Kena: Bridge of Spirits – A Visually Stunning Journey With a Familiar Path
Kena: Bridge of Spirits, the debut game from animation studio Ember Lab, boasts beautiful character designs and animation that bring a whimsical, Studio Ghibli-esque quality to life. The titular protagonist, Kena, is captivating, accompanied by adorable, furry creatures called Rot who are reminiscent of the Minions, but with a touch of Studio Ghibli charm. However, while the visual presentation is a triumph, Kena: Bridge of Spirits struggles to break free from the familiar tropes of the action-adventure genre, leaving a sense of familiarity rather than a truly unique experience.
A Visual Feast with Uninspired Storytelling
The world of Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a captivating blend of Japanese and Balinese aesthetics, with Inari fox statues, torii gates, and a captivating Gamelan orchestral score. Though the visual inspiration is clear, the narrative fails to fully justify its use of these cultural elements. While the game’s story centers on grief, healing, and moving on, it struggles to translate these themes into engaging gameplay mechanics. This ultimately results in a narrative that feels generic and underdeveloped, despite the strong thematic foundation.
Familiar Combat and Exploration
Kena: Bridge of Spirits draws heavily on established action platformer conventions, borrowing from the mechanics of franchises like God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, and, most notably, Zelda. The core combat system involves a combination of light and heavy attacks, dodging, blocking, parrying, and a bow and arrow. The addition of Rot, who can both assist in combat and solve environmental puzzles, offers a unique twist, but the overall experience remains familiar. While the combat scales in difficulty and introduces diverse enemy types, it ultimately falls short of being truly engaging, often feeling repetitive and reliant on button mashing.
Exploring the Familiar
Outside of combat, Kena: Bridge of Spirits offers exploration and traversal puzzles, but these are also heavily influenced by familiar tropes. Players will encounter switches, grappling hooks, and climbing sections, all of which have been employed in countless other games before. While the game’s world is visually stunning and well-designed, its overall structure feels rather linear and predictable.
The Power of Rot: Gameplay Mechanics and Visual Charms
The Rot, those adorable little creatures that follow Kena, are integral to the gameplay. They play a crucial role in combat, exploration, and puzzle solving.
Combat Companions:
- Rot Charging: The Rot can be used to charge into enemies, disrupting their attacks and opening up opportunities for Kena to strike.
- Courage and Rot Infusions: To enhance their combat capabilities, Rot need "courage," which Kena can build by attacking enemies and collecting golden spheres. This courage, in turn, powers Kena’s special abilities such as Rot Hammer, Rot Infused Arrows, and a Rot shield boost.
More Than Combat:
- Healing and Corruption Removal: Rot can be used to heal Kena and to clear away corruption from the world.
- Environmental Puzzles: The Rot are essential for solving some environmental puzzles, often by carrying objects or transforming into larger creatures to clear obstacles.
The effectiveness of the Rot in gameplay underscores the importance of balancing resource management – courage is not infinite, and players must carefully decide when to utilize Rot for combat, healing, or solving puzzles.
Visual Beauty:
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is truly a feast for the eyes. The world, featuring both dark, lantern-lit caves and vibrant, colorful forests, is beautifully crafted. The game’s art style is heavily influenced by East Asian cultures, and this is reflected in both the environment design and the character models. Kena herself is a visual delight, with her flowing hair, intricate outfit, and graceful movements.
While the PS4 version runs smoothly, it does suffer from a noticeable reduction in graphical detail and visible aliasing. This suggests that players with a PlayStation 5 will be treated to a visually even more impressive experience. Additionally, PC players benefit from Epic Games’ regional pricing, resulting in a more affordable experience as compared to Sony’s pricing.
The Verdict: A Solid Debut with Missed Opportunities
Despite its impressive visual presentation, Kena: Bridge of Spirits ultimately falls short of delivering a truly unique and memorable gaming experience. While the game draws inspiration from successful titles like Zelda and God of War, it struggles to forge its own identity. The narrative, though aiming for emotional depth, feels underdeveloped, and the gameplay, while competent, relies heavily on familiar conventions.
Pros:
- Stunning visuals and character design
- Captivating world design
- Engaging gameplay mechanics with the Rot
- Short and Sweet Playtime
Cons:
- Uninspired storytelling
- Gameplay heavily relies on familiar tropes
- Repetitive and predictable world structure
Potentially frustrating puzzles
Final Thoughts:
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a solid debut from Ember Lab, and its visual presentation is undoubtedly one of its biggest strengths. However, the game falls short of being truly memorable due to its reliance on familiar gameplay and storytelling conventions. The game’s pacing and overall length ensure a moderately satisfying experience, but lacking a unique identity, Kena: Bridge of Spirits ultimately feels like a derivative, albeit well-crafted, homage to other successful action-adventure games.
