I wasn’t certain what to anticipate from Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Developer Ember Lab’s lovely journey brought on fairly a stir when it was revealed on the PlayStation Future of Gaming showcase in 2020 Following a delay, it felt like Kena retreated into the shadows a bit - leaving some anxiousness about whether or not it will nonetheless meet its new launch date of September 21, and whether or not it will fall on the ultimate hurdle many extremely-anticipated releases have within the final couple of years.
Developing a recreation within the present local weather is a heavy cross to bear, notably for a smaller studio like Ember. My coronary heart hoped I'd be pleasantly stunned whereas my head mentioned to mood expectations.
This cautious method was most likely for the very best. Kena’s charming world and artwork type is its actual hook, providing a household-pleasant motion-journey that wouldn’t look out of place as Pixar’s subsequent movie. However, it’s, sadly, let down by its lack of originality and poor technical performance, with the latter usually being too evident a problem to disregard based mostly on my expertise with PS5 code.
Equally difficult and charming
Kena: Bridge of Spirits follows younger spirit information Kena who, whereas on a quest to succeed in a sacred place of energy, comes throughout an deserted village that is stricken with corruption as a outcome of lost souls who haven’t fairly moved on to the opposite facet. Accompanied by companions generally known as Rot, who take the shape of lovely little blob-like creatures, Kena units out to uncover the secrets and techniques of the village and to clear the corruption by serving to the spirits transfer on - an act that helps her untangle her personal previous. "[Kena's] world is a vivid and lush one, packed full of ruins, shrines and flowing rivers, beckoning you to explore but also offering a serenity that’s only bolstered by its unforgettable Balinese score."
The very first thing that’s putting about Kena: Bridge of Spirits is its aesthetic. Its world is a vivid and plush one, packed full of ruins, shrines and flowing rivers, beckoning you to discover but additionally providing a serenity that’s solely bolstered by its unforgettable Balinese rating. Fortunately, exploration is completely inspired and rewarded - and proves a necessity as you progress.
While Kena is set particular aims to finish, there is a lot to gather and unlock in your journey, from Spirit Mail that must be delivered to the village, to Rots that, when discovered, be part of your posse and comply with you want kids on a college journey. Unfortunately, it’s arduous to trace which of these collectibles you’ve picked up as they don’t truly seem on the map, it simply tells you what number of you could have out of the entire for an space. 
While Rots are cute, the sport leans on this maybe too closely, letting you acquire Gems (masses of Gems) to purchase hats to pop in your spirit companions. While hats are an lovely function, and can possible delight kids, it looks like there’s maybe extra emphasis on amassing Gems for these than on the “Karma” wanted to unlock new talents. And you'll, at occasions, end up clamoring for that Karma - and for brand new Rots. Both play a key half within the recreation’s fight, with Rots aiding in battles with particular assaults (once they’ve gained sufficient braveness in brawls to attract them out) and Karma permitting you to unlock new talents by way of the sport’s considerably restricted ability tree.
While the fight and its varied components take a bit of getting used to, it does really feel fairly good. On PS5, the DualSense controller’s haptic suggestions helps to immerse you within the motion whereas its adaptive triggers allow you to really feel the stress in your bow as you line up your shot. It’s a good contact, however I've seen it carried out higher elsewhere.
But don’t let the household-pleasant nature of Kena trick you into pondering this is a simple recreation. I used to be taken barely aback, enjoying on Spirit Guide mode (the equal of medium), that I struggled with some of Kena’s boss battles and puzzles. This degree of problem is a nice shock to a diploma, because it does present a bit of chunk, however I discovered myself questioning how a baby enjoying on the identical issue setting was meant to grapple with the weather I discovered difficult.
Often, boss battles depend on accurately timed dodges, utilizing the precise technique and realizing when to make use of assets reminiscent of well being - which is usually restricted and might solely be unlocked by utilizing a Rot capability. If this was a recreation primarily aimed toward adults, this wouldn’t be as a lot of a problem because it is, however even the best mode can see boss fights being pretty relentless.
A technical letdown
What makes Kena’s fight that rather more irritating is its technical performance issues. The recreation has two modes, Performance Mode, which sees it operating at upscaled 4K at 60fps, and Fidelity Mode, which sees it operating at native 4K at 30fps. To be sincere, I can not see a huge distinction visually within the two modes however I've discovered Fidelity Mode nearly unplayable because of how sluggish it is - so I've caught with Performance Mode. "While the general bugs are annoying, the frame rate issues are detrimental to the game experience itself. Not only do they throw off dodges that need to be timed correctly, but it means that cinematic cutscenes - which are actually incredibly stunning and beautifully done - stammer like a knockoff PS1 game."
Even nonetheless in Performance Mode, Kena suffers from body fee drops very often - together with a multitude of different bugs reminiscent of cutscenes not triggering, getting caught within the environments and textures generally not trying fairly proper. While the overall bugs are annoying, the body fee issues are detrimental to the sport expertise itself. Not solely do they throw off dodges that have to be timed accurately, but it surely implies that cinematic cutscenes - which are literally extremely beautiful and fantastically performed - stammer like a knockoff PS1 recreation.
The cinematics have such potential, it’s irritating to see it wasted. This is very true as they’re the pillar stones of the story and sometimes I discovered their stammering issues an impediment to emotionally connecting with the sport and its characters - I really feel that, with out these issues, perhaps I might have made that connection. According to Ember Lab, these cinematics are pre-rendered movies operating at 24fps - so we'd count on them to run higher. It’s a disgrace as they do look ok to go toe-to-toe with Hollywood animated movies however I discovered them nearly unwatchable as they had been so janky. What’s extra, there’s no seamless transition again into gameplay, with a very clear distinction from whenever you’re watching the cinematic to whenever you’re again within the much less-visually-spectacular gameplay world.
A launch day patch was set to repair issues, however I nonetheless discover the cutscenes troublesome to observe because it was carried out. It’s a problem that presently robs Kena: Bridge of Spirits of its finest moments, and a component that would have garnered it the redemption it wanted.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is nearly reminiscent of an Xbox 360-period journey: it’s enjoyable, colourful and charming. But it additionally dangers changing into forgettable. Sure, Kena’s artwork type and world are its hooks, but it surely doesn’t really feel like the sport does a lot that’s distinctive - that pushes the style ahead and cements its place as a should-play motion-journey amongst a plethora of others.
However, I perceive that Kena isn’t solely constructed for adults and, for youthful gamers - and people not notably bothered by technicalities - Kena is prone to delight. It’s a recreation of coronary heart and empathy, however isn’t afraid to shrink back from its darkish moments - in spite of everything, it is a recreation that’s finally about demise.
I liked enjoying Kena within the second, as soon as I seemed previous its jarring technical issues, and performed for hours on finish. But in case you ask me in a yr to recall the very best bits, it’s possible I'll have forgotten a lot about it. I loved it because it matches a system I’m already fairly accustomed to, which many video games have tapped into earlier than. But I couldn’t assist ready for a “wow” second that by no means got here.
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