There’s one thing about enjoying Tales of Kenzera: ZAU that by no means feels fairly proper. Whether or not it is the gradual, sluggish controls or frustratingly frequent one-hit kills, reaching any form of circulation state the place you are vibing and jiving with the newest EA Originals title is nigh-on unattainable. It is a very stop-start expertise at odds with the standard hallmarks of the Metroidvania style, as an alternative spotlighting a touching, private story of parental loss. Such a heavy narrative focus isn’t any dangerous factor, however with little gameplay satisfaction to rely on between plot factors, it feels so lopsided that the rest 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 latest talents, secrets and techniques, and shortcuts. Two talent bushes improve your fight strategies, then persistent platforming sections navigate you to targets and non-compulsory challenges. That description may very well 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 simple motion platformer so such comparisons could be moot. Not often are new expertise teased via inaccessible passages, by no means will its platforming actually problem you. The sport’s not fully devoid of such components, although what’s there will not show notably satisfying — it really works so much higher as an introduction to Metroidvanias than the rest.
As a substitute, the title is made up of quite a few singular paths that often break off into non-compulsory impasses with a secret on the finish, and fight encounters. Most important character Zau utilises them on a quest to say his father’s spirit again from the useless; a narrative private to Surgent Studios founder Abubakar Salim, who beforehand voiced Bayek in Murderer’s Creed Origins.
Advised via 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 Dying, creating an fascinating dynamic as the 2 characters do not all the time get alongside. Stripped of the whole lot else, Tales of Kenzera has a touching story to inform.
Its subsequent neatest thing could be the fight, which employs magical talents alongside customary melee and projectile-based assaults. Zau comes geared up with a solar masks and a moon masks, which could be swapped between on the fly to entry various kinds of strikes. The solar masks is for getting up shut and private with enemies whereas the moon masks places down ranged foes via small crystalised missiles. New and present talents could be upgraded via 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 rapidly 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 primarily a single structure 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 nearly precisely the identical approach each time. Apart from a handful of boss encounters, fight regularly feels repetitive because you already know what’s labored 10 occasions beforehand.
By far the largest flaw, although, is the controls — or moderately, their lack of ability to reliably register your inputs. Very incessantly, protagonist Zau will merely cease transferring whilst you’re pushing the left thumbstick to both facet. In our expertise pre-release, we needed to recenter the thumbstick a number of occasions to begin transferring once more, and this occurred each couple of minutes. 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 occasions 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 once 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 rapidly react to your environment, there isn’t any assure the sport will even register your button press within the first place. It is a difficulty that’ll should be sorted out via post-launch updates.
The environments may very well 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 customary chip injury in the event you collide with one thing — akin 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 someway will get caught beneath it and kills himself. Via no fault of your personal, you have misplaced progress. It is by no means various seconds resulting from 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 matches such a protracted strategy 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 tougher than it needs to be. A Metroidvania in solely probably 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 finest when left to easily inform its story, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU falters as soon as you need to begin enjoying.