Surgent Studios, the creator behind Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, has unveiled Project Uso, the next game in the multimedia universe pioneered by the creative mind of Abubakar Salim. In a release issued by Surgent today, it was confirmed that Project Uso will be ‘darker and more visceral than our debut game.’
It’s a return to Kenzera but in a completely alternate aesthetic. Project Uso will be centred around a ‘vampiric android’ that’s designed to house the spirits of the deceased. It’s set to be a crossover between a choice-driven RPG and an ‘electrifying’ beat-em-up.
The Next Chapter
Recently, Surgent Studios was in the news following the revelation that the games branch of the firm had been put on notice of potential redundancy. This news came amid financial struggles and a lack of funding for future projects – including Project Uso.
The press release published by Surgent Studios to mark the announcement of Project Uso bore that message:
Surgent Studios has developed a fully-functional prototype of PROJECT USO and is actively seeking a partner to bring it to life.
In a statement attached to the press release, Surgent’s founder, Abubakar Salim, said:
Project Uso is set to be darker and more visceral than our debut game. Where ZAU is about dealing with death in a healthy way, USO is about letting your fear of death consume you. Inspiration struck following the birth of my daughter, when I grappled with a crisis of identity as I took on the role of parent for the first time.
Similarly, the concept for Tales of Kenzera: ZAU came about when Salim was wrestling with the untimely loss of his father and trying desperately to figure out how to cope with the grief that followed.
In Uso, players will assume control of a unique RPG system created by Surgent. They’ll have ‘the powers of an android and a god at their disposal’, given that the protagonist houses the spirit of Eshu, ‘the god of chaos’.
At first blush, it sounds a little deeper than ZAU in terms of gameplay mechanics, and the choice-based features should add a little more variety and replayability, whereas ZAU was much more linear and one-track. Project Uso is also set ‘decades’ after ZAU, so the world is much more advanced.
Here’s hoping Surgent manages to find a partner to help produce Project Uso.
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