Tales Of Kenzera: Zau Review – The Joy Within Pain

“Game Over”. If you’ve ever played a video game, you’ve seen that ominous message appear on your screen a thousand times. If it’s not the player that’s being killed, then it’s the countless hordes of enemies, from Mario joyfully jumping on Goombas to Kratos tearing through whatever god has looked at him funny that week.

In gaming, like in life, death is all around us. And yet, despite being such a key part of the medium’s DNA, death isn’t something that’s explored all that much in games. Tales of Kenzera: Zau changes that.

Related

Table of Contents

Toggle

Tales Of Kenzera: Zau Preview – Embrace The Dance

Tales of Kenzera: Zau’s opening hours shine a bright spotlight on its heartfelt characters, satisfying platforming, and crunchy, if simple, combat.

The games that have set their sights on death usually do so with a dark and negative twist, like The Last of Us Part 2’s controversial exploration of the cycle of violence. I’ve seen enough grim analysis of the consequences of killing to, ironically, last me a lifetime, which is why Tales of Kenzera: Zau and its more emotional, spiritual, and loving exploration of an unavoidable part of life is such a heartfelt breath of fresh air. It’s just the icing on the cake that it’s all wrapped up in such a satisfying Metroidvania, even if some of its mechanics occasionally stumble.

A Heartfelt Musing On Grief And Loss

As the game progresses and we see Zau reflect on what his father taught him through discussions with his mentor Kalunga, we see that he’s a kind soul who’s struggling to accept a massive loss. Zau’s character development, which is masterfully portrayed by Abubakar Salim (who also created the game based on his own experience of his father’s passing), and his relationship with Kalunga are the stars of the show in Tales of Kenzera and result in one of the most engaging stories I’ve experienced in some time.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is the epitome of being about the journey and not the destination. There aren’t many twists or turns and the characters you run into aren’t around for long and act more as punctuation for Zau’s own growth, but adventuring along with him and Kalunga and hearing them discuss life, death, and everything in between is a treat. Their relationship is at the core of Kenzera, and what a strong core it is.

Perhaps the best part about Zau’s exploration of life after death is that it’s not all doom and gloom. There are moments of anger and sadness as you’d expect, but it’s the joy, love, and hope that Zau shares about his father that shines brightest. As the game excellently puts it, it’s about the joy within pain.

Running Towards Your Feelings

The heartfelt gut-punching story at the core of Tales of Kenzera is, without a doubt, the highlight of the whole experience. But I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed everything else surrounding it. The focus on death also extends to the game being a Metroidvania, with Zau and Kalunga constantly thrust into unknown, scary situations without direction and figuring out how to deal with them together.

Like the genre’s best, the core focus of Tales of Kenzera’s gameplay loop is its platforming, which is tight, responsive, and surprisingly challenging. Zau feels excellent to control and can move around the world with ease, something that only gets more satisfying as you unlock more abilities like a glide, a powerful dash, and a pulse that rebuilds or destroys parts of the environment to create platforms or clear a path forward.

Zau’s platforming is consistently satisfying, but it does stumble a little bit towards the end. Several set pieces have Zau running away from an unstoppable force that can insta kill him if he’s not careful. When combined with a finicky camera that is hard to track and an abundance of deadly traps that become far too common in later areas, it can make for some frustrating moments of trial and error. It doesn’t help that certain mechanics, like the tether ability, can feel a little glitchy and don’t always trigger like they should.

A Smaller-Scale Metroidvania That Hits Hard

Although the platforming occasionally had me uttering swears I didn’t know I knew, I was surprised at how simplistic Zau’s Metroidvania influences are. If you’re just following the main story and not looking to explore, you’ll never be confused about where to go and always have an idea of what you need to do, as you’ll only really return to areas if you’re looking for optional content.

I didn’t mind much since I was so engrossed in the narrative and don’t have too much experience with the genre as a whole, but it ends up feeling too linear if you’re not searching every nook and cranny for collectibles and health upgrades. I’m mostly grateful that it’s a smaller world than most others in the genre, as backtracking can be a bit painful due to how few fast-travel points there are.

The other half of Zau’s gameplay loop is its combat, which centres around swapping between two masks that have distinct playstyles. One is the Moon mask, which lets you shoot icy projectiles, freeze enemies in place, and throw them around, and the other is the Sun mask, which is focused on close-range melee attacks and powerful spear throws.

I initially thought that Zau’s combat wasn’t as strong as its platforming and found myself groaning whenever enemy arenas interrupted my progress, but as I unlocked more moves and learned how to dance between the masks, I ended up enjoying it nearly as much as the exploration. Launching enemies into the air with the Sun mask and then juggling them with the Moon mask before using Statis to chuck them into spikes simply never stopped being satisfying.

Just like with the platforming, though, Zau’s combat can get somewhat routine in the final hours of the game. The fantastic boss fights keep things fresh, but the overreliance on shielded enemies that require constant attention and force you to swap masks can be a little frustrating, especially as you approach the finish line and run into them more often.

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.

Score: 4/5. A PS5 code was provided by the publisher.

Next

We Need More Indie Franchise Games Like The Rogue Prince Of Persia

Triple-A companies rarely hand off their prized franchises to indie devs. But they should.