Metroidvania games have always really clicked with me. And even though I haven’t played that many, the idea of taking a collect-a-thon platformer and mixing in a huge map with lots of back tracking and sprinkles of difficulty variation is very appealing. I get why it wouldn’t be for everyone, but it could if you cut down on any or all of those aspects. That is where Tales of Kenzera: ZAU sits. It’s much more linear than other ‘vanias and doesn’t have any “backtracking-after-you’ve-unlocked-a-new-ability” sort of stuff going on. The difficulty spikes are lighter and more forgiving and it’s absolutely going to be my go to recommendation for anyone that’s looking to try out the metroidvania genre.
Story
(There will be light spoilers ahead)
Tales of Kenzera has two stories going on – one in the game’s real world and one inside of a story written in a book found in-game. Both sides of this coin are filled with pretty neat African culture that I loved. Abubakar Salim, who directed this game (and voiced Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins), is of Kenyan descent. In the real world, you’re mourning the loss of your father. This is actually a pretty central premise of the entire game – dealing with change and loss. It honestly hit pretty hard for me at the very end and it was beautiful. This part of the story is hidden away beneath the majority of the game though, because in an attempt to better get to know your father you read a story he’d written. This story is what you’ll actually be playing through 99% of the time. This story revolves around a boy, just like your real-world self, that’s attempting to save his father from the clutches of the god of death. During your quest, you traverse through amazing lands in typical action-platformer fashion and meet new characters along the way. Each supporting cast member you meet unwraps some new lesson to be learned and I enjoyed every second of it. It’s sort of a coming-of-age story wrapped up in this metroidvania package, only heavier as losing a parent isn’t something that happens at any particular age. Overall, it was a great experience and although heavy, didn’t have me in tears like it definitely could have.
Gameplay
Like I said earlier, this game plays as a much more linear version of a classic metroidvania. I kept thinking to myself how it just reminded me of a straight-forward 2D action adventure game. There’s definitely leveling up through a skill tree, collectibles to be found and even some pretty epic boss fights going on, but it’s all much more entry level compared to the likes of Ori and the Blind Forest or Hollow Knight. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in the genre. Movement felt pretty great apart from the knock-back moments when specific enemies hit you into a wall or to the ground. There isn’t much negative to say here about actually playing the game.
Audio/Visual
This game is stunning! The African-inspired landscapes that you traverse are very cool and each different area you travel to is not like the last even a little. It’s all 2D, but the scenes behind you always felt so in-depth and really made you feel like you had completely changed locations. From sandy deserts to villages up in the forest canopy, it was all so visually encapsulating! There were many times I stopped playing to show my wife how stunning a new area was. The only small nitpicky thing anyone might not like is how unpolished and goofy some cutscenes looked. During them, the camera really zooms in tight and the animation doesn’t hold up as well. As for sound design, it was all good. Trying to remember back, I can’t say I disliked anything I listened to during my playthrough. Nothing stood out as really good or really bad here at all.
Achievements
Tales of Kenzera has really good achievement design. A good chunk of the 19 achievements fall right in line with simply playing through the game and there is no difficulty requirement. In typical metroidvania fashion, there are also achievements to finish your collections, but this is no large task and came pretty naturally to me. Provided, I am the type to check every corner of every area as I go, but this game does a fantastic job at really pushing you to find this stuff. For one, the map is entirely shown to you upon entering a new area, leaving any small hidden spots black, and two, every collectable you will find has a spot in the menu from the moment you start the game. On top of this, there were only a handful of areas I had to unlock some new power to access. The only other missable achievements should come naturally just by using the combat abilities effectively. Nothing daunting or overly time consuming here at all.
Pros
– Beautiful visuals
– Smooth action platforming mechanics
– Very straight-forward metroidvania (if you care)
– Story can hit you right in the feels
Cons
– Slightly goofy animation during cutscenes
– Dumbed down metroidvania mechanics (if you care)
– Story can hit you right in the feels
