Editor's Note: The following demo review opportunity came courtesy of Tribeca Games. This title and other worthy competitors are vying for awards in the first-ever games category at the long-running festival. Please keep in mind that these reviews are based on demos, all of which vary in length from 20 minutes to an hour, and are not necessarily fully representative of the final, finished game. Our intent is to give you a sense of what makes these games unique, how well the games executed the developers' vision, and to put them on your radar before everyone you know is playing them.
Perhaps the most high-profile game to enter competition at Tribeca Games is Kena: Bridge of Spirits, the captivating original IP that gamers have been waiting to get their hands on for the last year or so. Now, I consider myself one of the lucky few to have had a chance to do just that. The demo was, of course, far too short to explore as much of Kena's world as I wanted to but more than long enough to surpass my expectations and even surprise me with a twist or two. Read on for my review following the game's official synopsis and a look at the previously released teaser trailer, and be sure to visit the PlayStation Store and Epic Games Store for more:
A story-driven action adventure with a stunning visual aesthetic combining exploration with fast-paced combat. Players find and grow a team of charming spirit companions called the Rot, enhancing their abilities and creating new ways to manipulate the environment.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits seamlessly blends action and narrative into an unforgettable experience. Travel with Kena, a young Spirit Guide on a quest to uncover the mysterious story surrounding the demise of the village.
The demo for Ember Labs' Kena, pronounced "CANE-uh," dropped me into the title character's journey a few steps ahead of where players will start the game. By this point, Kena has a spirit-powered staff, a cadre of little spirit critters curiously dubbed the "Rot," and a bare-bones set of combat skills. This section of the story centers on Kena's quest to help a spirit named Taro move on from this world. She uses Taro's mask to help retrace their steps and resolve whatever is keeping them bound in place. It doesn't, however, help to clear the corruption that has plagued the land, turning areas of the forested landscape into poisonous fungal-like growths and generating enemies from the very plants and land itself. To do that, you'll need to not only wield Kena's spirit staff but call on the surprisingly powerful Rot to help you clear the corruption and save the day.
While the overall plot arc was a bit difficult to suss out from this short demo focusing on Taro's quest, the aim of the game itself was quite clear: Help spirits move on, defeat the corrupted baddies, and clear corruption from the land to help restore a natural order. While the corrupted areas and minions will obviously hurt you, Kena can use the Rot to target specific plants and other areas to generate a healing aura, stagger enemies, and, with the assistance of Kena's ki pulse, clear corruption to open up new paths. But it's not going to be easy.
The biggest surprise of Kena: Bridge of Spirits was the combat. I got absolutely wombo'd early on by a foursome of basic mobs, including three minor minions and one, let's say, lieutenant. Kena's staff attacks are simple at first blush, just a light and heavy attack. The light attack has a combo that strings jabs and swipes together while the heavy attack can be charged up for a bigger blow. But don't expect enemies to just sit around and wait, and don't expect them to be easily staggered by even your strongest attacks. Kena has a dodge / melee system that's not all that dissimilar from a Souls game, and yes, I can see your eyes rolling at the comparison already, but the cute-looking sprites will absolutely knock you on your butt if you don't take timing and positioning into consideration. The only opportunity you have for ranged combat, at least early on, is to send the Rot after an enemy to stagger them; the sooner you use them to help clear corrupted areas, the better, because otherwise the enemies will just keep coming.
There's no better example of the Souls-like combat than this area's boss battle against the Kappa. The creature of Japanese lore and mythology gets a reimagining here as a large projectile-throwing baddie that travels through three water pools and opts to keep at a safe distance from Kena's spirit-powered staff. Typical minion-summoning abilities make the confined area even more dangerous and deadly as the Kappa changes up its series of attacks over the course of its phases. Once you figure out the patterns, you're in the clear, but the combat of Kena is far from a simple hack-and-slash. Perhaps it'll get a little easier once you unlock the spirit bow, but maybe it'll just get harder and harder the farther down the path you go.
Combat surprises aside, Kena is a gorgeous-looking game. It looks and feels like you're in an animated movie, playing as the protagonist. The downside of this is that you'll try to fully explore the big open-looking world, only to find that it's actually quite linear with lots of invisible walls and false paths. That was a bit of a bummer. But the hidden gems within Kena, like a merchant's cart in a shady grove that sells hats for your Rot companions to wear, do encourage going off the beaten path somewhat. Another shortcoming here, however, was the somewhat floaty movement tech for Kena herself. It might have been because I was playing on a cloud server, or maybe because the demo version of the game wasn't fully cooked, but it's not quite as crisp as I'd like, especially considering the difficulty scaling of the combat.
Overall, Kena: Bridge of Spirits absolutely lived up to the hype and anticipation over the last few years. This small taste of the adventure game delivered on its promises, offering beautiful visuals alongside a competent combat system that should surprise some players. Plus, I mean, the Rot are so dang cute, who could resist their charms?