Tales of Kenzera: ZAU developer Surgent Studios revealed its upcoming afro-gothic RPG, Tales of Kenzera: Project Uso.
The new game is reportedly going to be much darker and even more visceral than the studio's debut title. While it is a sort of a return to Kenzera, it features a completely different art style compared to the first game.
Tales of Kenzera: Project Uso
Tales of Kenzera: Project Uso is described as being a crossover between a choice-drive role-playing game and an "electrifying" beat 'em-up title. Surgent Studios has recently made the news after it was revealed that its games branch was put on notice for potential redundancy.
The news also followed the developer's financial hardships as well as its lack of funding to let it work on future projects, including Tales of Kenzera: Project Uso. The studio also published a press release that marked the announcement of the new game, according to Insider Gaming.
It noted that Surgent Studios was able to develop a fully functional prototype of Tales of Kenzera: Project Uso. It added that the company was actively looking for a partner in order to bring the new game to life.
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Surgent Studios founder Abubakar Salim said that Tales of Kenzera: ZAU was about players dealing with death in a healthy way. He revealed that Tales of Kenzera: Project Uso will focus on letting your fear of death consume you instead.
Salim also said that the upcoming game will launch with a price tag of $19.99. He said that he respects people's money and time. When asked about Tales of Kenzera: Project Uso's scale, he noted that he was not planning on making the game "photorealistic," the Video Games Chronicle said.
A Darker Story
He argued that the team wanted to focus more on the mechanics of the game as well as its gameplay's feel as a whole. Salim and his colleagues are all passionate Dungeons & Dragons players. This is partly why they wanted to try making their own RPG system.
The Surgent Studios founder said that they gave Tales of Kenzera: Project Uso the Crucible System. This makes the game have a fast-paced, real-time feeling that they hope a lot of players will enjoy.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU was made at a time when Salim himself was grieving for his own father. This let him infuse the game with a similar backstory for its main character, Zau. It was a Metroidvania title that was relatively well-received by players, according to Venture Beat.
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