Kena: A Bridge of Spirits

Kena: Bridge of Spirits, from Ember Labs, was one of my most anticipated games for 2021. I fell in love with the game as soon as I watched the release trailer. I wanted to discover what the world was like- with the Rot and what Kena’s role was in this beautiful, mystical setting.

Let me tell you, the game’s story lived up to my expectations.

I had the chance to play Kena on stream during the month of October. It was a great time getting to share the story with my community, and get their thoughts on the game as I played. Now, this game isn't perfect- there are a lot of moments where it’s clear that this is Ember Lab’s first title. But, overall, the game is beautiful and worth checking out if you value a good story game like I do.

The trailer for Kena: Bridge of Spirits

The Game

Kena: Bridge of Spirits follows the story of a young Spirit Guide named Kena. She’s recently lost her father, who was also a Spirit Guide, and seeks a way to reconnect with him. On her journey, she comes across a village that’s become corrupted. Kena starts to work with the spirits to heal the devastated town and help them move on to the next stage of the afterlife.

For those of you interested in trying it out, I'm gonna be honest - Kena is a sad game. Most of the spirits have final moments that were incredibly stressful or traumatic. Being a Spirit Guide means that Kena connects with the spirits’ lives right as their stories are ending. Her work is important, but also very heavy. And all the while, she’s never really sure that she’s doing a good job as a new Spirit Guide. Like many of us, Kena feels the people who have come before her - her father in this case - left behind standards too high to live up to. But this game sets up a story of Kena growing into the Spirit Guide that the people need and that is true to who she is.

Most of the game is spent navigating the wider world, looking for the Rot and helping the characters you meet. Through discovery and adventure, players will work to fill out Kena's skill tree to develop her abilities as a Spirit Guide, and make sure that the Rot that accompany you look their best. Throughout the world, there are hats to collect for the Rot to rock. They add a small bit of personality to the game and lets you customize your companions. Exploring the world is one of the most fun parts of the game as you platform your way through different puzzles and slowly unlock different skills that allow you to reach new areas.

A gif of some of the combat in Kena.

There’s also a fair amount of combat in Kena. This is unfortunately where the game begins to struggle. Encountering enemies while you’re exploring the world goes as expected, as there weren’t many moments where I felt overwhelmed by the normal enemies. However, the bosses in Kena felt like they went from 0 to Dark Souls. Boss encounters in the game typically consist of a main enemy who spawns in smaller enemies, and has 2 to 3 health bars. Kena has a shield, a staff, and a few other weapons that she gets later in the game. The Rot also take part in combat by performing "Rot actions". These can do anything from damaging enemies, to stunning them, to altering the way that your sub weapons act during a fight. That part of the combat is dope and seeing the slow down and effect of the Rot on your enemies is always satisfying.

That’s about where the satisfaction of the combat ends. Kena does have a way to parry attacks, but it’s linked to her spirit shield and doesn’t feel like it triggers consistently in combat. Because of this, Kena’s bosses were hard. There were many moments where it felt like you have to fight the boss perfectly to even have a chance of beating them (looking at you, Adira). These moments were incredibly frustrating, and to be honest? They often made me not want to continue the game. I was playing on the standard difficulty and every time I’d get hit by the boss, a quarter of my health would vanish. It didn't even matter as much as Kena grew throughout her journey. Yes, there’s a skill tree in Kena that essentially levels up your sub-weapons, but there were no opportunities for her to actually get stronger. Her attacks felt like they do the same amount of damage in the end game as they did in the beginning. Between a parry system that didn’t work consistently and basically having to do hitless runs for bosses, the combat in Kena left a lot to be desired.

Image of Kena meditating

The music in this game was beautiful. It’s styled after some of the traditional music from Bali, mixed with other influences. It helped build up the emotions that Kena, the spirits, and the player experienced. The art style was absolutely stunning. Before developing Kena, Ember Labs actually worked in animation. Because of that, the cinematic cutscenes in the game are unmatched. The stories that they tell and the details that you see in them can't really be compared to any of the other games that I’ve played this year. When the cutscenes start, you really feel like you’re watching a movie. You get the chance to feel what the characters are going through, which helps drive home just how much Kena is doing for the spirits around her. The cutscenes saved the game for me. Well, the story saved the game for me.

Final Thoughts

Kena tells a story of love and loss, hardship and growth. It helps players understand that there are cycles to the world that cannot be broken. It shows us that Rot isn’t something to be afraid of, but must happen so that the land can heal.

It succeeds in its storytelling by letting players feel what the characters are going through. The developers gave us just enough knowledge about Kena for us to understand her. It's very clear she is a kind Spirit Guide, willing to listen and speak to the spirits through their pain to help them move towards peace.

The boss battles were often frustrating. The difficult scaling for them wasn't balanced to the level of difficulty that I selected for the game. There were moments where I genuinely felt like I wasn’t going to be able to complete the game because the bosses gave me that much trouble. For a first offering from Ember Lab, however, I think they did a great job. Hopefully in future games, they’ll be able to take some feedback from this one and improve.

I’d love to see more of Kena in the future, maybe assisting another group of people that need help moving towards peace. I want to know more about her work as a Spirit Guide, as well as some backstory, like why her hand looks like it’s being taken over by the spirit powers she wields. For now, I’m content to sit with the lessons that the game passed on to me. I’m eager to know more and am ultimately looking forward to another game from Ember Lab.

Overall, Kena is one of my favorite games from this year. I loved the experience as a whole, even remembering the more frustrating parts. The story was beautiful and will stick with me for a while. The lessons in love, loss, and leadership are all relatable and impactful for a wide audience.

A final shoutout to the lil Rot homies- you're all are precious menaces and it was great spending time navigating the world with y'all.

Close up image of the Rot looking with wonder at something in the distance