Kena: Bridge of Spirits Reviews
What pleasures Kena provides are intrinsic to most videogames: clicking buttons and finding trinkets. Eventually I did fall into that groove, but it was distracting, not compelling. When all the game's darkness dissipates into bright green, when all wounds can be healed with determination and kindness, when death itself is a collectible friend, it is difficult to feel that distraction was worth it.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits' stunning visuals and fantastical abilities are weighed down by repetitive combat - and a world with more to see than to do.
It’s a pity that Kena: Bridge of Spirits did not get a big marketing campaign because it definitely deserves recognition. It’s a lovely, well-constructed game for everyone. I really hope we’ll see more of Kena in the future, and I wish more debuts like this for every studio!
Review in Polish | Read full review
Kena: Bridge of Spirits delivers an all around excellent experience that's consistently engaging and manages to enrapture the player, even without doing anything particularly new or innovative.
As an indie effort and a debut game, Kena: Bridge of Spirits makes a good impression. It balances simplicity and challenge while weaving a neatly-paced story into something that can be played over a chill couple of days. Despite fantastic production values it's still far from a AAA title – so it's important to keep expectations in check, but anyone looking to lose themselves in a charming, gorgeous world ripe for exploration should look no further. It's exactly what I needed right now – perfect cozy weekend entertainment.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits should take most gamers around 10 to 12 hours to complete, depending on the amount of exploring and the level of difficulty. While the blockbusters games of 2021 continue to deliver the same ho-hum experience of 2021, Kena is a much needed ray of sunshine to the current choices of titles available and more importantly, looks fantastic on the PlayStation 5. Additionally, the story and characters creates an enjoyable fairy-tale experience from start to finish on this next-gen console that is definitely a must play game of 2021. Kudos to the development team of Ember Labs for delivering a truly immersive experience, not to mention those surprising twists along the way.
Ember Lab's first concoction triumphs by succinctly shepherding and remixing older genre staples.
From the very first moment till the very end of your journey, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a heart-warming experience and a real pleasure between the visuals, puzzles and combat. Atmospheric music, beautiful lively graphics, believable heroes and cute little Rots - each little element is woven into the amazing whole that is the gaming experience provided by Kena.
Telling a number of touching tales of loss and love, Kena is a visually stunning action-platformer that feels like a classic PS2 game in mostly the right ways.
It first pulls out the folk culture and religious culture in the east Asian cultural circle from other art forms, and then injects it into Disney-like painting style, which combines to produce a wonderful chemical reaction that makes "Kena: Bridge of Spirits" impressive enough.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
It might be a strange way to phrase things, but Kena suffers from feeling too much like a game for a game’s sake. The latter third is essentially a string of linear levels with puzzles and boss fights, so much so that by the time the climactic confrontation rolls around it affects the dramatic tension the story has spent several hours slowly building towards. It’s by no means bad, or anything close to that. Instead, you get the feeling that much like commanding the Rot to prop up a fallen statue the experience itself is given the very same vibrant animated lift based on how it looks.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an astonishing action-adventure with a unique art direction. It proposes brilliant puzzle-platform sections and let the player be free to explore and manage the pace with their own rhythm.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Kena Bridge of Spirits is a charming adventure that packs a ton of heart, as well as a wealth of engaging systems.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits truly is something special, and I can’t wait to see what Ember Lab does next.
It can be a bit schmaltzy at times with its overly cute designs, and its target audience might be surprised by the impressively challenging combat, but you can’t go wrong with it on any console. It Kena kino? Almost! But it’s something to tide Nintendo fans over for a little while.
An incredibly thought-provoking tale, that explores what happens to those who pass away. The charming story, Disney quality visuals, and well-calculated gameplay mechanics all make for a vastly enjoyable experience.
As Ember Lab’s debut title, Kena: Bridge of Spirits delivers a visually-striking experience and decent enough gameplay that warrants a closer look at what the developers come up with next.
Ultimately, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a by-the-numbers 3D action-adventure game. It might look like a modern Zelda game but doesn't play like one. It's largely just a series of arena-based combat routines, stitched together by long stretches of traversal, and cutscenes that are well-designed but feel like a forgotten Hollywood B-movie. Too often, Kena: Bridge of Spirits reminds you of better games you've played and that it's borrowing from — which is not a good sign. There's no harm in learning from others, it's certainly well made, but it's lacking in originality. There's little personality to Kena: Bridge of Spirits, for it's adopting the sheen of others. For a debut title, this is undoubtedly a good effort — but I fear Ember Labs have played it too safe.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a solid experience on the Switch 2. The story is captivating, especially the tales of the people who are on the verge of passing on. The gameplay mechanics are well worn but still feel good, while the presentation remains strong even though the game looks better on other platforms. This is a game well worth checking out, even if the sequel might not hit the Switch 2 for quite some time.
Ember Lab has delivered an adventure that stands tall among the finest experiences available on Switch 2, shaped with care, overflowing with atmosphere and strengthened by a world that rewards curiosity at every turn. The blend of exploration, challenge and heartfelt storytelling creates something that lingers long after the credits roll, and the technical performance ensures that nothing distracts from the journey’s emotional pull. This is a standout release for the system, confidently crafted and easy to recommend to anyone seeking a rich, absorbing and beautifully realised action adventure.