Kena Bridge of Spirits Review

‘Kena Bridge of Spirits’ is one of those games that comes along every now and then that bridges the gap between video games and movies. We’ve had it in the past with games like ‘Heavy Rain’, ‘Detroit: Become Human’, ‘The Order: 1886’ and ‘Alan Wake 2’.

In the case of ‘Kena Bridge of Spirits’ it’s all down to the visual style and artistic design of the entire game. It’s often compared to ‘Disney’ and it’s not very hard to see why. The character designs and the world is almost indistinguishable from ‘Disney’ projects such as ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’. It also has that ‘Disney’ charm to its characters and story.

‘Kena Bridge of Spirits’ was developed and published by the animation studio ‘Ember Lab’. Founded in 2009 by brothers Mike and Josh Grier, their mission statement is to “create immersive stories through technical innovation, compelling characters and cinematic worlds.”

Their portfolio consists of big-name clients such as ‘The Coca-Cola Company’, ‘Hisense’ and ‘MLB’. They also created the fan film ‘Majora’s Mask’ which you should definitely check out.

Originally a PlayStation exclusive, ‘Kena Bridge of Spirits’ has now made its way onto Xbox.

So let’s see how it holds up.

Now to give a brief overview of the story, you play as Kena, a young spirit guide who is on a quest to reach a powerful mountain shrine. To be able to travel to her destination, Kena must help 3 spirits find peace in order to move on to the afterlife.

Along the way, you are helped by adorable little magical animals called Rot and an interesting and charming cast of characters.

As I say, it’s very Disney.

Now I want to go back to ‘Ember Labs’ mission statement to help me break down this game.

To recap “to create immersive stories through technical innovation, compelling characters and cinematic worlds.”

Let’s look at that first point. “Create immersive stories”.

While the story of ‘Kena Bridge of Spirits’ lacks in some places it certainly makes up for it with its interesting world and cast of characters. The world feels dynamic with each location bringing something different to the table either with its jaw-dropping vistas or its dense and thriving forests. Each setting feels alive and in turn, immerses you in the world.

In regards to the narrative, the game drops you straight into it with little backstory. It’s on the one hand refreshing and on the other a little lacking. Most of the story can be told environmentally or through conversations with the other characters you meet along the way.

There are cutscenes of course, however, they feel more in place as a device to move the narrative forward quickly rather than the long drawn out cutscenes modern games are known for. It feels like ‘Ember Labs’ is saying with this “Hey, we’re an animation studio and here’s what we can do, but here’s how we can do it and create a playable game at the same time”. It’s refreshing, and as much as I like cutscenes in games, some can often be too long and detract from the immersion of gameplay *cough* ‘Call Of Duty’ *cough* *cough*.

So an immersive story, tick!

Next up is technical innovation, and this is best delivered through the game’s stunning visuals. It truly is one of those games that is just a marvel to look at. It’s photorealism but not at an uncanny valley level. It’s cartoonish and charming. And yes, very Disney-like. But that’s what makes this game so interesting, by drawing you in with its visual look and art style.

Performance-wise, looking at both the PS5 version and the new Xbox version there is very little to set them apart. You do get a bit of dropped frames when set to fidelity mode however performance mode is the most optimal way to play if you want a steady frame rate and stunning visuals.

The gameplay on the other hand isn’t the most innovative, however it’s still fun and enjoyable in its own right. You’ll be solving puzzles, finding collectables and fighting enemies during your time with Kena Bridge of Spirits. It’s an entertaining mix and certainly keeps you engaged through its 10-hour playthrough. The combat however feels very generic at times and doesn’t add much of a challenge for you, yet it makes up for it with the fun abilities Kena can deploy during a fight.

The right bumper offers up light attacks while the right trigger lets off a heavy attack. Hold down the right trigger to build up a more powerful swing of your staff, or hold the right trigger followed by the X button to perform a hammer-like attack.

The left bumper creates a shield around Kena, but if you also tap and release this button it sends off a magical pulse to illuminate blue crystals nearby and solve puzzles.

You also have the ability to double up your staff as a magical bow to take out enemies from afar, travel to hard-to-reach spots and also help you with solving puzzles.

The last point is to “create compelling characters and cinematic worlds” and as I’ve touched on already the game excels in both points. While Kena isn’t the most talkative of characters we do start to grow attached to her during the playthrough. You also get attached to the charming ‘Rot’ creatures who also help Kena along her journey either during a battle or by moving and collecting items. The other characters you meet along the way are loveable and interesting, just like in a ‘Disney’ project.

So the game mostly holds up to the developer’s mission statement. And while not achieving the most compelling video game story ever made, ‘Kena Bridge of Spirits’ shines most in its Disney-esque visuals and charming cast of characters. So if you’re a fan of films such as ‘Raya and The Last Dragon’, ‘Mulan’ or ‘Moana’ then you’ll enjoy this game.

And while it did enjoy its time exclusively with Playstation, it feels at home now on Xbox.