If you’ve ever heard of Surgent Studios, it’s definitely not from reading video game sites. This British transmedia production studio has half a dozen films among its projects, but Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is obviously its very first game. Its founder, Abubakar Salim, was also invited to the Game Awards stage to tell a little of the personal story behind this partnership with Electronic Arts. For Salim, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a way of paying tribute to his late father who passed on his passion for video games to him in the past. Taking the form of a metroidvania inspired by Bantu cultures (people of southern Africa), Tales of Kenzera: ZAU tells a poignant story about finding courage within yourself after the loss of a loved one.
“ For a long time, I struggled to find a way to talk about how I grieved. Being able to do this today through Zau who shares the same grief, then grows and heals in Tales of Kenzera: ZAU seems to me an ideal means of expression. For me, video games are the strongest medium for sharing stories. My late father introduced me to this medium and what better way to honor his memory, our relationship and our love than such an experience? I’m extremely grateful and proud of the art team that went into developing Surgent Studios and I’m really excited that EA Originals is giving me this platform and space to share this story with everyone », comments Abubakar Salim.
Zau is therefore a grieving shaman whose mission is to snatch his dad from the clutches of death by making his way through mystical realms in 2.5D, in a rhythm that seems to be driven briskly in exploration as in the fights, which are based on the cosmic powers of the masks of the Sun and the Moon. In particular, we will be able to manipulate time and freeze enemies using the mask of the Moon or even project flaming spears using the mask of the Sun in a game with entirely hand-made animations and music by Nainita Desai (Telling Lies, Immortality).