A FIGHTING CHANCE

Encounters aren’t exactly trivial, but Ember Lab doesn’t fully succeed in its stated goal of making each one meaningful. By the third act, crowd control has become straightforward – even with enemies arriving in greater numbers and different combinations, and the addition of spectral foes you need to render corporeal by spiritdashing through them. Bosses represent a far sterner test: they all hit hard, and can cover a lot of ground quickly. These wellstaged set-pieces are comfortably the game’s most intense moments, though such a sharp uptick in difficulty might be too much for the younger players who will likely get the most from the story. Those keen to see Kena’s tale through to its bittersweet end can, happily, reduce the difficulty at any time.