Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review - IGN

Mitchell Saltzman - "It makes sense that Ember Lab, the developer of Kena: Bridge of Spirits, started out as an animation studio. Just looking at this gorgeous world and Pixar-esque character designs tells you that this is a team that has a ton of experience in making incredible digital works, including their Majora’s Mask fan film, Terrible Fate. While Bridge of Spirits' gameplay doesn’t quite match the extraordinarily high bar set by its visuals for a number of reasons, including some bland storytelling and shallow progression, this 3D open-world action-adventure is still nonetheless an impressive achievement thanks to its exciting and deceptively simple combat and an excellent balance of action, puzzle solving, and platforming."

[VerminSC]

Pretty good reviews!! Super excited to play it.
Finishing deathloop, then have Diablo 2, now this!

[CaptainHenry916]

The gameplay is solid, and the graphics are incredible in 4K 60fps. I've played 30 minutes of it and really enjoying it

[MadLad]

I typically wait for a sale, but this is one of the odd games I'll be grabbing at release week.

[VerminSC]

I’m wishing I waited on deathloop and went with this first

[InUrFoxHole]

Nice. Gonna pick up on pc. Looks fun too.

[SyntheticForm]

Good job, Ember Labs!

Playing this momentarily.

[alb1899]

Seems like a good game, I'll try it.

[talocaca]

Happy with the solid reviews. Downloading now 🥰

I waited to buy because you honestly never know (Cyberpunk says hi 🙋)

[TheDoomedGuy]

Good. So cyberpunk did have a positive effect on people. It's always best to wait until after reviews. Games are easily obtainable nowadays so there is no reason to pre order. All these preorder bonuses should stop and be part of the game.

[The Wood]

True. There should be a transparent refund system if you pre order and the game turns out to be a dud.

I pre ordered this and glad I did

[phoenixwing]

I'm normally not a storefront snob but I've decided to wait for steam release. I have a huge backlog so I can afford to wait.

[Tedakin]

The late review embargo was misleading. The reviews are great.

[MadLad]

I was legitimately worried.

Not much marketing.
Late review embargo.
Epic storefront deal.

I wasn't too sure Sony had faith in the game. Glad to see it's getting good reviews.

[TheDoomedGuy]

Is this from a Sony developer studio??? I'm confused.

[MadLad]

@doomed

There have been games in the past that weren't going to be just Sony (console) exclusive that got a lot of marketing backing.

My assessment holds. I really don't care what the majority of N4G thinks. I also already have spoken that I'm glad the game came out getting good reviews.
If the game ends up not selling well (which I hope it does), know I was one of the early adopters.

[TheDoomedGuy]

Oh okay. Yeah so it's kinda a jab at Sony while not really knowing whether Sony had anything to do with any of the things you mention. Nice one.

[Teflon02]

They're new at games, people love to jump to conclusions. Embargo never really means much to me

[ColtPSSX]

Idk if this might affect anything but I was wondering because it’s only digital right now, would that mean reviewers couldn’t get a review copy?

[Ausbo]

Reviewers are sent digital codes all the time. Whether a game is digital or physical has no effect on the reviews process

[Deathdeliverer]

Mixed reviews are in abundance on this one. 7 thru 10 from reputable reviewers. This one, like everything in life, isn’t for everyone. I’ll still be getting it. But I need a new fighting game and melty blood comes first. I’ll get Kena before Halloween.

[Vx_]

“MiXeD ReviEwZ”

[dbcoops]

That's odd cause according to Metacritic there's nineteen positive reviews and zero mixed but ok I guess. As someone actually playing it I can assure you the game is amazing.

[Shane Kim]

7's arent bad or mixed though.

[Darkborn]

One of them gave it a 6.5 because there pc was below the minimum requirements and said the game ran like crap.

[TheDoomedGuy]

Uhuh. Yeah maybe this game isn't for you. You should probably just skip it. It's good letting others formulate your opinions.

[Ausbo]

I don’t think you understand the word mixed. 8s are not “mixed”. And I haven’t even seen any 7s from reputable sites

[BlaqMagiq1]

Its Metacritic score is in the mid 80s. How are mixed reviews in abundance?

[andy85]

86 on metacritic so far. Very, very good

[Muigi]

Can’t wait for the eventual GOTY articles nonetheless seeing the current trend lol.

[TheDoomedGuy]

Didn't you know that every new game needs to be goty contender now?

[dbcoops]

Been playing for a little bit now and I am blown away at what a fun and absolutely beautiful game this is. Ember Labs are definitely a very talented and creative developer, they would make a great addition to the Sony family, hopefully Sony makes them an offer.

[boing1]

Played it. Extremely charming game. Super cute. Gameplay is very solid and not super complex. Perfect example of a casual game IMO. I love it.

[Father__Merrin]

Just watched gameplay it genuinely looks georgous reminds me of how Kameo wowed me when I forest booted that up on 360

[coolfool]

"forest booted that up" - is that a pun? 😀

[Father__Merrin]

Well, I'm not getting an Oppo phone anymore I'm going back to Pocophone the autocorrect and general typing is mish mash..

[Silly gameAr]

I hope the people that were concerned about the reviews can rest easy now.

[Bathyj]

It's a mistep on Sony's part honestly. The reviews should have been out days ago and the games should have had a gameplay demo at their showcase. They haven't done it any favours here. Shame. I hope it gets good word of mouth and sales now.

[jznrpg]

Maybe it was Ember Labs that wanted the embargo . Who knows

[SurgicalMenace]

Because you were in their office when the decisions were made, huh? What are they doing next? When is the PS6 coming out? Misstep....

[JayRyu]

Good first outing for Ember. Glad it's getting good reviews. I'll pick it up this weekend.

[spwittbold]

Played this game for one hour.
Game looks very pretty and is easy on the eyes.
Combat is boring and stiff as hell. Was hoping for something fluid like Rift Apart.

[jznrpg]

You were expecting an Insomniac polished game from a first time Dev ?

[MadLad]

I never get the "new dev" argument.

On titles like this, it's usually a group of already industry veterans. The age of the studio has nothing to do with the years of experience behind it.

Bioware has been around for years, but their best works were had in the 90s and 2000s. It's because much of the key talent left for other studios, or created their own. Should I expect less of them just because they're under a new name?

[pietro1212]

TheRealTedCruz
They're not industry vets though. It was a small group if dudes who have a background in animation. Their experiences is a Majora's Mask fan video and a Coke Cola commercial. The team is pretty young age wise too

[SurgicalMenace]

The expectations of people without anything of their own to contribute. This is a great game, even more so that it's their 1st outing. People find any reason not to support anything now a days. Hope your game does well when it releases. Good day

[yeahokwhatever]

this game looks perfect.

[jznrpg]

New IP from a new Dev I wasn’t expecting perfection . This is their first attempt at a game and it seems to me they built a good foundation for the future . It’s not easy making a game especially a good one and they have done a pretty damn good job considering many older teams have laid huge eggs with bigger budgets and more experience .

[yeahokwhatever]

I'm enjoying this game a lot more than Returnal. :-)

[SurgicalMenace]

I mean, two totally different experiences, plus Returnal is more unforgiving. Not many people run towards the more challenging games.

[yeahokwhatever]

yeah, i mean only in the "am i having fun while doing this?" sense of enjoyment. Returnal is a good game, though I like Housemarques previous games a lot more. I'm only mentioning Returnal because of the extreme hype/reception vs. how enjoyable it is to play (IMO, obviously) and comparing that to Kena, which didn't get much hype. I'm definitely getting my money's worth with Kena. :-)

[SurgicalMenace]

Why do people mark comments as spam when they have nothing to do with solicitation? Why haven't the admins taken this function away from overly sensitive individuals?

[TheHan]

I find it funny that Xbox made a better exclusive than Sony did, comparing the two and how close their release windows are.

[RickRoland]

This was never expected to be better than Deathloop. Either way another win for Sony.

[SurgicalMenace]

Uuum, Mr. Han, Xbox didn't make, Deathloop, Arkane did. If we're comparing apples to oranges though, they're both currently on Playstation platforms. Where are the games on MS's platforms?

[jwillj2k4]

This is what I like to call scary times for Xbox fans. It’s getting real spooky on that side.

[pietro1212]

Aren't you tried of that lame fanboy bs? It's a great time to own them all

[jwillj2k4]

You need to get your rage under control before attempting to type.

To answer your question, it’s not fanboyism. It’s calling out the crazy double standard that exists for Xbox having shitty games for 2 generations. The only AAA titles you have on xbox are the same titles you were playing 10+ years ago. Instead of putting pressure on Microsoft you bitch and moan about Sony’s Spider-Man and Wolverine exclusives. So no, it’s not a great time to own both. There is a company that puts gaming first, and a company that puts services first. Enjoy your services and stop being butt hurt just because the grass is greener over here.

[pietro1212]

You're the one who sounds butthurt. I can care less. I own both MS has made some decent moves recently. They're slowly becoming a Wrpg power house. So as I said before great time to own them all. Now excuse me while I go back to playing Deathloop and Tales of Arise

[MADGameR]

I want to play this game SO BAD but it's digital and I ain't buying digital....... unless it's multiplayer.