At the BAFTA Game Awards this year, Tales of Kenzera: Zau won its nomination in the "Game Beyond Entertainment" category. BAFTA defines this category as representing "games that deliver a transformational experience beyond pure entertainment." It was an important moment for the entire Tales of Kenzera: Zau development team, as executive producer Alix Wilton Regan revealed this was the award she wanted to win most.
The Best War Games recently spoke with Wilton Regan, who fans may know moreso for her acting roles as Samantha Traynor in Mass Effect 3, The Inquisitor in Dragon Age: Inquisition and The Veilguard, Aya/Amunet from Assassin's Creed Origins, or Alt Cunningham in Cyberpunk 2077. Among other things, we talked about her career and Tales of Kenzera: Zau, which is the first game she stepped into a development role for.
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"I didn't really take much convincing," she said when asked how she came into the role. Fellow actor, developer, and founder of Surgent Studios, Abubakar Salim, had asked if she would serve as an executive producer on a game that is very personal to him. Wilton Regan described her work as offering some financial support, raising funds outside those provided by EA Originals, and offering feedback throughout development. She was there when she was needed, she said, as it was also about her "stepping back and allowing him to bring his vision to life."
That vision has always aligned with BAFTA's definition of Game Beyond Entertainment. There's nothing wrong with games that are pure fun or pure entertainment, but that was not Salim's vision. On the surface, Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a game about a young shaman who must complete offerings to the God of Death in order to revive his father. But within that is a game about processing parental loss and grief, something Salim himself experienced younger than most. Upholding that vision was the goal of Wilton Regan and everyone who worked on the title, as she also added,
"It was about delivering this really important message about grief and losing a parent. It just so happens that Abu experienced that a lot younger than most people hopefully do, so we wanted to give players a truly immersive experience about how to process that through the game. Whether or not they've experienced parental loss, grief itself is still a universal theme, right? I'm very lucky that my parents are still with me, but I've obviously lost people I love. Death is part of life. I think that's the central message of Zau: death is part of life."
Her work supporting Salim didn't end with the release of the game, as one good friend is always there for another. When the BAFTAs prepared to present the award, she turned away from the stage and announcer to find Salim in the crowd. That way, if they announced Tales of Kenzera: Zau as the winner (which they obviously did), she could see him. She was witness to the moment his game, his vision, won the award she hoped it would. For players, but also for the developers, it's easy to see how Tales of Kenzera: Zau represents a Game Beyond Entertainment. Of course, everyone got to share in the victory of their work too, with Wilton Regan adding,
"The lovely thing is we all share in the glory of the award because it goes to the game, so all of us share in the BAFTA victory. It is genuinely a really lovely feeling, and there have been a lot of messages going around today between producers, people who helped support the game, and stuff like that. And you know, it is really lovely."
Wilton Regan's work in the game industry continues. Not only was she announced as Joanna Dark's actor for the Perfect Dark reboot last year, but she appears in other games that are slated for this year (although she could not confirm which). When asked if she sees herself taking more development roles in the future, she said, "I absolutely do. I may already be doing some, so yes, absolutely. Watch this space."
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 76 /100 Critics Rec: 66%
- Released
- April 23, 2024
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Surgent Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
WHERE TO PLAY
A grieving boy begins to read a Bantu tale written by his late father. Adventure into the beautiful and treacherous lands of Kenzera as Zau, a young shaman who bargains with the God of death to bring his Baba back from darkness. With your cosmic powers and untried courage, you advance into unknown mythological lands. Once bursting with life, Kenzera is now rife with lost ancestral spirits. As Zau advances toward his goal, three mighty beings lie in wait, fearsome in their strength yet somehow strangely familiar. Will you embrace the dance of the shaman?
Embark on a poignant single-player story shaped by actor Abubakar Salim’s own experience with grief, discovering how love gives us the courage to press on after devastating loss. Wield powers from the Sun and the Moon to defeat restless spirits in rhythmic combat and become a worthy Nganga: a spiritual healer. Discover a rich universe with untold lore of chaos & order and journey through mystical 2.5D realms awash with colour and depth, emboldened by multi-award-winning composer Nainita Desai's enchanting original score.
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
