Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review

Ever wanted to play a Disney movie, I mean not Kingdom Hearts and not an actual Disney film per say. But a game that exudes the charm of a Disney modern film but also contains some darker undertones like some of the forgotten classics. Sort of a Reya and the Last Dragon meets the Black Cauldron. Kena may just be right up your alley, it turned out to be right up mine. Kena is the first game made by the Ember Lab, a company that till now has only really animated for commercials. My personal introduction to the company was through watching their fan film a Terrible Fate, which centers around the origins of the circumstances of Termina when Link encounters it in the game Majora's Mask. In fact some of Majora DNA comes through in the design of this game, but perhaps I am getting ahead of myself.

In the game you play as Kena, who is a spirit guide tasked with leading souls to the afterlife that linger due to the regret associated with the nature of their death. The emotional pain of these characters imbues them with a terrible strength. Fortunately Kena is equipped with several tools, all associated with her staff, to help the dead find peace by whatever means are necessary. She is drawn to the mountain, a place of spiritual significance for her own purposes. But on her path she encounters a particularly powerful lost spirit and indeed a whole village of lost souls in need of her help to find closure. She sets about her duty, encountering the adorable and very useful rots on her way.

The rot creatures exude charm and are both collectable and a key to progression. While not mandatory to have them all, I would recommend turning over every rock to find them as they are both useful and fun to look for. There are also other collectable pieces in the game, like the various hats for the rot and the spirit mail which litter the game map. These are not necessary to the progression of the game nor especially useful. But they are non the less rewarding to collect. The spirit mail in particular serves the theme well and may lead to more useful collectables and challenges.

Kena and her companions navigate a map consisting of a central hub, the village itself, and three main surrounding areas and three sub areas of the map. I mentioned the developers previous history with Majoras Mask and the inspiration is fairly evident. Kena works to heal those who need her, some getting more attention than others, but everyone in the village benefiting. Like Link using the song of healing to help those who struggle accept their fate, Kena does the same. Also like Link, progression in the game is related to certain masks that are personally tied to particular characters. The tone of the game is also lifted from the beloved Zelda title striking a balance between whimsy and darkness. The scope of the game does not compare to Zelda, which is understandable, but the inspiration is still very present.

The “Disney” art direction is charming and works exceedingly well. I have always liked games that went for a more artistic style rather than trying to focus on realism. I mentioned Reya as an inspiration for the visuals but that does not mean they are copied or blatant rip offs. I really like the design work for the game, blending an aesthetic that feels inspired by Japanese and Southeast asian cultures. Combining this very focused art direction with a palette focused largely on the color blue and its neighbors of the color wheel the game has a very beautiful and focused design. Principle characters are all wonderfully designed and supporting spirits, while much more sparse in design, do not distract due to their ethereal presentation.

It is very evident that the studio has its roots in animation. Each character interaction, each fluid movement of Kena in combat and especially the animations of bosses, are of exceptional quality and dare I say on another level even compared to triple A games. This strength though does come with some caveats. Kena is often locked into animations during combat especially early on before the player receives more combat options unlocked through progression. In any game it is difficult to strike the balance between smooth control and smooth animation and Kena leans into the later. The game looks great but this focus can lead to what feels like a control lag, especially when fighting large numbers of opponents or bosses that Kena has to react to quickly. Do not misunderstand me, the situation is not dire and the game is very playable. But in certain situations I did find myself getting pummeled while waiting for a swing animation to finish.

I do like the way the game plays, especially as you unlock more and more combat options other than the initial light and heavy hit combos. There is a real Zelda like progression with the items as well. Certain areas can only be accessed using bombs of bridges that require you to shoot targets. The game is also littered with little combat or skilled based challenges to find which lead to more collectables. The loop of the game is satisfying, entern an area, explore, collect necessary items, fight enemies and eventually a boss. Then you receive new equipment and a new mask and head to the next area. The game is intentionally short, designed to be beaten in a weekend by the developers, so it does not overstay its welcome and remains largely rewarding from beginning to end.

The bosses are a real highlight, particularly during the later portion of the game. The final encounter in particular is layered, putting to test all the skills you have mastered over the course of the game including traversal ones. The game concludes on a high note with Kena successfully freeing the village but not necessarily concluding her own journey. I really enjoyed the game, and will likely revisit it in the future when I pick up a PS5. I did have some performance issues but I suspect the game was not optimized for my original model PS4. I would love to see what the game could do on the newer hardware. But no matter the platform I would recommend picking up the game, as long as you can for around thirty or forty dollars.