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 is a completely inoffensive, if somewhat bland adventure that will mildly entertain for the duration of its runtime, but won’t live long in the memory.
A good first attempt by a studio that has only worked on animation, but not enough substance in the gameplay to keep you hooked to the very end.
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.
Bridge of Spirits is an old-fashioned adventure game, one that sets you on a very curated, puzzle-marked path. Which is to say that it lacks for the trailblazing go-anywhere spirit of Breath of the Wild. But Kena is, after all, a spirit guide, so you can trust that you’re not missing out on much by sticking to the missions that she calls out on the map. What you’ll get by following that path that she puts you on are the tightest, most compelling pieces of gameplay, those rooted in plot. In fact, seeing as what happens to those spirits who lose themselves along the way, the purest form of Bridge of Spirits is the one that doesn’t wander off.
Highly impressive on a technical level but the throwbacks to PS2 era game design feel less like a homage and more an indication of the developers' lack of experience and imagination.
Looks better than it plays, but it's got a good heart.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits offered a great story with high-quality cinematic scenes, great graphics, an enchanting world and boss fights with great music, but it didn't live up to that level in the gameplay department and some of the characters in the story are superficial.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a more than passable first attempt for a studio that has newly transitioned to video games. It’s a visually stunning world that is occasionally calming to poke around in. However, it’s still very evident that it is from a team that’s new to the medium, given all of its gameplay inadequacies and narrative missteps. There are glimmers of a truly great experience in here, but it’s hard to see underneath the spots of rot at the core. And unlike the little Rot wisps in the game, it’s not cute as it robs the game of its potential.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a good game that could have been better had Ember Labs tightened up the combat controls and offered better reasons to explore the gorgeous world they created. I hope Kena is a big hit so Ember Labs can have another go at it, and hopefully get more ambitious and really nail down their combat. Meanwhile considering how much I was looking forward to this game, Kena: Bridge of Spirits can’t help but feel a little disappointing.
The overall gameplay will be very familiar to 3D adventure fans, but the visuals and charm help to make it feel like a fresh experience in the genre. More adventures for Kena and the Rot would be very welcome.
Kena Bridge of Spirits is a good start for Ember Lab and we're curious to see what the studio has in store in the future. When it comes to visuals, the game is up there with Sony's major AAA studios. Unfortunately, it's the gameplay that lags behind quite a bit.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
You feel the passion of Ember Lab to craft a cinematic game with Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Visually and aurally, they achieve their target as it's a beautiful game, but from a story point-of-view and as a video game, it doesn't quite hit the mark.
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.
Despite borrowing from all manner of modern hits, Kena: Bridge of Spirits just about stands on its own. The wonderful visuals and music leave a strong impression, while the gameplay is simple but enjoyable. If its story went beyond the expected, and one or two small issues were scrubbed away, this would be a real winner. As it is, this is a solid action platformer with lots of personality, and a strong debut from Ember Lab.
Whether you demand more than comfort from your games will inform the way you see Kena: Bridge of Spirits; is it merely a graphically sumptuous example of design that you wish we would leave behind, or is it a vivifying tribute to a rich precursor legacy?
Kena: Bridge of Spirit’s exceptional visuals clash with its unexceptional gameplay to create a gorgeous experience that would be forgettable if not for its technical prowess. Its combat, puzzles, and platforming are enjoyable but fail to set the world alight, though the adventure is elevated by the beauty of its open world and its highly animated characters.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a title of high artistic value, but one that stumbles in gameplay. It's got charming characters and setting, a decent story and great looking cutscenes, but actually playing through the experience is largely underwhelming.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an admirable start for Ember Lab's journey into gaming that still has a bit of room to improve. However, what you'll find here is a special, cute and endearing game that gives players a blast of nostalgia thanks to its retro-inspired level design and objectives.
If you ignore the laziness of Ember Lab in everything that has to do with items and weapons, and as long as you are not bothered by technical issues, you will spend ten hours very pleasantly with Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Review in Greek | Read full review