Kena: Bridge of Spirits review

by Lonex Louisdor

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a visually stunning freshman release for developer Ember Lab. While they’ve typically worked for tech clients, creating content to show off enthusiast television, Ember Lab caught gamer’s attention in 2016 when they released a fan short film Majora’s Mask – Terrible Fate.

Since then, many have wondered if we’d ever see Ember Lab working with a game studio to help create cutscenes. No one could ever imagine what we’d get next, and in 2020 Embar Lab released a beautiful trailer giving everyone a glimpse into the game that they built. In 2021 they released this game on PlayStation and PC and in 2024, the game finally graces the halls of Xbox, so was it worth the wait?

Graphics

Kena is a gorgeous looking game with lush backgrounds, incredible use of lighting, shadows, and astonishing rich colors.

The game makes use of all these elements to preset a clear, distinct, yet rich experience. It uses these tools in spades to create some of the best environmental storytelling that you could ever expect from a team that has never made a game before this.

The combination of well-placed lighting, dark shadows, and Pixar level animations makes playing this game a delight as the lush world feels alive and immersive. You get a feeling that you can find something around every corner, and the visual language makes it so that the player always wants to look around the bend. You’re meant to explore, and the graphics don’t get in the way of that despite how incredibly lush the environment is, which isn’t something easy to pull off.

Gameplay

Kena’s gameplay combines elements of exploration via platforming, simple puzzle-solving, and tough combat. You wouldn’t expect a game that looks like a Pixar film to have mechanics reminiscent of a Souls-like, but Kena does a good job at being tough but fair. Every time the game removes a strategy from the player it’s because they want you to explore other methods of fighting in the game.

Kena wields a staff that can transform into a bow, allowing for both melee and ranged attacks. She can use a bomb attack made from spirit energy. These tools can be enhanced for super moves using adorable ‘little guys’ called Rot, which help you in exploration and combat.

There seems to be a dance or flow that the developer wanted the player to experience during combat. Mini bosses force the player to use specific mechanics to their best potential.

Main bosses are not only skill checks but forces the player to pay attention to their surroundings for potential advantages on the battlefield. The further you get into the game the more mechanics it throws at you while simultaneously some bosses remove your ability to use certain skills as a way to tunnel vision the player and force them to use specific tactics. Typically, I would have a problem when a game does this, but I walked away from every fight understanding the mechanics more, so I can’t fault them for this strategy as it made sure I was ready for the next part of the game.

Outside of combat you’ll find yourself running around collecting Rot to increase you Courage, a special meter that fills up as you attack and take damage.  As you collect more Rot you’ll increase Rot level which increases the amount of Courage you have. This just means you can use more special moves in battle in a row. You’ll collect materials to upgrade your abilities as well as collecting hats for the little guys that follow you around. Though the hats don’t benefit you in battle, finding more of those little guys impacts your ability to fight, and you may as well have them stylin’ out while they follow you around like a house cat.

Sound

The ambient music is really nice and reactive to the environment you’re in. Going into the corrupted areas has a completely different vibe as the vibrant fairy-like undertones disappear to complete silence. Once you clean up the corruption a slow and serene grace returns to the forest and peace returns.

The combat/boss music slaps. That is all.

The Story

The game follows Kena, a young spirit guide, on her journey to help troubled spirits move on to the next life. Though the journey is about helping spirits, Kena inevitably stumbles before gaining the strength needed to persevere. Though the story isn’t the most groundbreaking tale ever told, it’s more than serviceable with distinct characters and compelling tale of the weight of responsibility, pride, love, and how much people are willing to do to protect the people around them.

Performance

I played the game on my Xbox Series X in performance mode, and outside of a few dips, the game seemed to stay at a rock solid 60fps. I did want to note that I have a GIGABYTE M32U as my main monitor, which has FreeSync Premium giving me access to VRR, so it would be harder for me to notice dips unless it sharply drops from 60 to below 50, so please check with other sources if deciding based on performance.

Conclusion

Since releasing in 2021 for PlayStation and PC, Kena has gained a sizable fanbase and though we don’t know exact sales numbers. Sony said they were happy with the release on PS5, and a month after release there were reports that Embar Labs had already recovered its development costs.

Three years later this game has finally released on Xbox and many fans are asking; should I, an Xbox player, get this game at full price almost 3 years after release and is this game worth my time? In a sea of releases both on and off Game Pass, I truly do believe that Kena: Bridge of Spirits is worth your time and money. I suggest buying the game at launch. The great graphics, fun combat, interesting environmental design, and great platforming make it worth every penny. At $40, for my 20 hours of play, I consider that great value and I would highly suggest Xbox players buy this now before September, as the gauntlet of games coming over the next few months will not give you the time needed to truly enjoy this gem.

Score: 92