Tales of Kenzera: Zau explores grief through Metroidvania gameplay

Grief is a complex emotion to convey in any storytelling but often finds a home in gaming plots, be that The Last Of Us, It Takes Two, or Final Fantasy VII. The way each person internalizes and processes their own individual response to a major loss is as unique as that same relationship lost. Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a beautiful and thoughtful exploration of grief through the lens of Bantu culture — a lens rarely explored in gaming. That unique perspective on a universal theme strengthens its message and keeps its delivery from feeling cliché or rote.

Ideally, games explore emotions and the human experience through narrative and gameplay. Tales of Kenzera: Zau's premise of a young shaman attempting to cope with his father's death through the mechanics of a Metroidvania sounds perfect. Navigating grief can often feel like a maze of challenges and dead ends with no clear direction — exactly the feelings Metroidvanias excels in providing. However, as poignant and touching as the story and messages presented are, the gameplay isn't able to hold up its end of the bargain.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau

A young shaman must learn to process his father's death in this Bantu-inspired Metroidvania.

Release Date 2024-04-23 Genre Metroidvania Developer Surgent Studios Pros

• Touching exploration of grief
• Excellent introduction to Bantu culture
• Detailed and rich environments

Cons

• Small enemy variety
• Lack of exploration
• Light on Metroidvania elements

$20 at Steam$18 at PlayStation Related

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Life and death explored in plot

The human experience

Surgent Studios

Tales of Kenzera: Zau frames its gameplay as a secondary narrative layer. The main character is a man named Zuberi who has just lost his father. Speaking with his mother, he is given a story written by his late father but left unfinished, that tells the story of Zau. The character of Zau is who you spend the majority of the game as on his quest to try and revive his own late father with the help of the Kalunga, the God