Tales of Kenzera: Zau, the Metroidvania debut game from developer Surgent Studios, remains one of the year’s most emotional games. Its tale of a young man overcoming the devastating passing of his father is a relatable and poignant story based on Bantu mythology, and it’s unlike anything else released this year. Now, the developer is looking to follow up that adventure with something even more ambitious.
Surgent Studio’s founder and House of the Dragon actor Abubakar Salim says the next chapter in the Tales of Kenzera series is tentatively titled “Project Uso.” In an interview with Video Games Chronicle, Salim revealed the project for the first time, detailing “a single-player, isometric, Afro-Gothic action RPG.”
Project Uso isn’t a direct sequel to Zau. It instead will follow a new character reading Zau’s story of grasping with grief and interpreting it in their own way.
“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,” Salim told the outlet. “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.”
The project is meant to be darker, grittier, and more visceral than the first game, and is inspired by the 1999 RPG classic Planescape: Torment.
“As passionate Dungeons & Dragons players, the Surgent team and I knew we wanted to try our hand at creating our own RPG system,” Salim said. “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.”
Planescape: Torment is an intriguing source of inspiration for such a project. Developed by Black Isle, the studio that created the original Fallout games and whose talent would later form Obsidian Entertainment, Planescape: Torment is one of the definitive CRPGs based on Dungeons & Dragons. It is widely considered one of the best in the genre alongside Bioware’s original Baldur’s Gate and its sequel.
It is an ambitious concept for a sophomore effort. Planescape: Torment is a massive game full of choice, consequences, and captivating dialogue. Replicating those RPG systems will be a big jump in complexity compared to the more straightforward structure of a Metroidvania-style game. However, coming off the heels of the massively successful Baldur’s Gate 3, the once-obscure isometric RPG genre has never been more popular.
Surgent Studios currently has a functional prototype of the game, according to Salim, and is actively looking to secure funding for the project. As with many development teams in 2024, it’s been a tough year for Surgent Studios. Despite releasing Tales of Kenzera: Zau to critical acclaim, the studio has had to lay off over a dozen team members to keep its doors open over the summer. Earlier this month, the studio announced that further work on future games like Project Uso is on hiatus until it can secure the cash to support its workers.
Whatever comes of Project Uso, Surgent Studios’ plan is to stick with the same development strategy as the previous game. Instead of producing an ultra-realistic game with the most cutting-edge tech, the mid-sized team wants to make a focused experience that can be sold for an affordable price. Tales of Kenzera: Zau, for example, sold for just $19.99.
“I like respecting the player’s money and time,” Salim said.
