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As you’d expect from a Metroidvania,Tales of Kenzera: Zauhas a fairly large and open world that can slowly be unlocked as the player earns more and more abilities.
Zau being a Metroidvania also means that the world is full of hidden things to find,such as Reflection points that provide health upgrades, Shaman Challenges that award Trinkets that enhance Zau’s abilities, and, most interestingly of all, combat arenas called Spirit Ritualswhich give the player a chance to test their skill in battle.
What Are Spirit Rituals?
Spirit Rituals are areas on the map that containcombat arenas that the player can take on to unlock various rewards. Although the Spirit Ritual is marked like a Shaman Challenge (with the same purple symbol you’ll find there), they’re shown on the map with a different sign and counted as a different collectible to find altogether.
When you get to a Spirit Ritual,you’ll be able to take on three different rounds of enemies, with each round having a different difficulty level and offering a different reward, ranging from more Spirit Points to an extra slot for equipping Trinkets. There are a total of three Spirit Rituals to find in the game, which means nine different challenges and nine rewards.
Finding all of the Spirit Rituals and completing each challenge that they offer will unlock the ‘A Warrior’s Way’ achievement.
Although Tales of Kenzera: Zau isn’t the hardest Metroidvania out there,it’s worth completing at least one or two of the three challengeswhenever you run into one, as the rewards are well worth the effort.
I’d recommend waiting until the end of the game to complete the final challenge level of each Spirit Ritual, though, as having more health and Trinkets will make things easier.
How To Find The Great Cliffs Spirit Ritual
From thefirst fast-travel pointof The Great Cliffs,jump up on the glowing purple platforms and head up them, before taking asharp left. You’ll have to make your way across a spiked pit and do some careful wall-jumping, but you’ll eventually reach the Highlands Spirit Ritual. From here, you can choose three difficulty levels:
How To Find The Wildwood Spirit Ritual
Just like with the previous Spirit Ritual, the Wildwood challenge arenascan be found close to the area’s fast-travel point. From here, climb upwards and be careful not to be killed by the insta-kill traps that are very common in this area. Keep making your way up to the surface andyou’ll reach a tree that has candles near it, which is a key part of the main quest.
Since this Spirit Ritual is found so close to a location you’ll need to visit during the story, it’s likely to be the first one you find if you’re not actively exploring everywhere.
From here, keep heading to the left and you’llcome across a gap that will require you to use the Zawadi’s Hook ability, which you’ll unlock by exploring The Wildwood as part of the main quest. Keep going and you’ll come across the Woodlands Spirit Ritual. Once again, you’ll be presented with three difficulty levels that slowly introduce more enemy types and shielded foes.
How To Find The Mount Itshoka Spirit Ritual
To find the final Spirit Ritual in Tales of Kenzera: Zau, you’re going to need toreach the Mount Ishtoka area, which is the second-to-last location you’ll explore in the game. The Spirit Ritual isclosest to the second fast-travel point on the map, although it’s still a bit more of a trek than with the last two.
From the second fast-travel point,you’re going to want to head to the right and make your way upwardsusing the Tshukudu’s Might ability, which you unlock in this area.Keep going to the rightacross the lava while avoiding the spikes on the walls, and you’ll eventually reach the Deadlands Spirit Ritual.
Just like with the last two Spirit Rituals, each difficulty has a different reward:
It’s worth noting that the Gobela challenge for this Spirit Ritual is one of the hardest segments of the whole game, and is worth taking on once you’ve done everything else Tales of Kenzera has to offer.
Definitely one to do once you’ve got all the health upgrades, at least.
