Platform(s): PC (version reviewed), Xbox Series, PS5, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Metroidvania, Story-Driven, Platformer

Grief is something we all deal with differently. In my time of gaming, I’ve dealt with my emotions one way. Raging in FPS games. As I hit my 30s, maybe taking out my frustrations on random teammates is not really idea. I say this but here I am in another match about to yell my anger out on these poor souls in Overwatch 2. But honestly, games are what we gamers just use as a form of dealing with how we feel, which is why I love these soft, emotional games that really cut you. I’ve never been great with dealing with grief, and mostly ignore my emotions with gaming (I think most of us do?).

So lo and behold when Tales of Kenzera: ZAU was announced, it piqued my interest. A game that helps with accepting death, and dealing with the grief that comes with it.

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a Metroidvania developed by Abubakar Salim himself and his team at Surgent Studios.  I spent 13 hours playing through the main story although it can be finished in 8 to 10 hours. That’s what we were told by the developers themselves. I, myself am not a Metroidvania gamer so it did take me a tad bit longer than what most players will usually finish at. It doesn’t take long for you to play the game to know that there was a lot of heart and soul put into its development.

You start with Zuberi, a young boy who has recently lost his father to a long-term illness. his father leaves him a book on Bantu Tales. The book is about Zau, a young shaman who has just lost his father, making a deal with the God of Death, Kalunga. If he can bring peace to the 3 spirits who have somewhat cheated death, Kalunga will bring Zau’s father back to life.

A STRUGGLE THROUGH TIME

The story hits. It really does. It’s messy, emotional and it’s honest. Something we all need a reminder of. I won’t spoil the storyline for you, but I’ll talk about the characters. The relationship between Kalunga and Zau is apparent, with them butting heads often times. I’d chuckle at these moments, because these are some conversations we have in real life too. The pacing is done superbly well, well enough that you just want to skip the combat sometimes and go straight to finding out what the heck is going on.

My only complaint is that the other characters don’t get enough time. It’s a shame because the voice acting is done so so well by everyone. You just want more. At the end of the game, you’ll realize that it was not just Zau who was struggling with his grief, but many more around him, all in different ways. Many of the fears and doubts and even questions that our young protagonist face, are some that we ourselves ask in times of grief. It’s relatable and that’s what makes the game great.

THE SUN AND MOON

The gameplay is rather simple, which is great for players who are new to the Metroidvania genre. It’s one of the reasons I really enjoyed the game, although it really isn’t the kind I would go for. You swap between two masks, the sun and the moon. The sun is your short-ranged melee, while moon is more long ranged. It seemed rather luck luster at first, but after some time, you accumulate skill points to enhance your combat. Some enemies will require you to use specific masks, but as mentioned before, the developers didn’t want the game to force you to use what you didn’t want, so there isn’t really much of this. The movement is absolutely smooth, and my god, did I love the animations for the jumps, double jumps and even the little dashes you can do.

There’s something addicting about those little twirly movements you do when doing a high jump. Trust me! Although, if you are playing with mouse and keyboard, aiming is very iffy, especially with long range, it’s clear that the game is catered to controller players. Combat may be satisfying, but there is also a lack of enemies, which can make combat get a bit… repetitive. I do give props to the different enemies they managed to create, out of the small pool of enemies that we do get to encounter. Ngao, being one of my favourites, which you will get to meet head on!

On the way, you also pick up a couple of unique abilities that honestly make your game a whole lot more enjoyable. My favourite is definitely the Zawadi grappling hook! The combat is intuitive, and I think a lot of newer players will definitely enjoy it. It took me a bit of getting used to, but once I got the hang of it, it’s almost like breathing air. Other than your skills and abilities, you can also get your hands on some trinkets, which functions like your typical jewelry in games. It can help with cooldown reduction, and give you boosts where you really need it. You collect these along the way through challenge areas!

My only gripe about this is that you can change your trinkets at these tiny workstations, and they aren’t found very often around the map. Boss fights will make Zau dwarf-sized but the mechanics are never really the same, keeping you on your toes! I’ll admit, I did have to change to an easier setting to complete past the 2nd boss! I STRUGGLED but I am new to the genre and honestly, I’m a mess at platformers and these kinds of games. Thank god for the difficulty settings (We love accessibility in games!). I also think it’s important for story-driven games like these to have difficulty settings you can change, because some of us, who just want to enjoy the story and not ‘try hard’ the combat, can kind of relax our way through the game. You also get to unlock fast travel points so you can visit places you couldn’t venture past earlier, which is a great way to get you to explore.

A POWERFUL JOURNEY

The game is completely inspired by Bantu mythology, and you can see it all across the map. From the biomes, to the colour schemes, the characters, and their clothing. Not just that, the game is structured so perfectly around a core theme you will ‘experience’ within your gameplay. Everything you see, it’s all been thought of carefully. The music score fills you with just enough drama and tension, that honestly, you FEEL everything within the game. It’s hard to describe the feeling, but it is a good feeling! I was stuck at the first boss for awhile, and the music surprisingly did not annoy me like in other games. The chants, the vocals; it was not only beautiful, it was powerful.

AN UNFORGETTABLE TALE

When the credits finally rolled, I had to take some time to really just take it all in. I’m an emotional person, and so it took awhile to gather myself, but man, I felt light. A good lightheartedness. Not the, damn my grief is cured with one video game, but the reality of shit we all got grief, and we’re all struggling with it in our own ways. That we all, eventually, pick ourselves up, and we don’t forget, we never forget, but we learn to live with it. “Grief isn’t linear,” Abubakar Salim said in a media conference earlier, and he’s right. It isn’t. Our lives are intertwined with all these great moments to devastating ones, but we live on. I tried not to cry at the end, but my sappy self had to wipe a tear and pat myself on the back for actually completing the game without having a complete mental breakdown.

Sure, the game has its hiccups, but the music scores, the vocals, the beautiful settings, its overall feel; it really makes you feel empowered. The “I CAN DO ANYTHING” kind of powerful! For a simple baby-level Metroidvania gamer like me, I enjoyed it for what it is.

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU has given us the basic & necessary tools to survive, and then toss a bunch of stuff our way and we master our craft in the long run. I can honestly say, if you are a softie, you must check it out. Also, if you are a sucker for musical scores, PLEASE, just go through it for the first few hours and let its unique look set in. You won’t regret it.

PROS

• An honest heartfelt story.
• Visually-pleasing.
• Very beginner-friendly.
• Music score is fantastically amazing.
• Combat is intuitive.

CONS

• Needs more side character time.
• Needs more enemy variety.

FINAL SCORE: 80/100

Review copy provided by the publisher.