Gaming IndustryTales of Kenzera: ZauAssassin’s Creed Origins voice actor says heading up his own studio has been ‘terrifying’ but the Steam Next Fest demo for its first game is pretty greatWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Gaming IndustryTales of Kenzera: ZauAssassin’s Creed Origins voice actor says heading up his own studio has been ‘terrifying’ but the Steam Next Fest demo for its first game is pretty greatWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
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Gameplay in Tales of Kenzera: Zau is familiar: Running, jumping, and sliding across a multilevel 2.5D landscape, with pauses to do battle with various sorts of fantastical creatures and, of course, the occasional boss fight. It’s fast, smooth, and accessible even for non-metroidheads: Zau wields an arsenal of upgradeable ranged and melee combat powers but a “relaxed” gameplay mode keeps fights from becoming too overwhelming, and while it recommends a gamepad I found the mouse and keyboard controls perfectly fine, aside from some aiming wonkiness with ranged attacks.
What makes it stand out, though, is the gorgeous landscapes and lore of the fictional nation of Kenzera, as well as the narrative: A tale of a son who makes a deal with the god of death to bring back his Baba—his father—from the land of darkness. The portrayal of the god of death is particularly interesting. Rather than a terrifying Grim Reaper type, he’s a firm-but-fair father figure himself who, after gently trying to discourage Zau from undertaking the dangerous quest, encourages and admonishes him as necessary along the way.
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Abubakar Salim reveals Tales of Kenzara: Zau at The 2023 Game Awards.
“I’ve always wanted to tell stories, and I think the bug sort of bit me when I did Assassin’s Creed Origins,” Salim said. “That was the first time I actually stepped behind the scenes and saw how a game was made. The thing that really stuck out to me was, for all the sets I’ve been on and shows I’ve done, the people at Ubi, when I was talking to them, they all loved and cared about what they were doing. They loved making games.
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