyone and to “RESPECT THE WALLET!”. He also mentions that gaming is an expensive hobby (It really is!).  If you’re worried about replayability, don’t worry, the game offers a skill tree players can customize which offers a new experience. When asked what aspect the team is excited for players to discover, most agreed that the gameplay and the elements will draw the players in. They’re excited about players discovering the secrets of the worlds and the challenges that they will have to overcome.

With such a crazy-but-good price point, and a beautiful story to match, I can’t see why Tales of Kenzera: ZAU will not do well. It’s got a rich world and lore of Bantu tales, unique movesets, and original score: what more is there to get you hooked?

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is set to be released this 23rd of April, 2024 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, EA app), and Nintendo Switch.