IT’S GOT THE ZAU FACTOR

Soulful puzzler looks great and is a bargain

Platform: Switch, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox

Genre: Puzzler

This is a brilliant little Metroidvaniastyle title for just €20-odd and a steal if you’re into tough platform puzzle gaming.

Electronic Arts have done a wonderful job building out a colourful new 2.5D world under its innovative Originals gaming platform.

The result is a lush, beautifully animated video game packed full of difficult-butrewarding side-scrolling action.

You play a grieving boy called Zau seeking to bring his dad back to life. A young shaman, you bargain with the God of Death to bring ‘Baba’ back from darkness.

As it happens, you have some cosmic powers that’ll help you do just this.

GAMES REVIEWS

So it’s into some very clever puzzle platforming and battle action as you switch between the powers of both your Sun and Moon masks, each offering unique methods to traverse ever more difficult terrain.

Lore

Surgent Studios do a great job at easing you into the unique lore and gameplay of Kenzera before giving you a proverbial smack round the face with difficult levels and boss fights.

The result is that when you’ve learned, through multiple deaths, how to slowly beat a baddie, or make it across a treacherous pass you get a feeling of pure elation.

And its that old-school gaming style of brutal permadeath lows mixed with bossbeating highs of a next-level joypad session that makes this a really enjoyable, albeit frustrating, game to play.

It plays lovely and is very much in keeping with the Metroid genre, similar in play to the recently revamped Prince of Persia.

Kenzera has a real emotional soul to it too, which adds a sense of weight to the wonderfully designed journey that unfolds. It is inspired by the rich myths of Bantu cultures.

The graphics are truly standout and the audio plays a nice role in enhancing the overall feel of the game.

An absolute bargain for the price.