Kena: Bridge of Spirits – Analysis | A fun adventure game that overflows with magic

Let’s remember, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is between us since September 21 for PS4, PS5 and PC (via Epic Games), and it has positioned itself as one of the most outstanding launches of 2021, since in Metacritic (portal in which criticisms are collected) it achieves an average of 81/100, above other names such as FIFA 22, NBA 2K22 or The Medium.

Also, keep in mind that Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a video game developed by Ember Lab, a small studio founded in 2009 by brothers Mike and Josh Grier. This team became known in 2016 for creating Majora’s Mask: Terrible Fate, an ultra-realistic animated short film based on the popular series The Legend of Zelda.

With that said, let’s move on to the analysis of Kena: Bridge of Spirits. What did we think? What are your pros and cons? Here the information:

Kena’s Factsheet: Bridge of Spirits

• Gender: Action / adventure
• Console: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC
• Players: A player
• Age restriction: Over 13 years old
• Release date: September 21, 2021
• Languages: German, Chinese – Simplified, Chinese – Traditional, Korean, Spanish, French, English, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian
• Dubbing: English audio
• Download size: 17.80 GB (PS5 version)

History: interesting and mysterious

The plot of Kena: Bridge of Spirits is interesting, mysterious and at times profound because of the issues it addresses. The game presents the adventure of Kena, a spiritual guide who has a mission to reach a sanctuary on a sacred mountain. Along the way, the protagonist will help corrupted spirits reach eternal rest.

Thus, the story is, from beginning to end, interesting, since Kena’s journey will not be easy and will be fraught with difficulties. What’s more, the campaign touches, in the background, implicitly, points such as death, life and spirituality.

However, it should be mentioned that a weak point is that the game does not explain us in depth about who Kena is, what her past is and neither the rules of the world and all her lore (background). On Kena: Bridge of Spirits you only live in the immediate present.

On the other hand, the main campaign will take us around 9 to 11 hours, depending on how ‘complete’ we are, as there will be different collectibles to expand the playing time.

Gameplay: simple, but challenging

Like the vast majority of action / adventure games, Kena: Bridge of Spirits offers standard gameplay so that most players, both new and experienced, enjoy the gameplay without complications. In the game we will use the joystick to move and to attack, jump or run there will be specific buttons.

On the other hand, in fighting, we can anticipate the enemy blow for a brief moment and carry out a powerful counterattack. This element, brought from the Dark Souls saga and also known as’parry’, makes the gameplay more difficult, because it requires high precision to do so.

Their advantage is that we will do a lot of damage, but the disadvantage is that if we do it wrong, they will harm us significantly.

Now, a vital point of the gameplay of Kena: Bridge of Spirits is the participation of Rock, small, striking and cute creatures that we have seen throughout the trailers. These boys are not only a visual addition, but they help both in combat (with special movements), and to solve the different puzzles.

The Rots, in turn, are forest spirits that accompany Kena throughout the main campaign. At the beginning there are few Rots, but as we go through the game, we will find more. For the final stretch we will have dozens.

As if that were not enough, we can customize the Rots with hats that can be purchased in carts that serve as stores within Kena: Bridge of Spirits. The currency of the game are points that we collect from chests and from fights with enemies.

Graphic section: at the level of Pixar films

Its most solid point is the graphic section. From the beginning we came across a world that overflows magic and spectacularity, both for the character designs, the scenery (varied and attractive), and the battles themselves (full of particles).

In other words, Kena: Bridge of Spirits has been meticulously cared for graphically by Ember Lab, so much so that it could be compared with the Pixar studio’s own films or also with what was seen with the award-winning Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (here we leave you the review of this title that stood out for its graphic muscle).

For this review, we tested the PlayStation 5 version, which offers two modes: quality (native 4K at 30 frames per second) and performance (variable 4K at 60 frames per second).. The difference between the two is not huge, so we recommend using the second option, the one that prioritizes fluency.

Lastly, don’t hesitate to use Photo Mode, you won’t regret it! Every moment in Kena: Bridge of Spirits is good for a photograph.

Conclusions on Kena: Bridge of Spirits

An attractive option for those looking for a short, fun adventure with state-of-the-art graphics. Its gameplay is not far behind and it presents simple controls, but difficult to master in fights.

The story is interesting and deep because of the topics it addresses (such as life and death), but I would have liked more to be explained about Kena and the magical world in which the young heroine lives.

GIVEN:

Kena: Bridge of Spirits for PS4 / PS5 in its standard edition can be found in the PlayStation Store for US $ 39.99; while on PC it can be purchased for S /. 77.99.