Despite Tales of Kenzera: Zau dealing with themes of death and grief, it isn't necessarily a dark and gritty game. That doesn't mean Surgent Studios' universe can't be a little bit edgy, and it's looking to explore a darker side in Project Uso.
Speaking to VGC, Surgent Studios head Abubakar Salim explained what Project Uso is: "The best way I can describe it is a single-player, isometric, Afro-Gothic action RPG," he said. "It's still in the Tales of Kenzera universe, but it's darker, it's more visceral, it's gritty. The story (with Zau) is that as a shaman you're challenging the God of Death as a way of looking at the idea of healthy handling grief, so I came up with the idea of what if one reader is inspired to defy death itself, so they create this android which is fashioned to cradle the spirits of the dead."
In this game, you'd be tackling a god. Eshu, the God of Chaos, to be precise. Similar to something like Baldur's Gate III or Planescape: Torment, you'd be controlling characters in an isometric perspective, but with an Afro-Gothic aesthetic.
"As passionate Dungeons & Dragons players," Salim said. "The Surgent team and I knew we wanted to try our hand at creating our own RPG system. As a way to give Project Uso a fast-paced, real-time feel, we created the Crucible system, which requires players to roll against themselves."
There is no release date for Project Uso yet, as the studio is still looking for funding to bring this vision to life.