Who’s Making All These Hats Anyway?
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a visually resplendent action adventure game with a Dreamworks-style aesthetic and a melancholy atmosphere set in and around a village haunted by regret-filled spirits. It was developed and published by Ember Lab, and was the studio’s first (and at the time of writing, only) game, and was originally released back in 2021. Players take on the role of Kena, a spirit guide tasked with going to a beautiful but seemingly deserted mountainside community and putting its various spirits to rest, and cleaning up some nasty corruption along the way.
All I’d really heard about Kena: Bridge of Spirits prior to playing it was that it had some cute little fluff-balls in it, and that it had a PS2-era action/adventure vibe. It slipped under my radar until I found a copy slumming it among the kids’ karting games and Switch code-in-a-box trash in my local B&M, and decided I’d pick it up. It sat on my shelf for a month or so before it became chosen, and the seal was broken.
What awaited me was a very pretty game with a vague Zelda-like gameplay style and combat that initially seems simplistic but ends up being surprisingly deep and really quite difficult when it wants to be. Kena attacks with her magical staff thing, and over the course of the game will unlock other abilities like using the staff as a mystical bow and dashing through enemy attacks. The combat is kind of slow but feels responsive and is balanced well. I never got on with the parrying as Kena’s shield ability always felt very static and I would instinctively dodge and roll instead, but never felt held back by basically forgetting the shield/parry system existed. By the end of the game I was using the upgraded bomb attack to give me an edge against the difficult late-game bosses, and got into an enjoyable loop of chucking a shiny, blue bomb on the floor and then shooting it so that it would send little homing bombs off to attach to enemies, clearing out crowds of weaker foes and circumventing a certain boss’ ability to deflect bombs and arrows back at me.
All of these abilities have uses outside of battle too, and are used in various ways to solve usually-simple puzzles to progress. It’s during these exploration sequences when Kena: Bridge of Spirits feels most like a Zelda game, but Link never had a horde of up to a hundred little chubby fellas running around after him, did he?
That’s where this game’s main selling point comes in, or at least its unique selling point. The Rot (which comes across as a weird name but I guess it’s derived from some real-world mythology in a way that would make it make sense) are small spirits that appear to live under rocks and in chests throughout the world, and when Kena sniffs one out, they open their big, dark eyes and smile an adorable little smile and tag along for the adventure. These guys will literally follow Kena around as well, dashing behind her along forest paths or swimming through crystalline waters in her wake. They’ll appear in pots or on ledges as well, and the “main” Rot – the first one that Kena finds and the one that is revealed to have extra-special story significance – will occasionally point out nearby secrets and puzzles solutions.
There are a hundred of these Rot to find, and all of them look and act like a cross between a Minion, a Kodama from Princess Mononoke, and some kind of forest Furby. You’ll often find yourself directing them around the game world, lifting blocks, tipping pots, and swarming around corrupted plants to help banish the “poison” from the world. They’re also useful in combat, distracting some enemies, damaging others, and occasionally being able to make use of nearby flowers to heal Kena.
I’m not sure how much I like the Rot. They’re fine, and they’re cute, but they’re Dreamworks cute, and I think I’m kind of done with that vibe. Also, they all look exactly the same (although some are slightly larger than others) and I would always have a little pang of disappointment when I uncovered another identical Rot. Some part of me was always expecting them to be a different colour or something, I guess. At least you can put hats on them, and I did really enjoy finding hats and forcing the little guys to wear them. My wife and daughter were far more enamoured with the Rot than I was, and practically swooned when they saw the little guy in the dinosaur hat. I just thought they were mildly charming and an interesting way to interact with the puzzles and combat. I would like to tell you whether they’re implemented in a similar way to the minions in the likes of Pikmin or Overlord, but I haven’t played either of those games so I don’t know.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits often delighted me with its visuals. There are some truly stunning environments, especially early on when exploring lovely forest paths with dappled sunlight coming through the trees. This is an exceptionally pretty game that uses influences from a melting pot of Eastern cultures to create a fairly enchanting whole. I will say, though, that I didn’t really like the characters looking like they were lifted from a modern Pixar or Dreamworks movie with a somewhat lower budget. I may be wrong, but I felt like the animation, especially the lip-syncing and general mouth animations, weren’t of a high enough quality to sit comfortably with the visual style the game was going for, and thus I left a little put off when the characters were speaking.
I do wish there was a bit more variety in the locations as well. The village and its surrounding woodlands look amazing, but the game only really offers up a significantly different biome towards the end, and it would have been nice to have seen a bit more variety. During certain parts of the game the weather changes, and the woods might become dark and rainy or the village might have an ominous red sky overhead. These moments are awesomely atmospheric, but are reserved for a few short, cinematic sections and then you’re back to fine weather again. Maybe a weather cycle would have been nice, but I feel like I’m nit-picking at this point. Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a fantastic looking game but if you’re not big on woods and idyllic mountainside cabins, you’re not going to find much else to get excited about.
There were a few glitchy moments, but nothing to hurt the overall experience. Sometimes the Rot would glitch into the floor or flicker in and out of existence, but given that they’re tiny magical beings who appear wherever they like, these moments were acceptable (I could tell when they were being glitchy rather than being magical, though, before you start). Kena also does the thing where if you jump onto a rock or bush that she can’t stand on she’ll kind of float around awkwardly against invisible walls and floors until she eventually lands somewhere she’s supposed to be. There are also plenty of areas where, if you pay attention, you’ll notice that she’s not standing on the ground but levitating a few inches above it. In such a lavish looking game, these little moments can take you out of the world.
But what a world it is, and I had a great time exploring it. The game is fairly short and the world is fairly compact, but the whole thing is wonderfully designed, and the combat and exploration are both of a high enough quality that you should be entertained throughout. The story is fine but the atmosphere is occasionally enchanting, and the soundtrack accompanies the whole thing perfectly. The game can be difficult and the boss fights can feel epic, and there are plenty of collectibles (and lots of hats) to find to keep you busy. Also, there are optional combat and platforming trials if you like that sort of thing, as well as an unlockable New Game+ and multiple difficulty levels.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a great experience that doesn’t outstay its welcome and offers up a vibrant world and some cute critters to explore it with. If the idea of strolling through gorgeous woodland, digging up big-eyed little Troll-looking things, fighting baddies made out of gnarled wood and placating some non-spooky ghosts sounds interesting to you, get down to your local B&M and buy yourself a copy. Pick up some sweets or some Jammie Dodgers while you’re there maybe.
Played on PS5.