Kena: Bridge Of Spirits
First things first, it’s ‘Kay-nuh’ and not ‘Key-nah.’ Far from being a caner, though, the protagonist of Ember Lab’s first console title is an extremely hardworking and wholesome sort. She journeys to an ancient village deep within an overgrown forest, searching for a particular mountain shrine. The young spirit guide packs her father’s staff for the journey, but soon finds that she’s in for anything but a quiet retreat in these weird woods.
A nefarious influence has pervaded the forest, scarring the land and scattering its denizens. The spirits, too, have become restless, with some even forgetting who they are. In our hands-on we’re trying to help one of them, Taro, and so we’re searching for a number of relics that we hope will jog his memory. His siblings, Beni and Saiya, accompany Kena on this quest but many spirits are nowhere near as helpful. Trapped between these trees and unable to move on, many are spoiling for a fight with Kena.
As we’ve mentioned, the young girl’s not completely alone, and there are still some friendly spirits to be found. The Rot, an adorable personification of the forest’s natural cycle, are a gaggle of wide-eyed, pint-sized spirits who can assist Kena in a variety of ways. The Rot resemble the tiny soot sprites in the classic animated film Spirited Away – though somehow Ember Lab has created something even more huggable. But perhaps
“UNABLE TO MOVE ON, MANY SPIRITS ARE SPOILING FOR A FIGHT WITH KENA.”
the most important distinction between the two types of spirit is that in Ember Lab’s game you can dress the Rot up in adorable hats. These include but aren’t limited to birds’ nests holding blue eggs, toadstool caps, and even a friendly little frog. Pop one on a Rot and you’ll be able to spot it in the crowd.
The studio’s previous experience in film and animation shines throughout our hands-on. Michael Grier, creative lead at Ember Lab, tells us, “This is not exactly our approach but the way the games come together reminds me of a combination of […] Pixar, [Studio] Ghibli, and […] Nintendo […] if those companies came together to make a game, that’s what we tried to achieve.”
The Rot don’t just follow close behind as you explore, they populate the forest, perching on rocks or turning up in unexpected places. There’s a whole wide world to explore with many hidden secrets, and more Rot, to discover.
WORLD OF WONDERS
Michael Grier describes the environmental design as “wide linear,” saying “The structure of the
“THE STUDIO’S PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN FILM AND ANIMATION SHINES THROUGHOUT.”
world is pretty straightforward but we really like to give players freedom to explore.”
As we trundle around a new area, the DualSense rumbles to tell us a secret is sequestered nearby. When you’re close enough to one of these, an adorable on-screen icon indicates that the Rot can jump in to help Kena. You’ll see this icon in a variety of places but here, pressing
r causes our helpful Rot to overturn a stone to reveal one of their own trapped underneath.
The Rot can pull distant levers and band together to move large objects, but where they really shine – aside from at dressing up and being ever so helpful – is in combat. Bridge Of Spirits is in many ways a delightful, animated adventure but it’s not a saccharine tale scared of its own shadow.
The COO of Ember Lab, Josh Grier, begins, “We grew up watching a lot of films […] The Lion King [is] a very accessible film but it deals with some pretty dark themes – you know, brother killing brother and big fight sequences.”
He later adds, “In [our game’s] first area you’re helping the kids find their brother. It’s very simple and it helps us introduce the player […] But then we get to the other spirits and we do get a little bit darker – nothing violent or anything like that. [We’re] just trying to deliver a story that’s accessible to everyone but then also has themes that are on a higher maturity level that are fun for the adults that are playing as well.”
ROT O’CLOCK
As Kena ventures deeper, you start to see invasive red and purple plant life winding its way through the forest. These bulbs of corruption are known as Deadzone Hearts and they often appear either to block your path or to call upon corrupted spirits to present a fightier obstacle for Kena. If you don’t do a bit of garden warfare you’ll have to take on a never-ending procession of combative spirits.
When you aim with p, a special icon may appear over various parts of the environment or enemies to indicate the Rot can offer assistance. For instance, if you’ve got a
Deadzone Heart in your sights, the Rot can help you purify it. Tap r and they spring into action – but there’s one more step before you can nip that bud. Outside combat, releasing o sends out a pulse of energy that interacts with elements of the environment. This is useful for puzzles but also for withering enemy-spawning plants with the help of the Rot. And if you send a pulse out near a bush full of fruit, it’ll knock down a sweet little feast for the Rot to munch on. However, there’s more to the game than watching tiny critters nibbling, and restoring the forest often requires bringing the fight to what’s ailing it.
Restless spirits can look like gnarled driftwood brought to life, wielding an assortment of masks, shields, spears, and more. Even the smallest enemies send the friendly Rot scarpering, so Kena will have to hold her own for the most part. You can take out smaller saplings with a few well-placed, rapid-fire whacks by tapping u but the big bosses require a bit more strategy.
Defeated enemies sometimes drop golden orbs known in-game as Courage, and you also get some of the gold stuff for striking a boss directly. You need to build up this resource to power the friendly Rot’s special abilities. In other words, the
“COLOURFUL CHARACTERS CAN ALSO TEACH KENA STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH THE BIGGER BADS.”
more you attack, the braver the Rot will feel. Until they’ve found their courage, holding o throws up a shield around Kena that can protect her when she’s in a jam – but it won’t last forever. It can take a few hits in a fight before Kena will need to dodge out of the way with e.
A LITTLE HELP
In one early boss encounter we’re not able even to get close to a big beastie sequestered in a cave. A squirrelly spirit, they dive into a hole whenever we get near, only to pop up somewhere else a few feet away. After picking off a few of their minions, we have enough Courage to send the Rot in to bind the baddie to the spot. Once they’re pinned down, we roll in and loose heavy attack after heavy attack by holding and releasing i. But the boss shakes off the Rot all too quickly and we dodge one of their retaliatory swipes at the last moment.
The Rot can shine in a few other ways too. If the latest wave of enemies has got you on the ropes or a boss has whittled your health down to a sliver, they can heal you by turning nearby blue buds into brilliant blue blossoms. Plants known as Forest Tears can also temporarily restore the Rot to their original form – a wispy cloud that, for a limited time, Kena can direct to slam into obstacles and even enemies. If the plant life nearby is lacking, though, the Rot can instead beef up your basic attacks. We’re quite fond of the Rot hammer, a move that takes your basic heavy attack and puts more than a little bit of welly behind it.
The Rot may be a timid lot but they’ll have Kena’s back when she needs it most in a fight – well, that is if they’re feeling courageous. As Kena and the Rot weather more fights, the little spirits will become able to store up larger amounts of Courage so you can pop off multiple Rot abilities in one fell swoop.
As you continue on your journey, colourful characters can also teach Kena extra abilities and strategies for dealing with the forest’s bigger bads. Rusu, a cloaked figure in an owl mask, gives her an archery lesson, allowing her to add another string to her bow both figuratively and literally. Her father’s staff can now fling arrows made of blue light and, after a little target practice, we’re another significant step on our way to saving the forest. Kena hits the mark from 24 August.