The next game to release under the EA Originals banner is this month's Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, and it's being developed by the indie team over at Surgent Studios - the founder of which is the Assassin's Creed Origins star, Abubakar Salim.
Salim, who played Bayek in the 2017 AC epic, is also starring in the main role of this new metroidvania-style adventure, and he's joined by large English and Swahili voice casts that have been revealed in full for the first time today.
"With this roster of talent, the game will be available to players in English, as well as fully voiced in Swahili at launch, bringing this language to the gaming world."
Here's the list of the English voice actors in Tales of Kenzera: ZAU:
- Zau and Zuberi: Abubakar Salim, Surgent Studios founder and BAFTA-nominated actor [Raised by Wolves, House of the Dragon, Assassin’s Creed Origins]
- Kalunga: Tristan D. Lalla [Longshot, Nurses, Assassin’s Creed Freedom Cry]
- Bomani: Steve Toussaint [House of the Dragon]
- Liyana: Dominique Moore [Horrible Histories, Hotel Trubble, Paddington Green]
- Mama: Letoya Makhene [Home Wrecker]
- Sabulana: Simona Brown [Behind Her Eyes]
- GaGorib: Abraham Popoola [GaGorib, Griot Lamp, Atlas, Star Wars Andor]
And here's the list of the Swahili voice actors in Tales of Kenzera: ZAU:
- Zau and Zuberi: Neville Misati [Rafiki]
- Kalunga: Maqbul Mohammed [Weakness]
- Sabulana: Amalie Chopetta [Holiday Fiance]
- Bomani: Melvin Alusa [Mission to Rescue]
- Liyana: Grace Nyokabi
- Mama: Edith Ithongo’o [Igiza]
As for the game itself, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is said to feature a "poignant single-player story" that's shaped by Salim's own experience with grief, while the gameplay will see you "wielding cosmic powers to defeat restless spirits in rhythmic combat" amidst a rich 2.5D universe complete with an "enchanting" original soundtrack.
The trailers we've seen for this one have been pretty good so far, so let's hope it lives up to the hype when it releases for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on April 23rd, 2024. The best part is that you can pre-order it on the Xbox Store for just £16.19 / $17.99 so it won't break the bank if you're interested, and there's also a free demo on Steam for PC!
