There’s one thing about enjoying Tales of Kenzera: ZAU that by no means feels fairly proper. Whether or not it is the sluggish, sluggish controls or frustratingly frequent one-hit kills, reaching any form of move state the place you are vibing and jiving with the most recent EA Originals title is nigh-on inconceivable. It is a very stop-start expertise at odds with the standard hallmarks of the Metroidvania style, as a substitute spotlighting a touching, private story of parental loss. Such a heavy narrative focus is not any unhealthy factor, however with little gameplay satisfaction to rely on between plot factors, it feels so lopsided that anything comes throughout as an afterthought.
By definition, the debut title from Surgent Studios is a Metroidvania sport, however solely within the loosest phrases. You will discover a fairly sized map encompassing totally different areas and areas whereas unlocking a handful of recent talents, secrets and techniques, and shortcuts. Two talent bushes improve your fight methods, then persistent platforming sections navigate you to aims and non-compulsory challenges. That description might be utilized to many Metroidvania greats like Hole Knight and Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown, however the subject with Tales of Kenzera is it would not lean into these options wherever close to sufficient.
It is a very fundamental tackle the style, to the purpose the place it might need been higher off as a extra easy motion platformer so such comparisons could be moot. Not often are new abilities teased by way of inaccessible passages, by no means will its platforming actually problem you. The sport’s not fully devoid of such parts, although what’s there will not show notably satisfying — it really works so much higher as an introduction to Metroidvanias than anything.
As an alternative, the title is made up of quite a few singular paths that sometimes break off into non-compulsory impasses with a secret on the finish, and fight encounters. Fundamental character Zau utilises them on a quest to say his father’s spirit again from the lifeless; a narrative private to Surgent Studios founder Abubakar Salim, who beforehand voiced Bayek in Murderer’s Creed Origins.
Instructed by way of prolonged and frequent dialogue interactions, it is a change of tempo from narratives typical of the style. Nevertheless, taken as a standalone plot, it really works nicely from each an emotional and suspenseful standpoint. Zau is accompanied on his journey by the God of Loss of life, creating an fascinating dynamic as the 2 characters do not all the time get alongside. Stripped of every thing else, Tales of Kenzera has a touching story to inform.
Its subsequent neatest thing could be the fight, which employs magical talents alongside commonplace melee and projectile-based assaults. Zau comes geared up with a solar masks and a moon masks, which may be swapped between on the fly to entry several types of strikes. The solar masks is for getting up shut and private with enemies whereas the moon masks places down ranged foes by way of small crystalised missiles. New and current talents may be upgraded by way of every masks’s talent tree to make for what ultimately turns into a well-rounded fight system. It feels a bit too fundamental at first, however begin incomes improve factors and it shortly begins to flourish.
The identical can’t be stated of the repetitive arenas that host these bouts, nevertheless. Whereas the background may change between every area, the sport subscribes to basically a single format when it blocks off the exit and forces you to battle enemies. The platforms will all the time be in the identical place and so too will your opponents. Regardless of the evolving fight system, this implies each engagement performs out virtually precisely the identical approach each time. Aside from a handful of boss encounters, fight regularly feels repetitive because you already know what’s labored 10 instances beforehand.
By far the most important flaw, although, is the controls — or quite, their lack of ability to reliably register your inputs. Very steadily, protagonist Zau will merely cease transferring when you’re pushing the left thumbstick to both facet. In our expertise pre-release, we needed to recenter the thumbstick a number of instances to begin transferring once more, and this occurred each jiffy. You work together with characters and collectibles by urgent the R2 button, and it too generally calls for you push the button a number of instances earlier than the on-screen motion happens. We examined the sport utilizing three totally different DualSense controllers to see if we had a defective pad, however the issue was simply replicated throughout all of them.
Even after they do work correctly, there is a weight and clunkiness to the controls that makes Tales of Kenzera really feel so much much less responsive than different Metroidvanias. When it’s worthwhile to shortly react to your environment, there isn’t any assure the sport will even register your button press within the first place. It is a problem that’ll have to be sorted out by way of post-launch updates.
The environments might be a tad extra forgiving too, as a result of by no means have we skilled so many one-hit kills that really feel frankly pointless. Whereas different video games would merely deal commonplace chip harm for those who collide with one thing — similar to spikes — Tales of Kenzera kills you right away. Worse nonetheless are conditions the place puzzles require you to push boulders off ledges, and Zau in some way will get caught beneath it and kills himself. By no fault of your personal, you’ve got misplaced progress. It is by no means quite a lot of seconds on account of frequent checkpointing, but it surely occurs so usually that the expertise deteriorates into fixed exasperation.
Not less than these deaths look and sound good. With a vibrant visible palette that shifts and modifications as you progress between areas, Tales of Kenzera is a reasonably spectacular graphical showcase that goes above and past the requirements of what’s nonetheless a PS5 indie sport. It is then complemented by an exquisite soundtrack from Nainita Desai, which works such a protracted method to heightening the senses and feelings of the title’s extra impactful sequences.
Conclusion
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU tells a touching, private story of household, grief, and loss, but it surely’s wrapped up in a sport that makes appreciating that narrative so much more durable than it ought to be. A Metroidvania in solely essentially the most fundamental of the way, its fight and platforming are spoilt by fundamental design and construction, in addition to controller points and irritating one-hit kills. At its greatest when left to easily inform its story, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU falters as soon as it’s a must to begin enjoying.
