With just over 10 days to go until the release of Surgent Studios’ debut title, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, the team at Surgent has lifted the veil on what sets ZAU apart from everything else: the culture.
Surgent Studios, led and founded by BAFTA-nominated actor Abubakar Salim, is launching their debut title, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, in just 11 days and ahead of the launch, the development team has given fans a sneak peek at what’s to come. To discuss the impact of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, Salim tore into his old PS2 box from childhood and said, “My Dad understood games were the only way in for me, I didn’t really care much about anything else; that’s probably why my first venture into storytelling is a video game,” as many gamers can understand. ZAU is a game made by gamers, for gamers and is laced with culture the whole way through.
First, there are immeasurable themes felt in Tales of Kenzera: ZAU that pull on the player’s emotions. Something set right in the background can refer to spirituality and peace, such as a small detail like a made bed; on the flip side, a chaotic bedroom rife with disruption delivers a gut punch of emotion and refers to fear and loss. The lead artist on ZAU, Ackeem Durrant, explains these choices are made to bring the weight of Surgent Studio’s storytelling from the background into the foreground. The attention to detail is felt, and every moving piece of ZAU is meant to make the player feel, if the background doesn’t do the trick, the musical presence slams the player with a simple request, ‘feel’.
The musical influence is an immense undertaking in Tales of Kenzera: ZAU and multi-award-winning composer Nainita Desai pulls out all the stops to inject Swahili culture into ZAU’s vibrant atmosphere. Desai, whose parents were brought up in the culture portrayed in ZAU (South and East Africa), asks the question, “What’s the sound of grief?” and proceeds to deliver a musical experience that explores the duality of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU.
Desai explains her mission was to encapsulate this coming-of-age story that explores Bantu mythology. She has used an ancestral musical composition steeped in a culture that has been passed down for generations. Over 120 musicians have contributed to the score of ZAU, and many traditional instruments, such as the Fulani Flute, to portray an authentic cultural experience while recruiting traditional African musicians (including the instruments) like Master Djembe player Dembele Sidiki from West Africa to add his talents to the score. ZAU bleeds culture.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a coming-of-age story steeped in raw emotion and explores themes of loss and spiritual duality. Surgent has taken care with many of its moving parts to craft a story that not only delivers on culture but seemingly fronts a fun Metroidvania game as a vehicle to drive its soul into its player. Tales of Kenzera: ZAU launches on April 23.
