TL;DR - Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a solid 2D action platformer with some fun ideas and a heartfelt story. Combat is fun and I appreciate the streamlined map, but the lack of polish and overall depth in the gameplay end up being sources of frustration.

Review:
Something I appreciate most about art is that, occasionally, it allows us to explore difficult experiences and emotions. The right game at the right time can be a cathartic experience and provides a medium through which we can process unresolved feelings. Not every game can or should act as an emotional conduit; many games are just supposed to be a fun time. But it does feel like a breath of fresh air when a game comes along that has the emotional weight to tug at your heartstrings, and in that regard, Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a resounding success.

Tales of Kenzera starts in the futuristic African city of Amani. The main character, Zuberi, is grieving following his father's untimely death. He's angry, heartbroken, and confused. As Zuberi struggles to navigate his loss, his mother offers him a book his father wrote in his final days. This book is where the game happens. It tells a similar story to the one we're introduced to with Zuberi. A young shaman named Zau has recently lost his father and, as a result, he has summoned the god of death, Kalunga, to assist him in bringing his father back. Kalunga agrees on the condition that Zau helps bring peace to three great spirits that have cheated death. As Zau works to fulfill his quest, he learns valuable lessons that help him have a better grasp on his grief and help him navigate the loss of a loved one.

This story is full of heart and touching moments. Inspired by studio founder Abubakar Salim's own experiences dealing with grief, the story of Tales of Kenzera is told in a mature and timeless way that people of any age can understand and relate to. Abubakar is also the voice actor behind Zau and Zuberi, and he, along with the rest of the excellent voice cast, have put their whole hearts into this game. The performances are powerful and artistic, helping to elevate this game's presentation above others in the genre. There seems to be heavy influence taken from Marvel's Black Panther and the nation of Wakanda, both in art style and gameplay, and the game revels in its bright colors, beautiful environments, diverse soundtrack, and unique character and enemy designs.

Tales of Kenzera calls itself a Metroidvania in its promotional material, and I think that may be a slight mischaracterization. This is a fairly linear, straightforward 2D action game with minimal branching paths and only a handful of collectibles and hidden secrets to uncover. The movement feels fun, fluid, and responsive; probably my favorite aspect of the gameplay. There are new abilities to unlock that open up previously unreachable paths and make platforming more engaging, though I rarely found myself needing to double back very far to find the continuation of the main path. In fact, I didn't once have to remind myself of a particular blocked doorway that led to a new zone, and the times I did make the effort to re-explore old areas mostly yielded a bit of experience, a platforming challenge, or a memory shard collectible that serves as an audio recording. I appreciated the streamlined map. It helped save me the headache of remembering the exact location of the specific doorway I needed to get through to move the plot forward. At the same time, it almost felt too simple to navigate and I stumbled into nearly all the hidden locations without much effort.

Most of the game consists of combat and some minor puzzle-solving. Zau engages with enemies by interchanging two masks that represent the sun and the moon. The sun mask is used for close-range damage while the moon mask is more useful for dealing with enemies at range. These masks can be changed at any time and, with practice, make for an engaging and fun combat loop. There are small upgrade trees for each of the masks, and they offer a few nice improvements but largely lack the kinds of boosts that feel impactful to the way you play. Combat is mostly contained within small arenas, which I wouldn't have a problem with if there was more enemy variety. Thankfully, the boss fights are quite fun and offer new challenges that make them the highlight of the combat system.

On the other hand, the puzzles that you are required to solve feel underbaked. Most of them boil down to finding a big block to push onto a plate that opens the door, or some variation on the same idea. With all of the new abilities Zau can acquire throughout the game, it's disappointing that they aren't utilized more in the puzzle sections. Along that same thread, there are only one or two sections in the game that require you to take full advantage of Zau's movement abilities, and the platforming tends to feel a little one-note, placing heavy emphasis on the new skill you acquire in each zone to navigate its biome. Some branches off the main path feature fun platforming challenges but, I'd argue that most of them aren't challenging enough and still don't take full advantage of the suite of tools available to Zau.

In all, Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a valiant first attempt from a newly formed studio. It features good writing, excellent performances, and a touching story of overcoming loss. The overall platforming and combat experience is good but lacks the depth and polish of other contemporaries in the space. I hope we get more from Surgent Studios as they hone their craft because they have a lot of potential to improve the presentation and production level of these smaller, more intimate games.