Kena: Bridge of Spirits was one of my most anticipated games this past year. In addition to this, Ember Lab, like myself, are avid fans of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, and have stated that it was influential in creating Kena. Because of this, I am a tad more critical of this game than I might otherwise be. So at the top I would like to say that I very much enjoyed the game to the end. It is a beautiful and refreshing game that while it isnt completely groundbreaking, felt new to what I have played over the past few years.
While I think the game is a fantastic first entry for a team who has previously focused purely on animation, it is riddled with seemingly rookie mistakes and the occasional odd design choices make it slightly frustrating at times. The difficulty curve is incredibly uneven, with the beginning and ends feeling simply easy and the middle having spikes of bosses that felt so brutal. Level design seemed to forget to take swimming into account as most of the areas with water feel just dreadful to get into. Some areas had so much packed into such little space, with little information to determine what was useful to explore (spirits, rot, hats) and what was mostly trivial (doing an elaborate puzzle for some currency which you will have way too much of through the whole game).
HOWEVER, setting these gripes aside, there are some wonderful things being done in Kena. It somehow feels nostalgic while not taking too strong of an influence from any one game, even Majora's Mask which only comes thru in themes and rarely in play. By the end your kit feels very powerful and fun, the combat feels quick and diverse. The world is deeply engrossing and you can't help but to feel for many of the spirits you guide. Their stories are simple yet powerful and help paint a picture of the interconnected struggles this village faced before the big finale. This is of course the biggest influence from Majora: Several tales of grief, loss, and acceptance. I cannot wait to see what this team does next, taking what they have learned from this project.
While I think the game is a fantastic first entry for a team who has previously focused purely on animation, it is riddled with seemingly rookie mistakes and the occasional odd design choices make it slightly frustrating at times. The difficulty curve is incredibly uneven, with the beginning and ends feeling simply easy and the middle having spikes of bosses that felt so brutal. Level design seemed to forget to take swimming into account as most of the areas with water feel just dreadful to get into. Some areas had so much packed into such little space, with little information to determine what was useful to explore (spirits, rot, hats) and what was mostly trivial (doing an elaborate puzzle for some currency which you will have way too much of through the whole game).
HOWEVER, setting these gripes aside, there are some wonderful things being done in Kena. It somehow feels nostalgic while not taking too strong of an influence from any one game, even Majora's Mask which only comes thru in themes and rarely in play. By the end your kit feels very powerful and fun, the combat feels quick and diverse. The world is deeply engrossing and you can't help but to feel for many of the spirits you guide. Their stories are simple yet powerful and help paint a picture of the interconnected struggles this village faced before the big finale. This is of course the biggest influence from Majora: Several tales of grief, loss, and acceptance. I cannot wait to see what this team does next, taking what they have learned from this project.
Wistful
2 years ago