Kena: Bridge of Spirits Reviews
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a strong game, it’s a contender for game of the year and it’s ultimately one well worth playing. It’s a stunningly astute and whimsical take on death, life, and where we fit in all of it. The game is about Kena finding her place and helping others find there’s too. Beautiful, immersive, and dynamic, I can’t recommend this game enough.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a game in a million. Without being perfect or making big fuss, it manages to excite and involve us with it and show us how a good game should be.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Kena might not be perfect, but it's far from what one might expect from a studio's first game. It's a spectacle to look at without being too long or too short, and it's one of the rare examples of a game that deserves a movie adaptation, not the other way around. Perhaps more than anything else, it's a game that sets the bar high for whatever Ember Lab wants to do next.
That said, I found Kena: Bridge of Spirits to be one of the best treats of the year, both for the eyes and for the soul. Not only does it show elaborate craftsmanship, but it also feels like it was infused with joy and awareness. I'm happy it's here, and I look forward to seeing where Kena's bridge can lead.
Without a doubt, one of the essentials of the year
Review in Spanish | Read full review
After completing Kena, we felt the desire not to leave these virtual lands, to continue in the heart of the forest to eliminate even the last bit of Corruption. Like the souls of the village, in short, we did not want to "go further". The magic of Bridge of Spirits is all here: in its sweet magnetism, in its balance between gameplay and narration, in the echo of those adventures of the past, where simplicity moved hand in hand with refinement. Splendid to look at and rewarding to play, Kena is a debut work as rarely seen in recent years: that the independent sector can be guided by its spirit.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Kena: Bridge of Spirits not only looks beautiful, but also captivates with challenging fights and exploration that is simply fun.
Review in German | Read full review
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
"Satisfactory" is a well suited adjective for this game. It may not be as groundbreaking as other games in the genre, but it offers really interesting exploration and combats. And you'll love your Rots too!
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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.
If you are as enamored with the visuals in the trailer as I was, Kena was worth the wait. With their first game, Ember Lab has something here, the beginning of something fantastic. At $29.99 there is tremendous value there. Although, during my play-through, I could not help but wonder what it would be like if it were a $70, AAA game that spent five years in development with hundreds of developers. Maybe next time, Ember Labs, maybe next time.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an excellent debut. Even if the story ends a bit in the background, the beauty of the world, the animations and the combat system make the adventure of Kena and his friends Rot's truly memorable.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is stunning spectacle full of heart and unbelievable charm. If you aren't carefully selecting hats for your Rot companions by the end, then you're probably made of stone. In the event that your soul is inhospitably frosty, Kena can be deceivingly challenging, throwing boss fights at you that will make those on Demon Souls look like a cake walk. A few minor issues stop Kena from being a showstopper, but there is no doubt that this a great game, and an amazing debut for a 15-person strong team.
Although far from being revolutionary, Kena Bridge of Sprits is a compelling action-adventure game with an heart-warming hero and really cute creatures to play with. Ember Lab put in this game all their experience in character design and animation, giving us a splendid – but also somewhat repetitive – cartoon movie to play with.
Review in Italian | Read full review
It's pretty amazing to think that Kena: Bridge of Spirits is Ember Lab's very first game. With absolutely stunning visuals and impactful music this is sure to leave an impression on people. Gameplay-wise it doesn't do anything particularly new or innovative but that doesn't stop it from being loads of fun. This is a small adventure with enough challenge and heart to keep you entertained for the full 10–15 hours that it'll take for you to reach its conclusion.
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
An amazing adventure in a magical world with an extremely nice heroine. A title whose completion brings great satisfaction.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is not without flaws in having redundancy problems after a few hours or by not innovating in the field of action and adventure games. Nevertheless, Ember Labs successfully entered the field with a first full game with its own identity and its own untold story. A wonderful universe and breathtaking cinematics for a very small independent team. The title sets the bar very high for big studios who would like to offer this same kind of experience in the future!
Review in French | Read full review
It’s without question an essential in 2021, despite some minor drawbacks in its writing and creative premise. It does make good on its expectations for being that casual, cinematic game that everyone will fall in love with. Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an adorable action-adventure that players will come away feeling overjoyed and elated.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an incredible debut effort from the clearly talented team at Ember Lab. It’s stunningly gorgeous, has a great cast of characters, varied enemy types, has a well paced story all backed by an engaging soundtrack. It certainly has me excited to see what could be implemented into a future sequel if that’s what the team decides to do next, but regardless I’ll be there to check out what Ember Lab launches next.