Tales of Kensela: Zau Review: A Beautiful Meditation on Loss

Loss is inevitable, but if you know it, it is not so difficult. Grief affects your life, and it almost certainly affects mine. And, without a doubt, it already is. That belief that we will all experience death is part of the reason why so much art is dedicated to interrogating these feelings. For a long time, video games were one of the media that could not fully release the feeling of sadness, despite death, dying and multiple lives. There was little reason. If you die in a video game, you always come back to life. The danger of death is nothing more than a few hearts, or numbers, on the screen. It is often encouraged. The more kills you get, the better. There, death is not something to be mourned, but something to be celebrated. However, this is not true for all games. More and more video games are exploring what it means to lose. It’s no longer just a level, but a more tangible, life-changing loss.It’s a game like Spirit Farrera “cozy management game about dying” with the theme of the afterlife. Edith Finch’s legacy, about the stories left behind.or Undertaker’s story, you will face death. Sadness can also be found in games that don’t explicitly deal with loss. As I said earlier, it’s inevitable.

sergeant studio Tales of Kensela: Zau It’s the latest game to deal with grief. In fact, it’s the very heart of the game.guided by dragon house Actor Abubakar Salim and the development team at Sargent Studios didn’t shy away from this topic. When announcing the game at The Game Awards in 2023, Salim said: Tales of Kensela: Zau For someone who grew up playing and loving video games, it was a way for him to process his grief in a relatable way. The game is a tribute to his father, who passed away from cancer in 2013.

Set in the colorful world of Afrofuturism, Tales of Kensela: Zau It begins with a young boy grieving the recent death of his father. His father had been ill for a long time and his death was expected but equally shocking. The boy wasn’t ready to say goodbye, so he picked up the book his father was writing instead. Most of the content is contained in this book. Tales of Kensela: Zau is set in a world that reflects the boy himself. Zau, a young shaman grieving the death of his father, makes a deal with Kalunga, the god of death, to bring back his father. In order to fulfill Kalunga’s demands, Zau must head deep into Kenzera, which is overrun with lost spirits, and face off against three powerful spirits.

Image: Sargent Studio/Electronic Arts

Tales of Kensela: Zau is a Metroidvania style game that uses gameplay to reflect Zau’s story and sorrow. Zau entered Kensela, grief-stricken, but focused solely on bringing Baba back – he resisted Kalunga’s aid, even though he would struggle without her. His grief is overwhelming and complex. He processes his emotions, sometimes out loud, as he races through several different but interconnected lands in search of spirits.

To combat the turbulent spirits, Zau uses the power of his father’s two masks. One represents the sun and his other one represents the moon. First, the blue moon mask gives Zau a ranged attack, while the yellow sun mask is a melee attack for fighting nearby enemies. Just like other metroidvanias, Tales of Kensela: Zau As platformization progresses, these capabilities will be upgraded. Eventually, Zau gains the ability to freeze water and enemies, fire electric spears, swing from hook flowers, and smash through reinforced gates. Beyond platforming, Tales of Kensela: Zau offers a wealth of environmental puzzles, including reflections on timing, movement, and placement.

The main path through the game is linear, following the story, but as is the tradition of Metroidvania-style games, there’s always room for further exploration. This is where the genre feels particularly suited for games about grief. It is not linear and we often fall down the wrong path or get lost in cycles and loops. But walking these winding paths is often important for Zaw, too, as he processes his grief. Dead ends are often places for him to ponder or rest, which can grant him extra health or reveal small story pieces. Needless to say, the world Tales of Kensela: Zau Despite all the destruction and betrayal, this one is absolutely gorgeous. Each area is unique. The jungle above the trees is lush with greenery. Brown and yellow in the bone-crushing desert. Blue and purple deep underground. Each environment is full of emotion and life, and music that suits its soul heightens its danger. This is a beautiful visual recreation of the Bantu myths and legends that are central to the game’s storytelling.

Every time a new ability is created, Tales of Kensela: Zau It gets more and more difficult. Each of his four chapters in the game builds platform puzzles and enemies also become more powerful. There’s also an upgrade tree to make Zau’s skills more powerful, and unlockable challenge runes to further evolve him. (Runes are nice to have, but not required; for example, the more you juggle enemies, the more your abilities recharge.) It’s all a little confusing, but for the best. Tales of Kensela: Zau‘s platforming and enemy battles are challenging in a way that never feels punishing, but rewarding. In the game’s story, everything feels difficult for a reason. Every victory comes with some new realization for Zau and the people he meets along the way. This perception doesn’t always apply to Zau. Even when we receive a revelation about someone else’s grief, we may turn first to our own grief. Sadness is troublesome; Tales of Kensela: Zau I won’t hesitate to do that.

Image: Sargent Studio/Electronic Arts

towards the very end Tales of Kensela: Zau, there is a precision and time-based platform section, which is very difficult. Almost all of Zau’s upgrades and abilities need to be used, so there’s a lot of button and timing coordination involved. (I also ran into some bugs that would freeze Zau in certain abilities, meaning he would be burned by the raging flames and fail automatically. This detail makes it hard to The level has become even more painful.) In this section, Zau is running away from a volcano that then erupts. A battle with the malicious Gagolib. With smoke and lava chasing him, Zau must smash through walls, scale walls, dodge obstacles, and execute precise, well-timed scaffolding moves to survive. The problem for me was the wall-destroying lunge right after the hook swing. I ended up getting caught in lava more times than I can count. I was never satisfied with doing it, and every time I broke through it felt like a miracle. There were quite a few sections with no save points, and I finally got through it after about an hour. By then, I was irritable, tired, and my thumb was hurting. I was angry at the game and angry at myself. I almost stopped playing. But the feeling when Zau crossed the final barrier was such a relief, it felt like a real accomplishment. A sense of relief that the hard work was worth it. Unbeknownst to me, this level is pretty close to the end of the game. This is one of the last big challenges I will face. Tales of Kensela: Zau. It’s the perfect time for a challenge like this, with many messy and complex emotions coming to a head for both me and Zau.

When Zau’s story ended, I finished the game in tears. Because I too have experienced sadness in my life. It’s anticipatory, but it’s still a sadness. I’m not ready to accept that yet, and I don’t know if I ever will.But I’m leaving Tales of Kensela: Zau We know that salvation is possible, no matter how far away it may be.

Tales of Kensela: Zau will be released on April 23rd on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. This game was reviewed on PS5 using a pre-release download code provided by Electronic Arts. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, but Vox Media may earn a commission on products purchased through affiliate links.can be discovered Additional information about Polygon’s Ethics Policy can be found here.