In our time playing games, we’ve come across plenty of unusual titles, and a good chunk of them focus on a warrior who has lost their memory. Zhai fits that mold, but its origins make it twice as unique. The upcoming open-world action-adventure from The Orange Giant started with an experience one of the studio’s founders had while in a coma following a motorcycle accident. After waking up, he began drawing what he remembered from what he described as another world. Those sketches eventually grew into the idea for Zhai and the world of Il’Navir.
The game puts us in the shoes of Zhai, a warrior stripped of both his name and his past. He awakens in Il’Navir, a land split between rival tribes and threatened by an ancient danger long thought gone. As he travels across the continent, he uncovers pieces of his memory while trying to figure out what his presence means for the people living there.
A few things caught our attention right away. Most notably, the developers are connecting Zhai’s story progression directly to the core gameplay mechanics. Every recovered memory unlocks new abilities and attacks through the Memory Skill Tree. Instead of narrative and character upgrades feeling like two separate systems, learning more about Zhai actively changes the way he fights.
Combat itself is built around elemental abilities earned from the tribes Zhai encounters. You can combine these powers into longer combos against single targets or use them for crowd control against larger groups. Gravity manipulation is also part of the toolkit, and skill upgrades can completely change how abilities behave. It sounds like a solid system, and we’re eager to see how it feels in action.
The world of Il’Navir ranges from frozen wastes and massive rock formations to dense vegetation and settlements built high in the air. Each tribe brings its own unique culture and environment, such as the cold, isolated Velkhun and the floating villages of the Avarah.
The Orange Giant has already started sharing early playtest builds with selected community members (fingers crossed we get a look at some point, too), using player feedback to refine the game while keeping creative decisions in-house. Zhai is still early in development and doesn’t have a firm release date on Steam yet, but more concrete updates are expected toward the end of the year.
For now, Zhai leaves us with plenty of intriguing questions. We’ve reached out to the team for an interview and look forward to hearing their answers. Stick with Dev & Play Media for all the inside coverage!
Leave a comment