Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is listed as one of the games we can’t wait to play in 2024, and luckily for us, alongside an awesome chat with the CEO of Surgent Studios, Abubakar Salim, we also got early access to the demo.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the name Abubakar Salim, you might be more familiar with his voice. Salim has voiced multiple in-game characters, like Eros from Stray Gods and even Rokhan from World of Warcraft, but his most notable voice-acting role in games has been Bayek of Siwa from the Assassins Creed series.
I can confirm that even over a Zoom call, his voice is just as alluring as it is in the games.
In the chat, Salim gave us an exciting look into the creation of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, explained where the story originated and why different aspects were chosen, like opting for a Metroidvania-style game.
In Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, players will enter a story written by their deceased father. The story tells of a young Nganga, or shaman, named Zau, who has also lost his father and thus summons the help of Kalunga, the God of Death, to help bring him back to life.
Salim explained that he, too, had recently lost his father and that Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, was a story built around the grief that one faces when one loses someone close to them, and how to handle that grief and embrace it to make yourself stronger. He also explained how that ties into the Metroidvania style because a Metroidvania allows the gamer to choose their own paths throughout their playthrough, which mimics how everyone deals with grief differently.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, is also deeply rooted in African mythology. Stories passed on by great storytellers, weaving mystical spirits between the worlds of the living and the dead with their words, teaching young minds about morality, respect and good values. As you play through the demo and the main game, you’ll see how Kalunga tries to guide Zau through his grief journey, expressing these same teachings.
Zau can access two shamanic masks representing the sun and the moon. These masks allow you to play in different ways, one representing long-range attacks and supportive abilities while the other representing fiery, close-combat and passionate attacks. Using both in unison is how you progress through the game, in what they call The Dance of the Masks.
During the demo’s playthrough, we miss out on much of the story from the main game, but we do get to experience this Dance of the Masks. Both in and out of combat, each mask plays a pivotal role in helping you progress through the game.
The movement through the 2.5D world feels fluid and well thought out like a proper Metroidvania should, and while I’m sure a map will be available in the main game, I really did miss having one in the demo. The combat was exciting, but the demo just didn’t give me enough to really dig into it. You will be able to acquire a lot more abilities in the main game, which will make for much more thrilling combos, and I really can’t wait to give that a try, but for now, I’m on my third playthrough of the demo, trying to make sure I’ve acquired every secret it has to offer.
As you’re reading this, the demo has been made available for you all to try as well, and if the game is something that you enjoy, there is a 10% pre-order offer happening until the game releases on the 23rd of April.
I’m quite excited to get my hands on the full release of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU. Having sat and listened to Abubakar Salim’s story and being able to experience that, and have the underlying connection of playing through Bantu-inspired stories that I’ve heard being told by friends, there feels like there is something special in this game. That and turning yourself into a flaming tornado is just something that’s hard to beat.