Kena: Bridge of Spirits

I’d only seen a single trailer of Kena: Bridge of Spirits when I had chucked it into my wishlist, but I remember thinking to myself “That game looks like Pixar and Square teamed up to create a game” and honestly, that’s a pretty fair statement. It is stunningly beautiful in game and absolutely crushes it during the cutscenes. I would 100% watch this movie, that’s how gorgeous it is. I often found myself just gazing out into the world and ended up taking about 45 screenshots throughout the game (sorry @deckronomicon)! A cinematic cutscene from Kena: Bridge of Spirits showing a close-up of a character wearing an elaborate blue wooden spirit mask with antler-like horns and intricate carved textures. The figure is backlit by a bright ethereal glow, creating a dramatic, mysterious atmosphere. A “Skip” prompt is visible in the bottom-right corner.

You play as Kena, a Spirit Guide who uses her spirit powers to help guide those who need help crossing over. If you’re the type who gets hit in the feels from emotionally powerful storytelling, keep the box of tissues nearby because the story hits in all the right places. Especially when you’re not expecting it.

Through the course of the game, you’ll start collecting Rot, these cute little furballs of energy who are your little crew that you can equip with different hats that have no impact on the game itself, but it’s cute to see these little dudes pop up in various places wearing acorns or pots on their heads. As you progress in levels and find more of them, they will actually empower your attacks so it is definitely worth collecting them on your journey!

Without revealing too much, the game is broken into 3 distinct stories that you progress through, each with their own needs and story arc. Along the way, you’ll pick up skills and moves that will continue to build your arsenal and make you even more powerful. But you’ll also realize “ooooohhhh, that’s how I use that thing I saw” and end up backtracking to areas that you’d visited before. Take the time to explore because you’ll often find yourself uncovering little nooks and crannies filled with treasures or more Rot. In-game screenshot from Kena: Bridge of Spirits showing Kena standing on a glowing circular stone platform in a dark, corrupted forest arena. The environment is bathed in deep red and purple hues, with glowing teal runic symbols on stone pillars flanking the scene. Small Rot companions are scattered around the platform, and a shadowy threat looms in the misty background.

The fighting does get a little too much on the train of souls-like battle for me with having to parry at very specific times or learn the enemies’ flow of battle. Not so far to where I wanted to turn it off at any point, but I definitely found myself frustrated at certain battles until I found various ways I could kind of cheese my way through them. I will admit that I ended up just putting this on story mode in the end and just enjoying the game itself. In-game screenshot from Kena: Bridge of Spirits showing Kena silhouetted against a sweeping blue-toned winter landscape. She stands facing a glowing white spirit trail spiraling into a star-filled sky above jagged ice formations, floating rocks, and snow-covered ruins, evoking a sense of wonder and discovery.

In the end, the game left me feeling a bit heavy on the heart due to the subject matter, but the game and story were so well done that I’m absolutely signing up for the sequel when it releases, and inevitably goes on sale, and finally lands in my backlog… you know the drill.