Tales of Kenzera Interview: Abubakar Salim on Exploring Grief and Humanity Through Gaming

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Tales of Kenzera Interview: Abubakar Salim on Exploring Grief and Humanity Through Gaming

Abubakar Salim sat down with Insider Gaming to talk about his upcoming, grief-inspired Metroidvania title, Tales of Kenzera: Zau.

insider-gaming.com

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is poised to be a monumental Metroidvania title that lands with an almighty splash later this month. It’s the first game from Surgent Studios and has been creatively pioneered by Abubakar Salim, who pivoted into game development out of a beautiful desire to pay tribute to his late father through the medium.

I was fortunate enough to sit down with Salim and learn about the love, honesty, and dedication poured into Tales of Kenzera: Zau, which has come to exist as a launchpad for a multimedia universe built on the most solid of principles: authenticity, individuality, and the core, guiding concept of staying human.

Abubakar’s introduction of Zau during The Game Awards in December 2023 was nothing short of inspiring and deeply honest. I remarked that the actor (and now creative director) had worn his heart on his sleeve and showed emotion that’s rarely seen in the industry, and he assured me that’s what Surgent is all about:

It’s quite an emotional moment because we’ve built this from the ground up – it’s our first game, it’s a new studio… It’s a lot … No matter what size we grow to, how successful we are, whatever – it always has to come from the heart. There is something about being honest and speaking from the heart and being authentic that always captures that moment. That’s what games are, right? It’s an art form.