General Gaming Tales of Kenzera: ZAU | Single-Player Story Based on Abubakar Salim’s Own Experience With Grief [Coming April 23, 2024]

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Prepare to adventure into the beautiful and treacherous lands of Kenzera as Zau, a young shaman who bargains with the God of Death to bring his Baba back from darkness.

 

Embark on a poignant single-player story shaped by actor Abubakar Salim’s own experience with grief, discovering how love gives us the courage to press on after devastating loss. Wield powers from the Sun and the Moon to defeat restless spirits in rhythmic combat and become a worthy Nganga: a spiritual healer. Discover a rich universe with untold lore of chaos and order and journey through mystical 2.5D realms awash with color and depth, emboldened by multi-award-winning composer Nainita Desai’s enchanting original score.

 

Crafted by Surgent Studios, the entertainment studio founded by actor Abubakar Salim (Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Raised by Wolves) and published by EA Originals, Tales of Kenzera™: ZAU takes you on a thrilling emotional journey inspired by the rich myths of Bantu cultures.

 

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yeah I'm all over this.

[Dodger]

One of my favorite games shown

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Look good for a game coming out in 2004!

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Game Information

Game Title: Tales of Kenzera: Zau

Platforms:

• Xbox Series X/S (Apr 23, 2024)
• PlayStation 5 (Apr 23, 2024)
• PC (Apr 23, 2024)
• Nintendo Switch (Apr 23, 2024)
  

Trailer:

Publisher: Electronic Arts

    Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 77 average - 72% recommended

Critic Reviews

 

Spoiler

Atarita - Eren Eroğlu - Turkish - 80 / 100

With an emotional story, fluid gameplay and beautiful visuals, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is an adventure that will take you on a journey to faraway lands.

But Why Tho? - Kate Sanchez - 10 / 10

Legends of Kenzera: ZAU is a triumph of storytelling. It's immersive and thoughtful in every element of Zau's journey. But the narrative, for all of its impact, doesn't stand alone. Instead, the difficulty and complexity of traversing Kenzera complement and add a tactile nature to the emotional endeavor of moving through grief.

CGMagazine - Philip Watson - 8.5 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is an emotional rollercoaster that doubles as a Metroidvania with edge, at $20 it is a must play title for everyone.

COGconnected - Mark Steighner - 80 / 100

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a well-made Metroidvania with an intriguing and culturally unique narrative and setting. It doesn’t try to reinvent the genre, but there’s nothing wrong with sticking to a familiar path if the result is polished and fun. Tales of Kenzera: Zau has a colorful, welcoming vibe with a mythic story to tell and enough action to keep players engaged.

Cinelinx - Becky O'Brien - 4 / 5

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU offers players a gorgeous world and captivating story, but some of the gameplay challenges might prevent you from seeing it all.

Daily Star - Tom Hutchison - 4 / 5

An absolute bargain for the price.

Destructoid - Jamie Sharp - 9 / 10

I believe it will help anyone who plays it understand themselves more, especially if they feel the darkness life can throw at them has changed them somehow. It’s a beautiful game, an essential game, and the groundwork for what I hope becomes a franchise that takes those things in life some of us have been taught to bottle up and presents them front and center.

Dexerto - Ethan Dean - 9 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is Surgent Studios’ first attempt at creating a video game experience and they’ve knocked it out of the park. It offers a compelling journey that expertly weaves its narrative and gameplay together to tell a heartwarming story about grief and acceptance.

Digital Spy - Ben Rayner - 4 / 5

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a stunning, impactful and exciting first outing for Surgent Studios and, for us, a classic in the Metroidvania space that could go toe-to-toe with recent big hitters like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Blasphemous 2. Surgent Studios has delivered a beautiful story that resonated with us as we explored the world of Kenzera, and we couldn’t recommend it more highly.

Digital Trends - Giovanni Colantonio - 3.5 / 5

Tales of Kenzera: Zau tells an emotionally impactful story reinforced by creative design decisions that put a physical feeling to abstract emotions. Its struggles lie in its approach to the Metroidvania genre, as its surprisingly straightforward structure sometimes undercuts the winding tale of acceptance. It’s an imperfect debut, but that’s fitting for a game about something as messy as grief.

DualShockers - Rachael Fiddis - 9 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU never felt like it overstayed its welcome nor was it ever loaded with bulk and fluff to make up for its 8-12 hour playtime. While there are plenty of collectibles, a trinket system to unlock abilities and upgrade benches, its most important feature is its story and, coupled with the undertone of mental health struggles in the face of grief, Bantu mythology, an incredible score, and next-level art design makes this amazing debut title remarkably different to anything else on the market.

Easy Allies - Daniel Bloodworth - 7.5 / 10

While there’s certainly more to be desired in terms of exploration and discovery, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a solid first take from Surgent Studios... There’s clearly a lot of love put in from the team, and that passion comes through in every aspect of its presentation.

Eurogamer - Ed Nightingale - 4 / 5

What Tales of Kenzera lacks in creative game design it makes up for in vital, passionate storytelling.

Everyeye.it - Riccardo Cantù  - Italian - 8 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is yet another proof that the metroidvania genre can be very satisfying, whatever the story you try to tell.

GAMES.CH - Sönke Siemens - German - 81%

Although Tales of Kenzera: Zau cannot shine with outstanding gameplay innovations, it does offer rock-solid, well-balanced and very fluid Metroidvania gameplay. The two masks in particular fit perfectly into the beautifully staged African setting and considerably expand the agile Zau's range of abilities. It's also nice how fluidly and responsively everything can be controlled and how much passion went into the soundtrack, the voice acting and the story. There's also little to complain about in terms of level design, although the bottom line is that we would have liked even more variation in the enemy types.

Game Informer - Charles Harte - 7.5 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: Zau conveys its somber themes with nuance and passion. It's just a shame the gameplay doesn't always match those highs, especially in a genre flooded with quality indies, because Zau's journey – and Zuberi's parallel journey – are stories I'll be thinking about for quite some time

GameSkinny - John Schutt - 8.5 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is an impressively built Metroidvania game that weaves enjoyable gameplay and deep emotional storytelling.

GameSpew - Richard Seagrave - 9 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a Metroidvania full of heart and soul. With its engaging combat, sublime soundtrack and story that grabs your attention from the get-go, fans of the genre should consider this a must-have.

GameSpot - Jordan Ramée - 8 / 10

Surgent Studios' debut game, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, is another incredible EA Originals title.

Gameblog - KiKiToes - French - 8 / 10

It is therefore artistically that Tales of Kenzera Zau stands out, on all levels. From its narration to its visuals to its OST, everything is done to take us on an extremely touching and personal journey.

GamingBolt - Shubhankar Parijat - 7 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: Zau delivers a genuinely touching and heartfelt story in a rich and mystical world, even if it lets itself down with its combat, platforming, and design.

GamingTrend - Jack Zustiak - 70 / 100

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU rests on a solid foundation, yet prioritizes its narrative at the expense of its game design. Rather than allowing its gameplay and narrative to support each other, it discards some of the medium's unique strengths for a competent if bland experience that fails to give full weight to its subject matter.

Generación Xbox - Frank Montes - Spanish - 81 / 100

It's time to take stock of Tales of Kenzera: Zau and we believe that no matter how good the story is and how quickly it makes us empathize with what happens, the game is left to owe in certain aspects that could have been better. This is not to say that the game is bad, not at all, because it possesses a message that feels sincere.

Glitched Africa - Marco Cocomello - 7 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU doesn’t reinvent the metroidvania genre and if anything, is quite watered-down. However, its emotional story and refreshing African influence deliver a surprising yet short game that I high recommend you all play at least once.

God is a Geek - Mick Fraser - 8.5 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a well-made, confident adventure with some great voice-acting, and fluid, addictive platforming.

Hardcore Gamer - Kyle LeClair - 3.5 / 5

Despite issues with its difficulty balance and some of the elements of the metroidvania genre, Tales of Kenzera: Zau is still a promising start for Surgent Studios, with its smooth, fast gameplay, astounding world, engrossing story and jaw-dropping visuals. Hopefully we'll be returning to Kenzera sometime in the future, because no matter what form any future tales may take, there's a ton of potential here and a lot of fun to be had.

Hobby Consolas - Álvaro Alonso - Spanish - 72 / 100

A simple and entertaining metroidvania that, although not one of the best in the genre, is able to connect with us like few games do thanks to its powerful message.

IGN - Jarrett Green - 7 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: Zau's action isn't groundbreaking within the genre, but its elevated by a truly moving tale about how to go on in this world when your loved ones have passed on to the next.

IGN Italy - Diego Cinelli - Italian - 6.5 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a video game with su much heart... enclosed in an imperfect container. Moving within the various regions of Kenzera is a pleasure, but for a good part of the game the combat remains more of a burden than a pleasure. When things finally start to get more complicated the adventure finally seems to take off, but unfortunately this happens far too late.

Kakuchopurei - Xandria Morden - 80 / 100

[Tales of Kenzera: ZAU] 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.

Metro GameCentral - Nick Gillett - 7 / 10

A polished Metroidvania infused with Africana, whose linearity and overreliance on rote-learning action sequences undermine its otherwise high standards.

One More Game - Vincent Ternida - 7 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: Zau, as a narrative-driven adventure, is a must-play due to its unique lore, world, and memorable characters that keep you engaged until the end. However, as a Metroidvania, it doesn't offer too many innovations but rather more of the already established foundations of the genre, such as moderately challenging platforming, basic combat, and little else in the way of new skills and exploration.

It is a short and sweet indie game that respects your time, and, with a friendly price point, it's definitely a great meditative weekend adventure to get into that gives you some exhilarating 2D action while exploring some aspects of grief and identity that only Tales of Kenzera: Zau can offer in its unique presentation.

PC Gamer - Jon Bailes - 73 / 100

Tight design and compelling mythology compensate for a few too many borrowed ideas.

PCMag - Jordan Minor - 4 / 5

Tales of Kenzera: Zau builds upon the Metroidvania formula to deliver exciting action, emotional storytelling, and African cultural specificity.

PSX Brasil - Isabella Alves - Portuguese - 85 / 100

"Every story begins at the end of another." This is the main premise of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, a metroidvania-style game that, while inviting us to explore the beautiful biomes of Kenzera, also makes us reflect on loss and mourning, making it possible to see death with new eyes. The debut title from Surgent Studios gets it right by bringing a good balance between exploration, puzzle, combat and action while presenting us with a story full of inspiration from Bantu myths and legends, guided by a great soundtrack. The game works as an excellent gateway to the genre and brings with it a plot of reflection and acceptance.

Press Start - Kieron Verbrugge - 8 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is an earnest first video game effort from a studio that's destined for great things. Weak exploration and a lack of combat variety are minor flaws in an overall package that offers up fluid platforming, some great gameplay hooks, an emotionally-resonant story and a rich tapestry of sights and sounds that's like little else in the space. It's almost the perfect pairing to the recent Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, offering a succinct and approachable take on the concept that offers even more story, worldbuilding and visual flair.

Pure Xbox - PJ O'Reilly - 7 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a solid debut for Surgent Studios and a genuinely heartfelt and moving piece of art to boot. We love its focus on narrative aspects, and the obvious time and effort that's been put into its characters and dialogue. For anyone who's had to go through the pain of losing a family member there's a genuinely emotional and uplifting adventure to undertake here, regardless of some slight clunkiness along the way.

Push Square - Liam Croft - 5 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU tells a touching, personal story of family, grief, and loss, but it's wrapped up in a game that makes appreciating that narrative a lot harder than it should be. A Metroidvania in only the most basic of ways, its combat and platforming are spoilt by basic design and structure, as well as controller issues and frustrating one-hit kills. At its best when left to simply tell its story, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU falters once you have to start playing.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Alice Bell - Unscored

Tales Of Kenzera has a sensitive story and is beautifully designed, with an intriguing world to explore - but some imprecision lets it down in the platforming and combat. It's still more than worth a go for players looking for something fresh.

Screen Rant - Bruno Yonezawa - 4 / 5

Not that it isn’t a complete product; it would have been nice, though, to spend more time within the game and its universe. Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is just that inviting even with its heavy subject matter, such that players want to continue to experience heartfelt and responsible stories enveloped by a beautiful world design, memorable soundtrack, and delectable gameplay.

Shacknews - Ozzie Mejia - 8 / 10

As a story of loss, grief, and acceptance, Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a game like few out there. It's short and, in some ways, it can be basic. Given the story that it's telling, that's just fine.

Siliconera - Leigh Price - 8 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a fun platformer mixed with a genuinely moving story of grief, all in a setting we rarely see in games.

Skill Up - Ralph Panebianco - Unscored

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Slant Magazine - Justin Clark - 4 / 5

That narrative undercurrent makes Tales of Kenzera: Zau’s mechanics and direction less about lack of ambition than accessibility. At a mere 10 hours, this is a game whose brevity is by design. After all, its story is, ultimately, about letting go, about accepting life’s harsh limits, and finding meaning in the time you have. Even as short as Tales of Kenzera is, it speaks in meaningful ways about things that audiences have needed to hear for a long time.

Spaziogames - Francesco Corica - Italian - 7 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a metroidvania enjoyable for both casual and hardcore players, as long as you don't expect a complex gameplay or huge replayability.

Stevivor - Matt Gosper - 6.5 / 10

For now though, Tales of Kenzera Zau is a game you should definitely play for the story it tells, even if the gameplay doesn’t quite meet the same standard.

TheGamer - George Foster - 4 / 5

Even if Tales of Kenzera: Zau's combat and platforming can occasionally stumble, they act as a great compliment to the hard-hitting story and heartfelt characters that explore grief in one of the most interesting and human ways I've seen in some time. Above all else, Zau's realistic journey through the loss of a loved one is something that's going to stick with me for some time, and I'm grateful for the loving lessons I've learned from it.

TheSixthAxis - Adrian Burrows - 5 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is an ambitious game, and this kind of endeavour should be applauded and encouraged. Seeking to harness the difficult topic of grief in the form of a Metroidvania was always a big ask. Unfortunately, on this occasion, it proved a challenge that simply hasn't been met.

Twinfinite - Jake Su - 3.5 / 5

Yet, at the end of the day, what could have been just a run-of-the-mill Metroidvania is transformed into a tale of growth and resilience in Tales of Kenzera: ZAU that is well worth the investment. With Kenzera being an utterly beautiful place full of mysteries and wonders, joining Zau and Kalunga as they fight and platform their way across delightful biomes in a bid to let go and move on became a therapeutic journey that I never knew I needed. We don't need actual loss to remind ourselves that things can be difficult, but having a reminder goes a long way in keeping us all on the right track of focusing on joy instead of grief.

VGC - Jordan Middler - 3 / 5

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU feels like a studio stretching its legs for the first time. Visually inventive, and full of great platforming, average combat and exploration lets it down

VideoGamer - Antony Terence - 8 / 10

In Tales of Kenzera: Zau, grief and acceptance tug at your heart between bouts of refined combat and slick traversal. While seasoned Metroidvania fans will want more diversions and mystique, the game’s platforming abilities and challenges do justice to its setting.

Wccftech - Francesco De Meo - 8.5 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU proves that innovation isn't always necessary to craft a compelling experience. With its heartfelt story, compelling protagonist, and solid metroidvania gameplay featuring excellent pacing, Zau's journey is one that resonates, especially for those grappling with similar grief to the young shaman.

WellPlayed - James Wood - 8 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU infuses the action platformer with earnest, emotional storytelling and a vibrant, compelling world to explore.

Windows Central - Cole Martin - 3.5 / 5

Zau's journey with grief is compounded by his desire to be a valued member of his society, and to fill the empty footsteps left behind by his father's death. Surgent Studio's efforts to twist the heartbreaking experience of a son mourning his father with metroidvania style gameplay gives homage to how one person's time with grief is not always linear. Just as grief presents new challenges, we learn new tools to cope with the obstacles. It is an excellent juxtaposition that is marred with some frustrating technical issues and the need for just a bit more polish.

Xbox Achievements - Richard Walker - 85%

A remarkably accomplished 2.5D metroidvania platformer, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU melds fluid traversal and combat with an emotional, heartfelt narrative. Its difficulty spikes can be a little off-putting, but it's worth persevering and pushing through to the end.

XboxEra - Jesse Norris - 8.5 / 10

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a triumphant debut for Surgent Studios.  At $20, and available on day one for PlayStation+ subscribers, any fan of the action-platformer genre would do well to check it out.  Zau’s journey through loss will stick with me for a long time, and the excellent gameplay already has me itching to play through it all again.