Microsoft has announced the first wave of titles coming to Game Pass in May. It’s kicking things off early with Have A Nice Death, a 2D action rogue-like available today on console, PC and the cloud.
23.04.2024 - 15:49 / videogameschronicle.com / Abubakar Salim / Jordan Middler
We are in the midst of a Metroidvania renaissance. Metroid: Dread, Ori, Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, and more have kept fans of the genre fully satiated in recent years. 2024 has already seen the launch of one of the genre’s best in Price of Persia: The Lost Crown.
The DNA of all of these games and more can be found in Tales of Kenzera: ZAU. This is the debut project from Surgent Studios, helmed by actor Abubakar Salim. Salim, a veteran of stage and screen, is a lifelong fan of games and with ZAU turns his hand to development.
An incredibly personal project, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU reflects on grief, inspired by the loss of Abubakar’s father, Ali. Ali was a software engineer and introduced Abubakar to gaming. Ali passed away in 2013, and it’s this grief that’s at the core of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU’s narrative.
The game tells the story of Zau, a young man who is attempting to revive his father, a task he and the player secretly knows is fruitless. Zau has to capture the souls of a series of titanic monsters to submit them as an offering to the God of the Dead.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU’s story is largely told through dialogue married to comic-book-style renditions of the game’s characters. These comic book characters are the game’s strongest visuals, and we’d love to have seen fully animated cutscenes in this art style.
The game’s vocal performances are strong, and the characters never outstay their welcome, even if they’re largely unremarkable. Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is full of interesting lore about the game’s wider world, but this information is often given to the player as a reward for finding a secret in the world.
We’d have preferred some of this information to be slightly less obscured, but having lore as a reward rather than a new skill or skill point is an interesting change.
Tales of Kenzera is full of rock-solid platforming challenges. Striking a balance between tough and controller-breakingly annoying, Kenzera’s platforming evokes Guacamelee, Super Meat Boy, and the aforementioned Metroid Dread.
While your movement options are fairly limited, it’s used in many incredibly challenging ways. There are second-perfect jumps, extended platforming challenges, and some sections that will have your hands contoured in a vice-like grip around the controller.
“Striking a balance between tough and controller-breakingly annoying, Kenzera’s platforming evokes Guacamelee, Super Meat Boy, and the aforementioned Metroid Dread.”
The game’s combat is largely split between two different modes, each represented by a mask that imbues Zau with different powers. The Moon mask is more ranged, while the Sun mask is up close and personal. You can switch between the masks at will, which makes for fast-paced action, but the game’s combat
Microsoft has announced the first wave of titles coming to Game Pass in May. It’s kicking things off early with Have A Nice Death, a 2D action rogue-like available today on console, PC and the cloud.
You’ve heard of the Lands Between, but have you ever considered the Sands Between? That’s not a joke, that’s a genuine area in Another Crab’s Treasure, and I don’t think anything sums up the exact vibe that this game is going for better than the name of that one area. This is a love letter to and a sendup of so much of what FromSoftware has done, all wrapped up in a very cute crab protagonist just trying to get their home back, and a deeply unsettling message about pollution that we all already know, but don’t often get to play through.
Another Crab's Treasure might not look like a soulslike action RPG, but it is one. Take out the dark, oppressive nature of FromSoftware's output and replace it with SpongeBob, and you're more or less there. Purposely juxtaposing the established tropes of the genre, this title offers a fresh, more lighthearted experience without sacrificing the level of challenge you'd expect.
It’s wonderfully ironic that the biggest breath of fresh air the soulslike genre has received in years comes from an adventure that takes place entirely underwater. Where most dodge-rolling action games are drab, bloody, and edgelordian, Another Crab’s Treasure is bursting with bright colors, cartoonish sea creatures, and silly humor. That extreme departure from serious and spooky vibes makes it standout in an increasingly crowded space, even when it follows the formula extremely closely in every other regard. It suffers from overly simplistic combat, a general lack of challenge, and some bugs and camera wonkiness now and again – but with memorable characters, an extremely enjoyable story, and lots of original ideas, Another Crab’s Treasure had me grinning all throughout my 20-hour tour of the ocean floor.
is celebrating its 20th anniversary with three epic expansions which will tie together to form, the first of which is coming later this year with the release of the expansion. While the overarching narrative will be one that looks at the greater picture of with Azeroth's history, Titans, and what is going on with the Sword of Sargeras, will have a more enclosed story going on in a new area.
is the latest indie release from developer and publisher, Aggro Crab. In this Soulslike crab game, players will take on the role of Kril the Hermit Crab as he embarks on a life-changing journey across a polluted ocean to get back his home, encountering over 50 shells and various referential costumes. Though the enemies are tough, Kril will face an even greater struggle in comprehending the state of the world around him and his role in it.
While it wasn’t marketed as being a particularly punishing game, Tales of Kenzera: Zau is by no means easy. You will have plenty of environmental challenges that can instantly sap your life, and the enemies you face — especially the bosses — are no slouches. When you first begin, it will only take a couple of bad hits to send Zau to the land of the dead himself. Alongside the Trinkets you can unlock through hidden challenges around the map, there are also Baobab Trees where Zau can stop to reflect on his journey thus far, have a short dialogue with Kalunga, and get a small addition to his health bar. Like everything in the game, these trees aren’t prohibitively hidden, but you could easily pass one by and have no idea where it was when trying to backtrack. These are all the Baobab Tree locations so you can max out your health bar.
Your main upgrades in a metroidvania like Tales of Kenzera: Zau will always be your new abilities. These transform the way you move and fight, but there are other ways you can make Zau a more powerful shaman. Trinkets are introduced right away, but aren’t given away as freely as you might think. Each one requires you to overcome a small trial that tests your platforming abilities off the main path. Technically, you can miss every single one aside from the one you begin the game with. Even though there are a few fast travel points, backtracking isn’t a particularly fun experience. Here are all the Trinket locations in Tales of Kenzera: Zau, plus which ones you should equip.
Wētā Workshop and Private Division have officially announced a new title, , coming later this year. This is the first collaboration by developer Wētā Workshop, known for its work on the special effects in film series, and Private Division, the prolific publisher of indie games ranging from and to and.
Private Division has finally unveiled the first trailer for Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game.
A few hours ago, Private Division and Wētā Workshop finally shared the first trailer and gameplay details for Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings game.
is a new game that explores the depths of grief, a topic often avoided in and outside of games. Published by EA Originals, Electronic Arts’ indie-focused label, is a project born out of Surgent Studios’ Abubakar Salim’s own journey through grief. The metroidvania was announced at The Game Awards 2023 by Salim himself, who shared a portion of his story and how the game came into being. is an homage to Salim’s late father, Ali Abubakar, who died over 10 years ago from cancer.