A month on from the release of Kena: Bridge of Spirits, I wanted to share my thoughts on one of the most sought after games of the year. And what better way to start this off than by congratulating Ember Lab on the release of their first ever game – and what a game it is!
It may not be perfect, or to everybody’s taste, but I think it would be difficult not to fall in love with this incredibly simple, charming and artistic adventure.
The environments and characters are exceptionally well-designed, in an almost Pixar-esque fashion. Every time I entered a new area of the map I was blown away by the beautiful, tranquil settings that I was encountering – although that being said, they don’t always start out so tranquil, but more on that later.
The characters are beautifully designed and easy to love. Especially the main stars of the show, the Rot… they’re not as bad as they sound, honestly…
These cute little companions play a huge part in the story of Kena and their origins will start to become more clear as the story progresses. With this being a spoiler-free review, you’ll have to delve in yourself to uncover the mystery of the Rot.
Who is Kena?
Good question. So Kena (pronounced Kay-na) is the main protagonist in this unique and original story, and has the important job of a Spirit Guide – an individual who ensures that spirits cross peacefully upon their passing from life as we know it.
Without going too in-depth, so as to avoid any spoilers, Kena happens across an idyllic village which has been taken over by some form of corruption. Her quest involves the use of her abilities to track down and free tormented spirits, whilst bringing peace and serenity back to the village and surrounding areas.
Story and Characters
Now let’s talk about the story.
First of all, the story is interesting and unusual, but I can’t say that it ever really had me gripped. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, because I truly did, but I was never on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what was to come next.
I will note that I was, however, gripped by the game as a whole. As soon as I started it, I didn’t want to put it down. It was just such a blast to play.
I also felt a similar way about the characters – cute, charming and well-crafted but I didn’t necessarily feel a huge emotional connection to any of them. I would have liked to delve deeper into the character’s backgrounds and form more of an attachment to them. Even Kena is a bit of a mystery still! Perhaps we could see some DLC released which focuses on a part of her past, allowing us to learn more about her and why she does what she does?
Gameplay
On to the gameplay elements. It is worth noting that I played the game on a PlayStation 5 console, so aspects of this may differ dependant on platform.
First thing to note is how magnificent this game looks on next-gen consoles (well, current-gen now I guess?).
As mentioned previously, the art-style is gorgeous and makes exploring the world an absolute delight. I played on performance mode and not only did it look amazing, it also ran smoothly.
At times the mechanics did feel just a little clunky, mainly the sections of climbing and parts of the combat, but overall I don’t think it impacted the game too negatively.
The game itself could take anywhere between 10-20 hours depending on how much of a completionist you are. If you’re aiming to collect everything as well as complete the story, I’d estimate 15-20 hours of playtime. Of course, that depends on how many hours you spend in the in-built photo mode. And trust me, if you’re a fan of virtual photography, this could be hours…it’s a beautiful game.
I think I completed everything the game has to offer in around 17 hours (minus the platinum trophy, which I am one trophy short of).
Speaking of collecting everything, one of my favourite parts of this game was collecting things along the way. By this point, it probably isn’t too much of a spoiler to tell you that you find and collect the Rot as you explore the world – but this isn’t the best bit. Oh no, as satisfying as it is to find these little guys hiding in plain sight, the best part is that you collect hats for them to wear! And I can promise you, this is as awesome as it sounds.
You also pick up Spirit Mail which is used to gradually free the village from corruption. I really enjoyed this element also.
In terms of the abilities available, they’re quite simple and the skill-tree isn’t huge but I think this works beautifully. It isn’t over-complicated and each ability & upgrade really does make a difference. Allowing you to traverse the world with ease, access new areas and increase your chances of becoming triumphant in combat. This becomes more important towards the end of the game as the enemies become progressively more difficult to defeat.
In fact, this is actually one of the few negative comments I have to make about the game. The boss fights are too hard.
For your average gamer like myself, even on the regular difficulty setting it took many frustrated attempts to master the skills required to take down each boss.
It didn’t feel satisfying in the slightest and I really apprehensive about heading into each boss battle, of which there are quite a few. I certainly don’t think I could cope with attempting this on a higher difficulty.
Summary
So to wrap this up, I think it’s safe to say that I would definitely recommend this game! For £32.99 (or around $40 I believe), I really felt that I was getting my money’s worth.
An interesting story, a beautiful world and the most adorable little characters I’ve seen in a game for a long time (I’m talking about the Rot, of course), I think that this game really lived up to the hype.
Considering that this is Ember Lab’s first project, I was highly impressed and would welcome some DLC with open arms. I’ve also got my fingers crossed that a sequel is on the cards – they’ve built a beautiful world and story which is perfect to build upon.
If you’ve not checked this game out yet, please do. I’m certain that you won’t regret it. Once again, thank you Ember Lab for this stunning creation. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for this talented team.
A solid 8/10 for me.
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