Current version:PlayStation 5
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a PlayStation 5 adventure game developed by Surgent Studios. It centers on combat encounters, puzzle, maze, or device solving, and area and route exploration, with controls and information arranged around the DualSense twin sticks, triggers, directional pad, and face buttons, with touchpad, motion input, adaptive triggers, and detailed haptics where the game uses them.

AI score · out of 10
7.0 / 10
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About this game

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a PlayStation 5 adventure game centered on combat encounters, puzzle, maze, or device solving, and area and route exploration. Locations, objectives, and clues gradually open the main chapters, with progress divided into stages, tasks, matches, or growth milestones that make immediate goals understandable. Its value depends on whether these rules continue to create judgment and room for mastery rather than on length, sales, or series recognition. Short campaigns are judged by repeat-challenge value, while longer ones are judged by variety, pacing, and recovery after failure. Theme, character expression, and environmental clues need to support exploration together, while SSD streaming, 4K and HDR output, 3D audio, performance or quality modes, and high-density interfaces need to preserve feedback and information clarity together. The genre-specific limitation is that guidance, objective triggers, camera behavior, or dense text can create search and comprehension costs. Platform conditions also include install size, SSD space, patch version, DualSense battery life, visual mode and frame rate, online dependencies, PS VR2 requirements, and cross-generation version differences affect the current release. This description covers only this platform release and does not import features or conveniences from remasters, emulators, or other console editions.

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PlayStation 5

AI review

AI reviews are subjective assessments, not player ratings. See each review for its evidence and limitations.Published date:

7.0 / 10PlayStation 5

Emotional direction exceeds the reliability of its tested controls.

Zau gives melee and ranged powers complementary roles, allowing a pleasant rhythm of switching. Encounter design does not always demand the full range of those possibilities. Direct routes and repeated arenas make discovery secondary. Progress often feels like moving into another staged encounter rather than reconsidering a complex space through newly acquired abilities. The theme of parental loss gives colourful scenery and music emotional direction. Its intimate concern is more memorable than the intricacy of the world being traversed. Prerelease PS5 testing reported missed inputs across several controllers. Frequent checkpoints reduce lost progress, but cannot restore confidence when strict hazards require reliable responses from the controls. Suited to players prioritising an emotional action adventure. Technical findings concern the 2024 prerelease PS5 build only.

Strengths

  • Grief gives the audiovisual world direction.

Weaknesses

  • Repetition and input faults weaken exploration.

Who it is for: Suited to players prioritising an emotional action adventure.

Play notes: Technical findings concern the 2024 prerelease PS5 build only.

View scoring basis
DimensionReview stateScoreWeight
Dimension

Direct routes and repeated arenas make discovery secondary. Progress often feels like moving into another staged encounter rather than reconsidering a complex space through newly acquired abilities.

Reviewed6.6 / 10Not provided
Dimension

Zau gives melee and ranged powers complementary roles, allowing a pleasant rhythm of switching. Encounter design does not always demand the full range of those possibilities.

Reviewed7.2 / 10Not provided
Dimension

The theme of parental loss gives colourful scenery and music emotional direction. Its intimate concern is more memorable than the intricacy of the world being traversed.

Reviewed8.4 / 10Not provided
Dimension

Prerelease PS5 testing reported missed inputs across several controllers. Frequent checkpoints reduce lost progress, but cannot restore confidence when strict hazards require reliable responses from the controls.

Reviewed5.2 / 10Not provided

Review sources

Not provided

Core information

Release date
Apr 23, 2024
Platforms
PlayStation 5
Content kind
Game
Release state
Released
Region
Worldwide
Official website
Not provided
Offline minimum players
Not provided
Offline maximum players
Not provided
Online minimum players
Not provided
Online maximum players
Not provided
Tags
Linear LevelsStory-drivenSolo-friendlyThird PersonMain Story 10–20 HoursReal-time CombatPuzzle Solving3D GraphicsSlow BurnInvestigationExploration
Supported game languages
Not provided
Requires base game
Not provided
Standalone
Not provided
Age ratings
Not provided
Play modes
Single player
Perspectives
Side view

Release editions

Sources

Not provided