When was the Tales of Kenzera Zau release date? This platformer from Surgent Studios is an absolute feast for the eyeballs, that’s for sure. Takes of Kenzera Zau tells a story of loss and the lengths one person would go to to retrieve what they once had, even if they have to deal with the actual God of Death in the process.
You’ve seen Metroidvania games before, sure, but Tales of Kenzera Zau takes what you know and packages it in an experience that explodes with color, dialogue that swings with real verve, and a rewarding combat system that flows on the screen like water. Here is everything you need to know about the platform game, including its release date, the story synopsis, and trailers.
Tales of Kenzera Zau release date
Tales of Kenzera Zau released on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. It’s currently available on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and the EA app, as well as on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for console users.
The Tales of Kenzera Zau pre-order bonuses extended to any of these platforms. It included a 10% discount, visual effect variants, in-game skill unlocks, and a digital companion comic. There is also a Tales of Kenzera Zau demo, which is available to download on Steam.
You can also talk to the team behind Tales of Kenzera Zau in the dedicated Discord server, and keep up to date with any new information following the platformer’s release.
Tales of Kenzera Zau story
Tales of Kenzera Zau follows the eponymous Zau, a young shaman grieving the loss of his father. Zau embarks on a journey to retrieve his Baba by negotiating with the God of Death themselves. He must face his own emotions to become a worthy Nganga, or spiritual healer, and make peace with loss and death while embracing the power of love along the way. The story takes cues from actor Abubakar Salim’s own experience with grief.
Tales of Kenzera Zau trailers
The first Tales of Kenzera Zau trailer preps us for the story and gives us a glimpse of the astonishing 2.5D environments and two-toned combat system. To defeat your enemies, you’ll use two masks: the Sun and The Moon. These masks grant Zau unique powers and must be used correctly to best his most fearsome foes.
Zau’s Sun mask powers revolve around fire, and with it equipped, he can launch fiery spears at his enemies and burn parts of the environment. The Moon powers act as a counterpoint to this, granting Zau the ability to crystallize enemies and his environs, with the added plus of being able to control time.
We see huge bosses, a variety of enemies, and some mind-twisting platforming areas. It looks like Zau’s powers will be used for navigation as much as dispatching enemies, with environmental hazards and tricky layouts putting his abilities to the test.
A second, gameplay-focused trailer was shown during the Xbox Partner stream in March 2023. We see more of the basic combat as Zau fires projectiles with the Moon mask and slashes enemies with the Sun mask, but we also see more of the individual mask powers. Sun can generate platforms, while Moon destroys them.
New powers are learned by visiting shrines, such as Bamba’s Stone, a Moon mask ability that freezes enemies and moves water. We also see more of Akida’s Spear, the Sun fiery spear ability mentioned earlier, as this trailer reveals that it can go through multiple enemies at once.
Each skill you learn can be upgraded with skill points, such as adding an additional strike to a light attack combo in the Sun mask tech tree or increasing the maximum Light Charges for the one with the Moon mask. You can also equip trinkets that add new perks, such as increasing spirit gained by juggling foes or increasing damage inflicted on enemies that are slammed into each other or the local environment. Finally, we see one of the bosses: a giant thunderbird that calls upon lightning to strike down Zau.
That’s everything you need to know about Tales of Zendera Zau. If you’re looking to play something similar after you’ve rolled credits on Zau’s journey, our Prince of Persia The Lost Crown review might point you in the right direction. Alternatively, check out some of the best story games we’ve played for more heartfelt tales.