Tales of Kenzera: Zau, the debut game from Abubakar Salim – who voiced Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins and starred in HBO’s Raised by Wolves – now has a demo on Steam ahead of its PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch release this April.
Tales of Kenzera, a Metroidvania-style side-scrolling action-adventure, was unveiled by Salim during an emotional appearance at last year’s The Game Awards in which he paid tribute to his late father. “For a long time,” he explained, “I’ve struggled to find a way of communicating my journey with grief. To now be able to do that through Zau’s story of loss, growth and healing in Tales of Kenzera: Zau feels so right.”
Taking inspiration from African Bantu tales, the game – which is being developed by Salim’s Surgent Studios and published by EA via its Originals label – follows the journey of Zau, a young shaman who bargains with the God of death to bring his Baba back from darkness.
As Zau attempts to navigate the once-vibrant, now-treacherous lands of Kenzera, he’ll need to utilise his expanding arsenal of abilities – which include cosmic powers from the sun and moon that’ll enable him to take on restless spirits in rhythmic combat – to reach his goal.
Tales of Kenzera: Zau’s Steam demo is available now – it arrives a little ahead of next week’s Steam Next Fest – and includes its first two sections, a taste of Zau’s skills, and an unlockable ability. The full game launches for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch on 23rd April, and if you like what you see in the demo, there’s a 10 percent pre-order disount until launch day.
