Ever since the early days when the Zelda series was born, there have been those looking to take on the champion of the fantasy, epic genre. Many have come and gone, leaving nothing more than a faded memory. It takes a lot of skill and confidence to make a sprawling, endearing and powerful fantasy epic, with so few games that have made the cut. 2022 and even 2021 did indeed show plenty of promising contenders, who really did make an impact for the genre. The brilliant Death’s Door, the phenomenal Tunic and the game look to be nothing short of a perfect Pixar production. Kena: Bridge of Spirits won so many over in 2021, including us at Game-News, but with a new release on Steam, we revisit the gem of a title and give our thoughts after a year from its original release.
What is Kena: Bridge of Sprits?
The origins of Ken: Bridge of Spirits is an interesting one. The studio behind the game, Ember Labs, boosted an impressive career as an animation studio, with a line of creatively beautiful work for a multitude of companies. After bringing us some impressive work, even featuring an animated reel for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, they decided to take the leap and make a video game.
On a surface level, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a narrative-driven, action-adventure combining exploration with fast-paced combat. But what Ember Lab’s first endeavour into video game territory really is a love letter to the fantasy adventure genre, in the guise of an ultra-polished animated film. Taking the role of Kena, a young spirit guide helping those in need, she stumbles across a new force in the wilds, that aims to bring an unholy reckoning to the world and corrupt all that is good. As a spirit guide, Kena has trained for much of her young life t help wondering spirits in need of finding their way to the afterlife, but also to battle it out in magnificent style, anything that stands in her way or poses a threat to the world around her.
Kena will venture through an immensely beautiful world, defeating corruption as it grows ever stronger, and making new allies along the way, including the adorable critters known as Rots, who will help her stop the sinister foe behind the ever-evolving corruption in the world.
A charming world of wonder and corruption
I’ll get this out of the way right off the bat. Making a large-budget video game is a dangerous venture, and as a studio or anyone looking to make the jump into designing your first video game, it might be best to play it safe. And from what you may have heard or seen of Kena: Bridge of Spirits in gameplay footage, it does indeed take many safety steps of familiarity.
But that doesn’t mean what Ember Labs has made is nothing short of incredible, with amazing visuals, a solid gameplay loop featuring adventure, puzzles and satisfying combat, along with a high-quality narrative.
Players will take on the role of Kena, as she ventures through a beautifully charming world that is under threat by a force simply known as corruption. As one of the few people around who can do anything to stop it, it’s up to you to explore the world, discover the mystery behind the corruption and find a means of stopping it.
As you do explore the world, there will be new allies joining team Kena, and of course, you’ll be able to gather a small army of adorable but powerful critters known as Rots. As you gather more of these little critters, Kena’s power will grow and the more she explores the world and makes new discoveries, will she obtain new weapons, abilities and wondering spirits in need of help.
Everything feels very familiar, having that warm and cosy gameplay loop of exploration, fighting, and implementing plenty of moments of wonderous discovery. You’ll be wandering through dense forests, discovering hidden treasures, and new Rots to add to your group, but also solve puzzles opening new areas of the world, or taking part in challenges for new gear and … hats. But most importantly, you’ll be actively helping the world, but taking part in activities that help spirits in need and heal the world from corruption.
It's all very wholesome stuff and wrapped in a confident gameplay loop that’s nothing new, but remarkably enjoyable considering this is a first-time game.
We need more cute critters!
Now I thought to myself that considering this game is from a studio that for a decade made some gorgeous, animated projects, Kena: Bridge of Spirits would be a terrific-looking game. And honestly, it surpassed that expectation. Everything here looks simply amazing, and I would consider this one of the best-looking games I’ve played in recent memory.
The experience feels like you’re playing a highly polished animated film, with a lot of attention to detail, bright dynamic lighting, immense shadows and just a look of an environment that feels highly organic. While much of your time is spent in dense woodland areas, and forests, the designers have made sure to make as much of it as varied as possible, and there are other key areas including snowy mountain tops that will again leave you in awe. Some of the background shots and landscapes really look magnificent and there were moments I would just stop and admire the world.
This is clearly a game that well deserves players using photo mode.
Designs for characters, monsters, and the Rot themselves are quite nice overall, again feeling something straight from Pixar’s animated library, but there are many details to make them and the world wholly unique. The lore really does present some nice touches to world-building, and small details including the mystical tribal aesthetic, spirit masks, lavish light scriptures painted around many of the shrines, and wondering spirits really help define this world as quite remarkable.
While the concept of cute critters might roll some eyes, thanks to the likes of modern Star Wars films and the mascot horror scene in gaming, the Rot genuinely feels like a part of the world. Plus, they’re a great addition to the gameplay, being able to perform various actions, interact with the environment in meaningful ways and add extra layers to lateral elements and dynamics to the combat. And they’re quite cute (although sometimes they do have dead eyes when they’re idle).
Animation is peak perfect in most parts (considering this is from an animation studio), with Kena showing off some impressive running, jumping, and fighting animations all flowing smoothly. I did come across a couple of moments where the animations looked a little stiff, or that some element of the game world/characters would have a buggy moment. But these were very few and far between.
All I can simply say is everything is crafted with such love, care, and passion, that it would take a person with a heart of coldest ice to say otherwise.
Better than watching a Pixar classic?
One of the surprising things about Kena’s story is while it does include those cliché gaming story beats, it doesn’t interfere with the excellent pacing and narrative overall. It is clear these blockers are there, from collecting three items to unlock a new region, defeating several monster foes to progress further, and having to obtain a new item/weapon to get further etcetera, etcetera. But the developers have managed to keep the flow engaging and make these beats not so loud.
There’s no denying the pacing does feel very gamey in many ways, but Ember Labs have done their best and with good results in most instances, to add emotional depth, compelling twists and a flow that feels natural as Kena develops her skills and understanding of the world.
Now Kena is far from a Plain Jane, as she is truly likeable, very charming and has a good heart, but can feel a little undefined or lacking an emotional impact. She still carries plenty of weight throughout the story, but feels more like a reactionary, rather than an investment. The first instance we meet her, she just pops out of nowhere, with little backstory developing. I didn’t need a love interest, or murdered parents, and she does have a compelling connection to helping spirits, but there’s little else other than that.
Her supporting cast is fine but tends to be quite useless. One character who was particularly useless was Rusu, who is indeed a kind-hearted warrior, but who remains mostly in the background because he’s “easily corrupted” and cannot help in fights … Which is never fully explained and felt like a cheap way for him to appear and disappear when the game calls for it. The main villain also lacks much presence and while, they’re not a typical goofy villain (resembling some traits of better Pixar baddies), they are largely absent and thus lack real impact but the end. The one character who does indeed have some weight to their being was the older brother of a pair of young twins Kena befriends. He is a tormented spirit you need to track and help to stop the corruption, but also we learn more about him and his family and how he lived to protect them.
As mentioned before, what we have is a fine story, if not a little too safe. Zelda has evolved over many years with its narrative and a game like Death’s Door pushed the tragic elements of its villains to new heights in storytelling. I would really like in a Kena sequel to see much more development from our leading heroine and those both supporting and fighting her.
Spirit wondering, fighting corrupted and delivering mail
At its heart, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a good old-fashioned, action-adventure game, much kin to the Legend of Zelda series. Players will explore a beautifully crafted open world, holding many secrets and rewards, but also plenty of cute critters to recruit and … hats for them to wear.
You’ll be exploring the world, uncovering its many secrets, completing a plentiful amount of side tasks for extra rewards, and of course, embark on an epic adventure to save the world.
First off, while Kena is not a Souls-Like game at all, it does present a challenge in many of its combat encounters, especially towards the end. Kena handles well in combat and there are plenty of new moves, and abilities you can learn to aid you in tougher fights. The way you’ll progress your skills is by collecting Rot, and with the more you collect, the more powerful Kena gets. Her arsenal is short but packs a mighty punch when mastered/upgraded. The Rot as well can provide vital assistance, whether it's giving Kena health from the limited resources in an arena, or becoming a massively powerful attack that can make or break your survival.
Enemies are quite varied, but nothing stands out as exceptional to fight against. You’ll have your standard enemies, shielded ones, those who jump around and throw stuff at you and so forth. It’s certainly no DOOM Eternal, but it does have a decent roaster. Bosses are again, nothing special compared to the likes of Zelda, but do work well with the theme of corrupted nature and some of the later encounters do indeed get rather intense.
But don’t worry, there is a story mode for those not looking for an ultra-challenging venture.
But what makes the combat quite enjoyable and engaging, are the Rot and powers Kena can equip. There’s a system, much like that of Hollow Knight, where Kena can equip charms to give her a certain edge in combat, whether it’s to recover more health via the Rot or to start off each encounter with a powerful attack ready.
There are plenty of puzzles to solve throughout the world, and the developers have made sure to pack in as many interesting ways to solve them. There are the typical, shoot an arrow at something to make it move, to the more complicated list of actions, using the Rot’s powers to clear corrupted blockages, move heavy items and timed moments where Kena must race or shoot various things very quickly. There were even a couple of exceptional puzzles which stumped me a little (a puzzle master) and in reality, were simply set up but thoughtfully executed. Plus, there are a ton of rewards to discover, including Rot, charms, and of course …. Hats.
Now, I feel my big gripe (even though it's not that big) was with exploring the world, finding a cool secret chest and the reward being a hat for the Rot to wear. Now there are still plenty of cool secrets and rewards to discover that have meaning towards character/player progression. But there was quite a lot for just cosmetic use, which had no depth or advantages to the gameplay.
I love a good alternative outfit for the main character, but it felt a little uninspired for me to keep reaching out for hats and outfits for Kena when they didn’t present any meaningful advantages to progression. I would have liked it if the Archer outfit, for example, allowed Kena an extra shot or quicker draw time with her bow, than just looking kind of cool.
However, the world was still vastly compelling to other adventure games I’ve played before, sucking me in and keeping me playing for hours on end. I was simply immersed in the world of Kena and finding all of its hidden treasures and of course, the cute critters.
Combat is largely solid and enjoyable, but adding in some more stats with outfits or allowing more charms to be equipped could have heightened it much more. But what Ember Labs has presented is a great gameplay loop, filled with plenty of intense battles, great dynamics and powerhouse moments with the Rot and Kena feeling like a badass hero at the end of the day.
Overall?Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an impressive first game for a somewhat new studio, and one which shows a lot of promise for the future. I do understand some people will state that Kena is a simple title and does nothing new, but I argue and will do so for the end of time, that what it does it does phenomenally well. Granted, I think for a sequel, some tweaks will be needed, but this is a very enjoyable and thoroughly compelling adventure game to match that of even Zelda.
I loved every second of playing this and sadly, I never wanted my adventure with Kena to end. But hopefully, Ember Labs will be able to make a sequel and expand on the world, its lore and gameplay even further, as they have clearly shown they’re an immense talent in game design. Kena: Bridge of Spirits is truly wonderful and well worth you picking up a copy as soon as possible. I just hope we see this on Xbox, as more people should be playing this and living an incredible adventure with Kena and pals. Next to Death's Door, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is quite possibly one of the best adventure games in recent memory
++ Exceptional world design and depth
++ Looks and sounds awesome
+ Solid and fun combat, exploration and puzzles
+ Very immersive and highly replayable
- A little simple for its main plot
- Combat/character progression could have been tweaked a little further
A Steam review key of Kena: Bridge of Spirits was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
