One of the best factor we are able to say about Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is that it’s an honest gateway sport into the Metroidvania style. The Change is so chock stuffed with unbelievable titles at this level that it will possibly usually be tough to know the place to start out (we can assist with that too, by the best way), however Kenzera gives a comparatively breezy 6-7-hour expertise that ought to offer you a sign as as to whether or to not dip your toes in a bit additional. For style veterans, nevertheless, whereas the gameplay is actually adequate to see you thru to the tip, there’s little right here that hasn’t already been accomplished elsewhere… and higher, too.
What elevates the sport, nevertheless, is its setting and story. In case you’ve been following Tales of Kenzera’s growth in any respect, you’ll know that quite a lot of the plot takes inspiration from Sugent Studio’s artistic lead, Abubakar Salim, and his private expertise coping with parental loss. By the way, Salim (a stage and display actor and the voice of Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins) additionally gives the voice for protagonist Zau, and we’ve got to commend the voiceover work as a complete; it’s brilliantly accomplished all through and helps the plot resonate much more than if we have been merely studying strains of dialogue.
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Zau himself is on a journey to revive his deceased father by capturing the spirits of three monsters and providing them to Kalunga, the God of Dying. Kalunga accompanies Zau in his quest and gives recommendation each sensible and philosophical, and we’ve got to confess that we relished each second that the sagely spectre confirmed up. Total, Kenzera’s story is a touching, heartfelt story elevated by the performances of the voice actors, and have been it not for this, we worry the sport would have slipped from our reminiscence virtually instantly.
Now, we must always stress that Kenzera’s gameplay is strong. Motion feels fluid, you’ve acquired a splash skill that’s virtually at all times satisfying to drag off, and the fight, whereas actually not deep or difficult, feels impactful and enjoyable. The difficulty we’ve got is you could actually inform that that is the studio’s first crack at a Metroidvania sport; there’s little or no problem concerned, exploration is saved at an absolute minimal, and the unlockable talents don’t add quite a lot of selection or depth.
The most important disappointment for us comes with that lack of exploration. The perfect Metroidvanias boast lovely, interconnected worlds crammed with secrets and techniques that make you wish to go off the overwhelmed monitor, and though Kenzera’s world is actually lovely, the branching paths quantity to little greater than linear corridors that result in a particular objective. When you’ve collected the required merchandise or overwhelmed the boss, you must backtrack by the identical corridors till you attain what we’d describe as a mini hub space. It’s solely right here you could then unlock a brand new door or attain a brand new space to progress additional.
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Fight encounters are sprinkled all through the expertise. You’ll come throughout just a few enemies on the fly as you make your manner by the sport, however most fight segments are restricted to particular areas through which the exits are blocked off; type of like Bayonetta or Satan Could Cry.
You’ve acquired the choice to take out your foes with melee assaults and long-range projectiles, and you’ll toggle between these with a faucet of ‘L’, swapping out Zau’s solar and moon masks and thus altering his look and moveset. Some enemies are colour-coded to point their strengths and weaknesses, so the sport does an excellent job of guaranteeing you’re not simply sticking to at least one methodology of assault. Properly, in idea at the least.
Sadly, each enemy selection and the arenas the place you battle them are restricted. We just like the fight, however when the twentieth encounter feels precisely the identical as the first, it will get awfully repetitive. You possibly can attempt to combine up your technique as a lot as you want, however when the sport throws the identical enemies at you in the identical patterns time and again, it’s onerous to not simply utilise the identical offensive techniques each single time.
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Fortunately, there are talent bushes tied to every masks, so you’ll be able to enhance each your melee and long-range talents independently. So for instance, you’ll be able to unlock a transfer through which you leap up and slam down into the bottom to deal harm, or you’ll be able to add an additional hit to your fundamental assault combo. Unlocking every new skill feels welcome, but it surely doesn’t add an excellent deal or depth or selection to the general fight gameplay. Actually, we type of want it have been all simply out there proper from the beginning.
When it comes to its total aesthetic, Kenzera is a vibrant journey that’s in all probability greatest described as a cross between Ori and the Blind Forest and Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown. The map display specifically appears prefer it was swiped straight from an Ori sport, and to be clear, that’s actually no dangerous factor. Sadly, like many multiplatform video games lately, Kenzera does endure from muddy visuals and stuttering body charges on the Change (although that is reportedly beneath investigation). It’s admittedly not as dangerous as we’d initially feared, however that is positively a kind of instances the place you probably have beefier {hardware} out there, then we’d suggest taking part in it elsewhere.
Conclusion
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is an honest sport, but it surely sits within the shadow of a lot better Metroidvanias on the Change. We love the setting and storyline, however as Surgent Studios’ first stab at what has confirmed to be a wildly common style over time, it struggles to set itself aside with somewhat bland exploration and repetitive fight. Coupled with compromised visuals and efficiency on Change, veterans of the style could wish to give this one a miss. For newcomers, nevertheless, the breezy gameplay would possibly make for a pleasant introduction to Metroidvanias.