Tales of Kenzera: Zau's linear 2D exploration is lacking, but its emotional story about grief makes up for those shortcomings.
Tales of Kenzera: Zau MSRP $20.00 Score Details DT Recommended Product “Tales of Kenzera: Zau is more effective as a moving reflection on grief than as a Metroidvania.” Pros Cons As I sit down to write about Tales of Kenzera: Zau, I’m immediately at a loss for words. My instinct is to open with some wisdom about the act of grieving, the painful process that’s at the center of Surgent Studios ’ debut.
The Shaman’s path Tales of Kenzera: Zau opens with an effective frame tale that grounds its grander story. It begins in a futuristic city, where a man named Zuberi tends to his late father’s apartment. There, he finds a book that tells the tale of a Shaman named Zau, whose story parallels Zuberi’s. He’s also lost his father, but is dealing with it in his own way; he sets out on a quest to revive his Baba with the help of Kalunga, the God of Death.
Let me get lost In the lead-up to Tales of Kenzera’s launch, Surgent Studios made it clear that its gameplay decisions weren’t random. Salim says that the studio settled on the Metroidvania format because it mirrors the journey of grief. Players start in an unfamiliar world and learn to get a handle on it the more they grow. It’s a sound idea that makes the genre feel more meaningful, though the philosophy doesn’t always match up with the execution.
That lost friction, though, seems a little counterintuitive to the emotional journey the genre is being used to parallel. There’s never a point where I feel like I don’t understand the world around me. It’s rare that I even hit a path blocked by an ability I’ve yet to find. Instead, I’m able to follow a marker on a clearly defined map and traverse every obstacle with the skills I have from the jump.
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