Summary
- April has been a solid month for Xbox Game Pass with high-profile additions like LEGO 2K Drive and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
- However, the service has missed out on a new Metroidvania with an emotive narrative and unique gameplay features.
- Tales of Kenzera: ZAU will release on PlayStation Plus on April 23, but won't be available on Xbox Game Pass on its launch day.
With two weeks now down, it seems safe to say that April has been a pretty solid month for Xbox Game Pass so far. Xbox Game Pass has had a few high-profile drops this month, with LEGO 2K Drive and Shadow of the Tomb Raider being some of the biggest highlights. But the month is far from over, and though the confirmed slate of upcoming Xbox Game Pass additions isn't going to blow any minds, it should still offer a nice collection of varied experiences.
The bizarre narrative adventure game Harold Halibut is set to hit Xbox Game Pass on its launch day this month, as is the eagerly-anticipated Soulslike game Another Crab's Treasure and the medieval strategy game Manor Lords. When all is said and done, fans will probably view April 2024 as another solid month for Xbox Game Pass, but there's one golden opportunity that the service is somehow missing out on this month.
Xbox Game Pass Is Missing Out on Tales of Kenzera: Zau
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU Looks Like Another Promising 2024 Metroidvania
Releasing on April 23, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is the next in a long line of promising Metroidvanias to release this year, and much like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Ultros, it has its own set of tricks up its sleeve. The general story of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU sees players take control of a young warrior who is suffering from the grief of recently losing his father. In an attempt to resurrect his dead loved one, the player-character makes a deal with Kalunga, the God of Death, who agrees to bring his father back if he can bring back the souls of three great spirits.
The debut title from Indie developer Surgent Studios, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU puts its emotive narrative and tone front-and-center of the experience, and the studio's founder Abubakar Salim has been remarkably open about how his own journey with grief has made its way into the game. On top of this emotional core, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU also boasts a number of unique gameplay features, such as the ability to swap between two masks to drastically alter the player's weapons and abilities.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU puts its emotive narrative and tone front-and-center of the experience!
Thanks to the likes of the aforementioned Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Ultros, 2024 has already been an exceptional year for the Metroidvania genre.Tales of Kenzera: ZAU can hopefully keep that train going. Regardless of what came before it, a lot of people are excited for Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, and that's what makes its place on PlayStation Plus this month so impactful.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is Coming to PlayStation Plus on Release Day
Since the launch of its three-tier system in June 2022, PlayStation Plus has occasionally added a game to its Extra and Premium tiers on the day of its release, just as Xbox Game Pass has been doing since 2018. Quite a few of these instances have seen the game also come to Game Pass at the same time, releasing on both subscription services simultaneously, such as last year's Sea of Stars. But that's not the case with Tales of Kenzera: ZAU.
While Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is set to hit PlayStation Plus' Extra and Premium tiers on its April 23 launch day, Xbox players have no option but to purchase the game at full retail price, with it not coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one. What makes this decision stranger is that a game like Tales of Kenzera is often Xbox Game Pass' bread and butter. Though first-party day-one releases are usually what draw in big crowds, it's Xbox Game Pass' smaller Indie day-one releases that often keep those fans subscribed, and a debut Indie Metroidvania like Tales of Kenzera would normally tick all the boxes. It feels like a golden opportunity that, for whatever reason, just sailed on by Xbox Game Pass.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft's flagship game subscription service that offers over 100 game titles that you can play with a single purchase, making it one of the most outstanding value propositions of the Xbox ecosystem to date.
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info