Tales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em> was a way for him to process his grief in a manner that felt familiar to him, as someone who grew up playing and loving video games. The game is a tribute to his father, who died of cancer in 2013. <\/p>\nSet in a colorful, Afrofuturist world, Tales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em> begins with a boy grieving the recent death of his father. His father had been sick for a long time, his death anticipated but no less devastating. The boy is not ready to say goodbye, so instead he picks up a book that his father was writing. Inside this book is where the majority of Tales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em> is set, in a world that mirrors the boy\u2019s own. Grieving the death of his father, a young shaman named Zau makes a deal with Kalunga, the god of death, to bring his father back. Zau must head deep into Kenzera, overrun with lost spirits, to confront three powerful spirits in order to fulfill Kalunga\u2019s request.<\/p>\n\n
\n \n Image: Surgent Studios\/Electronic Arts<\/cite> \n <\/figure>\n<\/div>\nTales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em> is a Metroidvania-style game that uses its gameplay to reflect back Zau\u2019s story and grief. Zau enters Kenzera overcome with sadness, singularly focused on bringing back his Baba \u2014 he\u2019s resistant to Kalunga\u2019s assistance, even if he struggles without it. His grief is overwhelming, complicated; he processes his feelings, sometimes out loud, as he\u2019s zipping through several different \u2014 but interconnected \u2014 lands in search of the spirits. <\/p>\nTo take on the upset spirits, Zau uses the powers of two of his father\u2019s masks: one that represents the sun, the other the moon. At the outset, the blue moon mask gives Zau a ranged attack, while the yellow sun mask is a melee attack for fighting enemies up close. Like any Metroidvania, Tales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em> upgrades these abilities as you progress through its platforming. Eventually, Zau will gain the ability to freeze water or enemies, shoot electric spears, swing from hook flowers, and smash through reinforced gates. Beyond platforming, Tales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em> offers plenty of environmental puzzles \u2014 reflections on timing, movement, and placement. <\/p>\n\n
Grief is messy, and Tales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em> doesn\u2019t shy away from that<\/q><\/aside>\n<\/div>\nThe game\u2019s main path is a linear one that follows its story, but there\u2019s always room for further exploration, as is traditional in a Metroidvania-style game. This is where the genre feels particularly apt for a game about grief; it is not linear, as you\u2019ll often find yourself on what seems to be the wrong path, or lost in cycles and loops. But walking these meandering trails is often important in processing grief, even for Zau: Dead ends are often spaces for him to reflect or rest, which gives him extra health or uncovers little story bits. Not to mention, the world of Tales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em> is absolutely gorgeous, despite that destruction and treachery abound. Each of the areas is distinct: lush greens in treetop jungles; browns and yellows for bone-crushing deserts; blues and purples for the underground depths. There\u2019s emotion and life teeming in each environment, with music that matches its soul \u2014 and enhances its danger. It\u2019s a beautiful visual re-creation of the Bantu myths and legends that are central in the game\u2019s storytelling.<\/p>\nWith each new ability, Tales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em> becomes increasingly difficult. The platforming puzzles build on themselves within each of the game\u2019s four chapters, and enemies grow more powerful, too. There\u2019s also an upgrade tree to make Zau\u2019s skills more powerful, as well as unlockable challenge runes that go even further. (The runes are nice to have, but not essential; for example, one will recharge your abilities the more you juggle enemies.) It all becomes a bit chaotic, but in the best way. Tales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em>\u2019s platforming and enemy battles are challenging in ways that feel rewarding, never punishing. The game\u2019s story makes everything feel hard for a reason, and every win comes with some sort of new realization for Zau or the people he\u2019s met on his way. These realizations don\u2019t always stick with Zau; he might have a revelation about another\u2019s grief, only to proceed headfirst into his own. Grief is messy, and Tales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em> doesn\u2019t shy away from that.<\/p>\n\n
\n \n Image: Surgent Studios\/Electronic Arts<\/cite> \n <\/figure>\n<\/div>\nToward the very end of Tales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em>, there\u2019s a precision- and time-based platforming section that\u2019s painfully difficult. It requires the use of nearly all of Zau\u2019s upgrades and abilities, meaning there\u2019s a lot of juggling buttons and timing. (I also encountered a few bugs that froze Zau in a certain ability, meaning auto-failure as he was consumed by raging fire \u2014 a detail that made the hard level even more painful.) During this section, Zau is escaping an erupting volcano after fighting the malevolent GaGorib. As the smoke and lava chase him, Zau must bash through walls, scale walls, dodge obstacles, and perform precise and well-timed platforming moves to survive. The sticking point, for me, was this one wall-breaking thrust timed just right after a hooked swing \u2014 I ended up caught by the lava more times than I could count. I never got exactly comfortable with doing it, and every time I broke through felt like a miracle. The section continued on, without a save point, for quite a bit, and after an hour or so, I finally made it through. By that time, I was frustrated and tired, and had a sore thumb. I was mad at the game and also myself. I almost stopped playing. But the feeling of Zau breaking through that last barrier was such a relief, one that felt like a real feat. A relief that made the struggle worth it. Unbeknownst to me, this level is quite close to the end of the game \u2014 one of the last major challenges I\u2019d face in Tales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em>. It\u2019s the perfect time for such a challenge, the culmination of so many messy, complicated feelings both for me and for Zau.<\/p>\nI ended the game in tears as Zau\u2019s story concluded, for I, too, am experiencing grief in my own life \u2014 the anticipatory kind, but grief nonetheless. I\u2019m not ready yet to accept that, and I\u2019m not sure that I ever will. But I leave Tales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em> knowing that relief is possible, however far off it may be. <\/p>\nTales of Kenzera: Zau<\/em><\/small> will be released April 23 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. The game was reviewed on PS5 using a pre-release download code provided by Electronic Arts. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find <\/small>additional information about Polygon\u2019s ethics policy here<\/small><\/a>.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Image: Surgent Studios\/Electronic Arts Fast, challenging Metroidvania-style gameplay paired with a heartfelt story Loss is inevitable, and yet, ...<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dulcipass.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dulcipass.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dulcipass.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dulcipass.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dulcipass.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/dulcipass.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":386,"href":"http:\/\/dulcipass.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380\/revisions\/386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dulcipass.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dulcipass.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dulcipass.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dulcipass.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}