Kena: Bridge of Spirits Reviews
Check out Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review Scores from trusted Critics below. With 32 reviews on CriticDB, Kena: Bridge of Spirits has a score of:
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a super solid debut for Ember Labs that serves up an enchanting atmosphere, slick and challenging combat and some very cute companions in the form of the ROT. It does all feel a little muddled in who it’s trying to attract at times, with simple puzzles and streamlined upgrade options attached to combat that pulls no punches. However, a respectful run-time, stellar visuals and a procession of very decent boss scraps ensure that this one still manages to find itself on our recommend pile
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The game is just a blast to look and listen to, which pardons some of the less impressive combat encounters and the play-it-safe game design. It’s not a game that reinvents anything, but it sets out to do specific things, all of which it does pretty well. Fans of third person action adventure games should definitely consider playing Kena: Bridge of Spirits, with accessibility options and a story mode difficulty allowing even newcomers to videogames to enjoy this colourful, cartoon-esque journey.
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Kena: Bridge of Spirits – Premium Edition for Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles has arrived at just the right time, delivering a challenging, high-quality, old-school action-adventure/puzzler that’s bound to keep gamers on the Xbox platform busy during the end-of-summer gaming doldrums.
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While the stuttering and ghosting can be a bit of a boon on Steam Deck, Kena: Bridge of Spirits was still very playable and I could easily see myself playing solely on the device.
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What makes Kena stand out is how the game presents itself from an artistic design and the feeling you get from experiencing the game's story filled with trauma and loss. It's hard to describe, but this is the definition of art itself, and the fact that it came from a first-time studio is mind-blowing.
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“Kena: Bridge of Spirits is as gorgeous and elegantly crafted as a big budget game, making it a statement debut for Ember Lab.”
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Ember Lab's first major release is 3D adventure title Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Though its gameplay has room for improvement, the excellent visuals and charm make it a title well worth playing through.
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From the very first moment till the very end of your journey, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a heart-warming experience and a real pleasure between the visuals, puzzles and combat. Atmospheric music, beautiful lively graphics, believable heroes and cute little Rots - each little element is woven into the amazing whole that is the gaming experience provided by Kena.
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Whether you demand more than comfort from your games will inform the way you see Kena: Bridge of Spirits; is it merely a graphically sumptuous example of design that you wish we would leave behind, or is it a vivifying tribute to a rich precursor legacy?
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While we might have to arguably wait for future games to unlock the series' true potential, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is still a great first outing for Ember Lab. If the breathtaking visuals don't suck you in, then there's the satisfying and challenging combat as well, or the wide world to explore. Or maybe you just want to find all the teeny hats for the Rot in order to make them as ridiculously adorable as possible. Whatever the case, there's going to be something satisfying for everyone here in Kena's debut.
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What happens when you cross Spyro with Pikmin, add modern technology, and throw in some industry-defining animation work? You get Kena: Bridge of Spirits.
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Kena's made that much better by its beautiful environments, its thoughtful puzzles, and its series of collectibles. No, it's not necessary to grab every hat that the Rot can wear, but it's fun to keep an eye out for them. The combat has its shortcomings, but it isn't nearly bad enough to break anybody's spirit.
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It’s almost redundant at this point to say that Kena: Bridge of Spirits is bloody gorgeous. Coming from an animation background, Ember Lab took our collective breath away with the announcement of this Pixar-esque beauty that combines platforming, puzzling and action combat with a touching story and an adorable army of little creatures following you around, at your command. Collectively, Kena: Bridge of Spirits doesn’t bring anything crazy-innovative to the table, but it’s an incredibly ...
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Kena: Bridge of Spirits is gorgeous and extremely well made, but there's less heart here than I was expecting. It's still a worthy adventure with great controls and lots to see and do, though.
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Kena Bridge of Spirits is a charming adventure that packs a ton of heart, as well as a wealth of engaging systems.
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Once in a while, a new IP releases that shows great promise and now that I finished Kena: Bridge of Spirits, I can say that it's awesome.
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Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a strong game, it’s a contender for game of the year and it’s ultimately one well worth playing. It’s a stunningly astute and whimsical take on death, life, and where we fit in all of it. The game is about Kena finding her place and helping others find there’s too. Beautiful, immersive, and dynamic, I can’t recommend this game enough.
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Kena: Bridge of Spirits delivers an all around excellent experience that's consistently engaging and manages to enrapture the player, even without doing anything particularly new or innovative.
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Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a great palette cleanser, not just in terms of tone but the way it's carefully designed. Well-paced and beautiful to behold with plenty to see and do, Ember Lab has well and truly captured the spirit of the 3D platformers many of us grew up adoring.
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Though the battles can get tedious, the pretty visuals and fantastic soundtrack help make up for it. Kena: Bridge of Spirits’ music has Balinese and Indonesian influences, incorporating unique percussion instruments to create an energy and atmosphere that will stick with you long after you beat the game.
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Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a throwback to a bygone era but with the technical prowess of a current-gen game. Taking its cues from older The Legend of Zelda games — it’s no surprise that its developer and digital animation studio Ember Lab previously produced a Majora’s Mask short film — puzzle-solving through its lush world feels like being wrapped up in a comfort blanket. Unfortunately, Kena’s retreading of old ideas also means that it doesn’t do anything new, with this unoriginality leading to an enjoyable experience that fails to carve out its own path.
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An old-school action adventure, Kena lets you purify the world and help spirits reach the afterlife. Did we mention you get to throw cute, fuzzy creatures called Rots at your enemies and watch them cuddle them into submission?
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For anyone looking for a game that will bring a smile to their face, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is not to be missed.
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Besides that, I really can't recommend Kena: Bridge of Spirits highly enough that will see players partake in a meaningful journey absorbed in a vibrant world filled with fluid animations that cries out to be explored. With the game's added photo mode, expect to add on a few more gameplay hours as you fill up your gallery with lots of cute Rot pictures, too.
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Every single moment of Kena: Bridge of Spirits is simply wonderful. Very few games are as pleasing to the eyes, and coming from an indie studio – making its very first game, of all things – that’s something quite remarkable. Even more remarkable is that Kena isn’t simply a visual showcase, either. It’s challenging, fun to play, and has a world teeming with life. It also tells a fantastic story, and there’s plenty to do even when the credits have rolled. Kena: Bridge of Spirits truly is something special, and I can’t wait to see what Ember Lab does next.
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Kena: Bridge of Spirits uses a different perspective on familiar gameplay ideas to create tons of exciting combat and a deep emotional connection with its world.
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Inspirations should always serve as a jumping-off point, something to build upon. But it often feels less like Kena: Bridge of Spirits was inspired by things, and more like it decided it could squish its beautifully realized world of magic and spirits into a ready-made mold. The result is a thoughtless blend; a hybridized paste. Vibrant and undoubtedly beautiful, Kena: Bridge of Spirits shows us every color in the spectrum. But strangely, it all feels brown — a muddy, grayish brown that comes from having mixed together every color on the palette.
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A great-looking but conventional adventure.
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Kena: Bridge of Spirits was positioned by Sony as a key game coming to PlayStation 5. While it's great that the company puts some indie titles on the same level as triple-A experiences, it can sometimes lead to inflated expectations. Developer Ember Lab's debut game has always looked fantastic in the lead up to launch, but does its gameplay match the beautiful, whimsical art style?
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It's possible that the developers at Ember Lab didn't want to clutter the screen with things like mini-maps and objective markers, as the default option in Kena: Bridge of Spirits makes sure players are seeing nothing but the game world outside of times when it's necessary for HUD elements to pop up. Kena: Bridge of Spirits looks phenomenal, with a Pixar-like art style, gorgeous cut-scenes, and some great animation. The Disney/Pixar vibe is made complete with Kena's musical score, which goes a long way in setting the game's tone.
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Appearances can be very deceiving in life and video games. At first glance, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, the first game developed by Ember Lab, looks like a very simple action-adventure game that doesn't have a whole lot going on outside of its gorgeous, Pixar Studios influenced visuals. In reality, there are quite a few things the game has got it going for itself, so many that it almost feels hard to believe that this is the studio's very first title.
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From the moment Kena’s staff ignites with magnificent magic, the world around her sizzles with excitement, creating an enchanting atmosphere for one of the best adventure games I’ve played in recent memory. Kena: Bridge of Spirits is Ember Lab’s debut game, but it hits with the sophistication and beauty you’d expect from a studio that’s been doing this for decades.
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