As a psychological horror title, players control Chase Lowry, who ventures into a mysterious Hollywood director’s mansion to find Vinny Monroe, his missing friend. By solving puzzles and splicing clips, they can uncover secrets and ultimately learn the truth. Of course, as creative director Abubakar Salim stated in a press release, it’s also about the “high of ambition and the rot underneath it,” “The lies we tell ourselves to get in the spotlight, and the monsters we become to stay there.”

Newbon and Starr aren’t the only notable actors. As the trailer notes, you can look forward to seeing others like Jane Perry (Dragon Age: The Veilguard) and Alanah Pearce (Cyberpunk 2077). Laura Bailey, Matthew Mercer, Sam Lake, Travis Willingham and Connor Marc Colquhoun, aka CDawgVA, also have cameos. Stay tuned for more details on Dead Take ahead of its launch.

While the short teaser trailer doesn’t really reveal much in the way of details, it does give us a hint about what kind of horror we can expect from Dead Take. There is also a heavy use of old-school video artefacts, including scenes filled with static, that also have hidden messages for players to uncover. The teaser caps things off with a simple “coming soon”, with no confirmation of a release window.

According to Surgent Studios, Dead Take’s story will revolve around players slowly uncovering the darkest secrets of the entertainment industry that have been hidden behind a clean, glittery facade. However, the studio doesn’t yet seem keen on revealing more details as of yet, with CEO Abubakar Salim talking about being delicate about the game’s subject matter.

“We’re being secretive for a reason,” said Salim in a statement included with the press release announcing Dead Take. “The subject matter of this game is delicate, and it hits close to home. When it comes out, and it won’t be long until it does, I want players to think, ‘I can’t believe they actually did this.”

Pocketpair and Surgent Studios had announced this partnership all the way back in January, with the publisher revealing that Surgent’s new game will be its first publishing project. At the time, the game was simply described as being a “brand new horror game” with “an original approach.”

Salim had further expanded on the partnership by talking about how Surgent Studios and Pocketpair are a good fit together because both companies like to take risks. He also said that Dead Take will be “short and weird”. He also revealed that the studio was in further talks to make more titles based on the Tales of Kenzera: Zau universe.

“We noticed a pattern in the entertainment industry, and Pocketpair has given us the opportunity to make a horror game about it,” said Salim. “Both Surgent and Pocketpair are well versed in taking risks. This game will be short and weird, and we think players will be interested in what we have to say.”

“We’re still in earnest conversation about further projects set in the Tales of Kenzera universe, but this will be a standalone piece: a mile marker between where we’ve come from and where we’re going.”

Pocketpair, for its part, had later revealed that it had started getting pitches from indie studios in less than 24 hours after announcing its plans to go into game publishing. “We announced Pocketpair Publishing 15 hours ago… My inboxes were 0 before then… I think I might have underestimated how much interest here would be,” wrote communications director and publishing manager John Buckley on X.

Dead Take is slated for release on PC. It is currently unknown whether it will be coming to consoles as well. In the meantime, there’s a Steam store listing where you can wishlist the title.

“No one has money at the moment. Minutes, that’s not even a joke; minutes after Palworld released and that started to happen, people were sending us pitches even though we weren’t a publisher,” said Buckley. “I think there was just this desperate, you know, ‘we need money’ that’s going on right now, and a lot of people contacted us.”

“To our surprise, it wasn’t just little two-man teams or something,” continued Buckley. “Some really big names contacted us, you know, AAA, AA, premium indies, all these contacts.”

Pocketpair had announced that it would be publishing games back in January. As part of this move, the company is helping Tales of Kenzera: Zau developer Surgent Studios with an unannounced new horror game. Buckley spoke about how the company had begun to hear out studio pitches as it was getting its publishing arm ready.

“We started meeting these people very early last year, listening to ideas,” explained Buckley. “And we were very honest. We said, hey, we’re not publishers or anything, but we’ll listen. And we talked about it a lot internally. What can we do? What can we not do?”

“We want to help cool indies get made. We want to help cool, premium indie, kind of AAs get made.”

Not many details about the first title with Surgent Studios have been revealed so far, except for the fact that it will be a horror game. Studio founder Abubakar Salim (also the voice of Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins), spoke about the opportunity his studio was getting through Pocketpair.

“We noticed a pattern in the entertainment industry, and Pocketpair has given us the opportunity to make a horror game about it,” said Salim. “Both Surgent and Pocketpair are well versed in taking risks. This game will be short and weird, and we think players will be interested in what we have to say.”

Buckley had spoken about the studio’s publishing arm being created in order to help more indie studios get their games made back in January. Taking to social media, Buckley commented on how quickly game pitches started coming in after the publishing arm was announced. He also spoke about wanting to give smaller studios financial independence to make their games.

“We give you money. You make the game,” posted Buckley. “If you want help with marketing or something we’ll help out, but otherwise do whatever you want. “We’re giving devs the financial freedom to make games they want so they DON’T have to get wrapped up in stinky rule makers and bullies.”

Pocketpair has been able to kickstart its publishing arm in a bid to help smaller developers thanks to the massive success seen by its game Palworld. According to a report from back in February, Palworld has been played by more than 32 million players so far. For context, the game was developed on a budget of $6.7 million.

“We’re pleased to announcer that our first project as Pocketpair Publishing will be supporting a brand new horror game from @surgentstudios,” posted Pocketpair on X. “Surgent Studios is a studio with an original approach, and Pocketpair is excited to support them to the fullest extent.”

Along with announcing that it will be publishing the new title, the company has also stated that it will be a new horror game. Surgent Studios hasresponded to PocketPair’s post by posting “FRIENDS”.

Surgent Studios was a company founded by Abubakar Salim, who has previously voiced Assassin’s Creed Origins protagonist Bayek. The studio’s first major release was Tales of Kenzera: Zau, which was released back in March 2024.

“We noticed a pattern in the entertainment industry, and Pocketpair has given us the opportunity to make a horror game about it,” said Salim, according to IGN. “Both Surgent and Pocketpair are well versed in taking risks. This game will be short and weird, and we think players will be interested in what we have to say.”

“We’re still in earnest conversation about further projects set in the Tales of Kenzera universe, but this will be a standalone piece: a mile marker between where we’ve come from and where we’re going.”

The company had announced that it was working on a new title, developed under the codename Project Uso. The few details that Salim revealed about the game include that it will be an RPG with an isometric perspective, there will be action RPG styled combat, and that its general atmosphere can be described as afro-gothic.

Project Uso is also described as a more visceral and gritty title than Tales of Kenzera: Zau, despite the fact that both games take place in the same universe. During its announcement, Salim had stated that the studio was looking for a funding partner, and while it hasn’t been confirmed either way, the title being published by Pocketpair might just be Project Uso.

However, it is also worth noting that Project Uso wasn’t announced as a horror title, and this new title is set to be a standalone project that doesn’t take place in the same universe as Tales of Kenzera: Zau.

Salim also mentioned that, with the development of Project Uso, the studio wanted to try its hand at creating its own RPG system, since many of the developers are also fans of tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons. To that end, Project Uso will feature the Crucible system, which will involve players having to partake in dice rolls against their own actions.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The game’s story revolves around the player character challenging the God of Death in order to change the status quo. The title saw a positive critical reception on release. However, no sales data for the game have been revealed so far. In the mean time, Surgent Studios was also hit with a round of lay offs that impacted more than a dozen of its employees.

For more details about Tales of Kenzera: Zau, check out our review.

We’re pleased to announce that our first project as Pocketpair Publishing will be supporting a brand new horror game from @surgentstudios !
Pocketpair Publishingの最初のプロジェクトとして、SURGENT STUDIOSの完全新作のサポートを開始しました。

SURGENT STUDIOS is a studio with an… pic.twitter.com/hqJcCbie3S

— Pocketpair Publishing (@PocketpairPBLSH) January 23, 2025

FRIENDS

— Pocketpair Publishing (@PocketpairPBLSH) January 23, 2025

Specifically, the studio’s next title is described as a afro-gothic isometric action RPG. As per Salim, the game is being developed under the name Project Uso, and is going to be set in the same universe as Tales of Kenzera: Zau.

Billed as a “darker, more visceral, [and] gritty” game than the studio’s sidescrolling Metroidvania debut, the game is inspired by Planescape: Torment. Salim says Surgent Studios is currently “looking for a funding partner to bring it to life.”

Talking about the game, Salim revealed that players will play as an android cradling the spirit of Eshu, the God of Chaos.

“The story (with Zau) is that as a shaman you’re challenging the God of Death as a way of looking at the idea of healthy handling grief, so I came up with the idea of what if one reader is inspired to defy death itself, so they create this android which is fashioned to cradle the spirits of the dead,” he said. “And what if that spirit isn’t a human being, it’s a God, Eshu, the God of Chaos, so now you’ve got these two mentalities in one frame? That’s something I thought would be really cool to explore.”

According to Salim, Project Uso will feature real-time combat, and will also use a new system dubbed the “Crucible” system that will see players rolling against themselves.

“We want to really focus our time and attention on the mechanics, on the gameplay on the feel of it as a whole, because I think that’s what’s really key,” he said. “That’s what is going to make it really sing.

“As passionate Dungeons and Dragons players, the Surgent team and I knew we wanted to try our hand at creating our own RPG system. As a way to give Project Uso a fast-paced, real-time feel, we created the Crucible system, which requires players to roll against themselves.”

Surgent Studios has also shared concept images for the title. You can view them below.

pic.twitter.com/gulWFDsFZS

— Surgent Studios | ZAU OUT NOW (@surgentstudios) July 2, 2024

Original story follows:

Surgent Studio, an independent development team led by actor Abubakar Salim, has been hit with layoffs. As reported by Game Developer, though the studio itself has yet to make an official announcement regarding the same, several of its former employees have confirmed on social media that they were let go.

That includes technical artist Jordan Smee and level designer Pete Brisbourne on LinkedIn, and a producer going by Raysura on Bluesky. The full extent of the layoffs is unconfirmed, but clearly, multiple at the studio have been impacted.

Surgent Studios released its debut title, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, earlier this year. The Metroidvania action-adventure title, which was published by EA, was met with mostly positive reviews, though there’s been no word on how the game has sold.

In our review of the game, we gave the game a score of 7/10, saying, “Tales of Kenzera: Zau delivers a genuinely touching and heartfelt story in a rich and mystical world, even if it lets itself down with its combat, platforming, and design.” Read the full review through here.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Set in the mystical lands of Kenzera, Surgent Studios’ 2.5D game puts you in the shoes of Zau, a young shaman looking to revive his late father’s spirit, for which he strikes a bargain with Kalunga, the God of Death- to find the three Great Spirits who have resisted Kalunga’s calls and help them pass on from the world of the living into the realm of the dead. From that central narrative premise to how expertly it handles heavy themes like grief and loss, to the rich and vibrant world where the game is set, there’s a lot to be impressed by when it comes to virtually anything related to Tales of Kenzera: Zau’s narrative ambitions.

"If you’re expecting Tales of Kenzera: Zau to deliver an experience that can rival recent genre greats like Hollow Knight or Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, it’s likely that you’ll be left disappointed. If, however, what you’re looking for is an engaging and well-told story, Tales of Kenzera: Zau is an easy game to recommend."

Chief among them is the deeply personal tale at the heart of the experience. Made as an homage to his own late father and the relationship he shared with him by game director and veteran voice actor Abubakar Salim (who also voices Zau in the game), themes of grief and how to deal with the loss of a loved one are always front and center in Tales of Kenzera. Each section of the game sees Zau trying to help a lingering Great Spirit move on into the realm of the dead, and each section and the unique arc it comes with ties into Zau’s own personal story in fascinating ways, often making for some genuinely moving moments.

It helps that the core cast of characters is as endearing as it is. The central duo of Zau and Kalunga are both multi-layered personalities, and both are not only well written, but also brought to life just as effectively and believably by excellent voice acting performances. The side characters you meet throughout your journey, though not nearly as prominent as Zau or Kalunga, also serve as solid additions to the cast, each bringing their own unique charms and valuable contributions to the story and its emotional core.

The setting, too, does a lot of heavylifting. Inspired by African cultures and mythologies, the lands of Kenzera are consistently gorgeous and a pleasure to simply exist in. There’s a magically atmospheric feel to the game’s world, backed by excellent visuals that, though not the most impressive from a technical perspective, benefit massively from gorgeous art design and meaningful diversity in environments. Though it’s at times a bit frustrating that Tales of Kenzera’s pared-back approach to things such as exploration don’t allow you to dive as deeply into some of the game’s environments as you’d wish (more on this in a bit), it is, at the very least, always a pleasure to simply exist and move about in the world.

"Each section of the game sees Zau trying to help a lingering Great Spirit move on into the realm of the dead, and each section and the unique arc it comes with ties into Zau’s own personal story in fascinating ways, often making for some genuinely moving moments."

Without a doubt, the story and the setting are the stars of the show in Tales of Kenzera: Zau, though when you come to its gameplay and design elements, the experience does come across as a lot more uneven. A lot of that is, of course, down to the fact that this is a story-focused game – probably much more than anything you’re used to seeing in the Metroidvania genre – which means the game’s priorities often lie with being as approachable and accessible as possible. On one hand, that comes with the obvious benefit of the game’s excellent story being easy to fully experience for as many players as possible. On the other, that also means Tales of Kenzera is frequently much more straightforward than fans of the genre would want.

At times, in fact, it’s almost easy to forget that Tales of Kenzera: Zau is, technically speaking, a Metroidvania. The labyrinthine, interconnected, backtracking-focused design that the genre is associated with is heavily pared back here, to the point where the vast majority of the game feels like a linear experience where you’re constantly progressing forward in one direction. There are definitely a few areas where you can take branching paths or try and seek out hidden secrets, challenges, collectibles, and explorable sections, but for the most part, they’re heavily de-emphasized for the bulk of the experience, which means exploration isn’t nearly as meaty or rewarding as you’d want in a Metroidvania.

Thankfully, moving through the world still feels enjoyable more often than not. Tales of Kenzera’s platforming and traversal mechanics aren’t as precise as a Hollow Knight or a Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, nor as smooth and fluid as an Ori and the Will of the Wisps or a Metroid Dread, but within the more straightforward and pared-back structure of the experience, they do their job well enough. Chaining together jumps, double jumps, slides, and dashes while trying to navigating environmental obstacles and challenges never feels like it’s stepping outside of the tried-and-tested conventions of the genre, but though they don’t break new ground, these sections are generally fun to play through.

"At times, in fact, it’s almost easy to forget that Tales of Kenzera: Zau is, technically speaking, a Metroidvania. The labyrinthine, interconnected, backtracking-focused design that the genre is associated with is heavily pared back here."

Occasionally, however, the game can be bogged down by moments of frustration. These can come in a few forms. Movement and platforming can feels a bit sluggish and imprecise at times, which is often down to the game failing to register your inputs from time to time, seemingly at random. Certain sections also come with frustrating design decisions, from inconsistent checkpointing to sudden difficulty spikes in platforming challenges, especially with one-hit kill hazards. Though these issues remain relatively easy to forgive for the most part, they do add up in the long run, which means it does feel like Tales of Kenzera doesn’t quite hit its potential where platforming and traversal are concerned.

Combat is similarly uneven. Zau is equipped with two shaman masks that he’s inherited from his father, allowing him to wield the power of the sun and the moon, providing melee and ranged abilities respectively. You can switch between both masks on the fly, and flitting from one form to another while dodging and dashing around your enemies feels satisfying right off the bat, especially as you begin unlocking new abilities that allow you to freeze foes, throw heavy spears at them from a distance, and more.

Unfortunately, Tales of Kenzera’s combat doesn’t have enough depth to sustain itself for the entirety of the game’s runtime. Though boss fights are always unforgettable spectacles that expertly combine fast and aggressive combat with fluid platforming and plenty of visual splendour, the deeper you get into the game, the more repetitive all of its combat encounters outside of boss fights become. From lacking enemy variety to liberally repeated encounter types to paper-thin progression mechanics, Tales of Kenzera’s combat, though fun in a superficial sense, doesn’t evolve as much as it should have to meet its potential.

"Tales of Kenzera’s combat doesn’t have enough depth to sustain itself for the entirety of the game’s runtime."

Ultimately, what your takeaway from Tales of Kenzera: Zau is after you’ve rolled credits on its roughly eight-hour journey will depend on the areas you wanted the game to prioritize before diving in. Surgent Studios’ debut game excels beyond expectations in a number of areas, with a brilliantly captivating story, excellent voice acting performances, and a rich and magical setting that boasts an incredible sense of place. On the other hand, in terms of design and gameplay, the game is definitely not on the same level as the many, many modern Metroidvania greats we’ve been treated to in recent years, whether in terms of combat, platforming, or level design. Narratively, Tales of Kenzera undoubtedly succeeds in delivering on its promises, but there’s also little doubt that if it was a better Metroidvania, the entire experience could have been markedly more memorable, even if it has no shortage of unforgettable moments as it is.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

Tales of Kenzera is a 2.5D Metroidvania action-adventure title. Set in the land of Kenzera, the game sees players stepping into the shoes of young shaman Zau, who sets out on a quest to convince Kalunga, the God of Death, to revive his dead father.

Developer Surgent Studios has revealed that Tales of Kenzera: Zau’s main story will be roughly 8-10 hours long, though with optional content, you can get 12-15 hours of play time. The game will feature options for full voice overs in both English and Swahili.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau launches on April 23 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The game will also be available via the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog at launch.

In its preview, One More Game reported that Tales of Kenzera: Zau will be roughly 8-10 hours long if you’re sticking to the main story, and about 12-15 hours with optional content. According to studio founder and game director Abubakar Salim, Surgent Studios wanted to craft an experience befitting its $20 price tag, with the focus being on telling a story and making the game as accessible as possible.

“We almost want to treat it like a good season of TV,” he said. “Plus, at a $20 price point… respect the wallet. Gaming is an expensive hobby, and we want to make this as accessible as possible, especially with the idea of a universal theme of grief.“

Tales of Kenzera: Zau launches on April 23 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. It will also be available with PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium at launch.

Recently, for instance, the developer took to Twitter to reveal that in addition to English, Tales of Kenzera: Zau is also going to feature full Swahili voice overs at launch. Given the game’s strong emphasis on authentic representation of African culture, that’s a massive bonus. Earlier this year, fellow Metroidvania title Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown did something similar when it launched with a Farsi VO option. Hopefully, this is a trend we’ll continue to see more of.

Additionally, Surgent Studios has also revealed the full voice cast for the game’s English and Swahili options. Abubakar Salim – best known as Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins, who is, incidentally, also Tales of Kenzera’s director and Surgent Studios’ founder – will voice protagonist Zau in English, in addition to voicing Zuberi. In Swahili, said role will be taken up by Neville Misati. Meanwhile, God of Death Kalunga will be voiced by Tristan D. Lalla in English, and Maqbul Mohammed in Swahili. You can check out the full voice cast below.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau will launch on April 23 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. It will also be available via the PS Plus Game Catalog at launch.

https://twitter.com/ZauTheGame/status/1775553899073606042