Kena - Bridge of Spirits in Test: The cutest game of the year

Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya (Swahili: Jamhuri ya Kenya), is a nation in Eastern Africa. At 580,367 square kilometres (224,081 sq mi), Kenya is the globe s 48th biggest nation by total location. With a populace of greater than 47.6 million individuals in the 2019 census, Kenya is the 29th most heavily populated country. Kenya s funding and also biggest city is Nairobi, while its oldest city and also first funding is the coastal city of Mombasa. Kisumu City is the third-largest city and additionally an inland port on Lake Victoria. Various other vital metropolitan centres include Nakuru as well as Eldoret. As of 2020, Kenya is the third-largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria and also South Africa. Kenya is surrounded by South Sudan to the northwest, Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the eastern, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. According to archaeological dating of linked artefacts and also skeletal product, the Cushites very first cleared up in the lowlands of Kenya in between 3,200 and 1,300 BC, a stage described as the Lowland Savanna Pastoral Neolithic. Nilotic-speaking pastoralists (ancestral to Kenya s Nilotic speakers) started moving from present-day South Sudan right into Kenya around 500 BC. European get in touch with started in 1500 with the Portuguese Empire, though reliable colonisation of Kenya started in the 19th century throughout the European exploration of the inside. Modern-day Kenya emerged from a protectorate developed by the British Empire in 1895 and the subsequent Kenya Nest, which started in 1920. Countless disagreements between the UK as well as the nest resulted in the Mau change, which started in 1952, and the subsequent declaration in 1963. After freedom, Kenya continued to be a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The existing constitution was adopted in 2010 to replace the 1963 independence constitution. Kenya is a governmental rep democratic republic, in which chosen authorities stand for individuals and also the president is the president and also federal government. Kenya belongs to the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, Globe Financial Institution, International Monetary Fund, COMESA, International Wrongdoer Court, and also other international organisations. With a GNI of 1,460, Kenya is a lower-middle-income economy. Kenya s economy is the largest in eastern as well as main Africa, with Nairobi functioning as a major local business center. Agriculture is the biggest market: tea and coffee are standard cash crops, while fresh blossoms are a fast-growing export. The solution industry is also a significant financial vehicle driver, particularly tourism. Kenya belongs to the Eastern African Area trade bloc, though some global trade organisations categorise it as part of the Greater Horn of Africa. Africa is Kenya s biggest export market, complied with by the European Union.

Ember Lab delivers Kena: Bridge of Spirits directly to PC and PlayStation with his first game.

Süüüüüüüß! So in this way, our reaction was on the first trailer to Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Well, we were also enthusiastic about the optics in general, especially since it was clear from the beginning that this is the first game of an indie studio. But the little rott got us from the first second, in which we looked in their great Euglein. If you do not know that this is a video game, you could also keep Kena: Bridge of Spirits for a new Pixar movie. This is not a miracle, after all, developers Ember Lab comes from the animated film industry, has previously been attentively made with a short film based on The Legend of Zelda: Majora s Mask. But that the Californians not only have a hand for great optics proves their first interactive work from the first to the last minute.

shallow, but beautiful

Animation films usually focus on a younger audience or the whole family. Therefore, the strips offering a large content depth are more of an exception. If Kena: Bridge of Spirits would be a movie, it would be more likely to be a big mass. The story around the eponymous, young heroine is quite knitted. She is a moulderer who converts the ghosts deceased into the hereafter, and looking for an old, holy mountain blade. Your way leads you to an abandoned village. There she learns that the spirits of the residents have partially transformed into dangerous monsters. A curse is here at the factory and Kena should save the day.

Particularly exciting or complex is not the story, but Kena: Bridge of Spirits meets the right sounds on the keyboard of emotions. There are many moments, but also sad. And sometimes it is even gloomy, which is why it maintains a release from twelve years and the USK did not press the 6-stamp.

Such helpers want everyone

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a pretty ordinary action adventure with the mix known for the genre, climbing passages and small puzzle inserts. There is a charge pikmin. The little rott, to which you meet within the first few minutes of the game, are the counterpart to the eponymous planting from the popular Nintendo series. They accompany Kena at step and enters and prove both in the fighting and the puzzles as extremely useful.

So you can make opponents defenseless for a short time and, for example, wear objects through the area. If you see a blank platform, then there is guaranteed somewhere near a statue that will gladly return the cute spirits to your actual destination. However, the rott is not the core element in Kena: Bridge of Spirits like the pikmin in their adventures. There is also a kind of you and the heroine gets a lot of things differently than Captain Olimar alone.

Distributing evil with rod and bow

Fights play an important role in Kena: Bridge of Spirits and are not uncommon. The system behind it is anything but complex and we would not say that it was moved at the level of genius of a Ghost of Tsushima or God of War. However, both matches with Kenas bar as well as their magical arrows are very satisfying thanks to successful animations of enemies and additional image effects, so that the mix of light and heavy attacks, ranging attacks and some special maneuvers make the entire playing time over fun.

It also plays a role that Kena: Bridge of Spirits in the course of action repeatedly sends new enemy types with special peculiarities on stage and the battles are never too easy or too heavy. Therefore and not only due to the gloomy sections, the title is not for the very small gamers. Since Kena can heal itself during the fighting only with the help of certain plants that the rott must harvest for them, and the stuff is never distributed in the area in the area, they can be quite slightly in distress - especially in the clashes with bosses who are very solid designed and offer enough variety.

A perfectly exterior mix

Variety is a good keyword, because Ember Labs has managed to design a game with great pacing. The mixture of fighting, cramping passages, the purchasing services and exploration works excellently because none of the elements dominates clearly. Everything is beautiful balanced. Similar to the action, the Jump & Run Gameplay and the puzzles do not win an innovation price, but both are very competently implemented. The puzzles are never very demanding, but always logical as well as a good loosening and jumping and climbing, the liquid control proves to be great strength.

Explore a lot of fun. In terms of purely technical, Kena: Bridge of Spirits offers an Open World. The world that gives a very coherent overall picture with its forests, caves, mountains and the village depends entirely, so you do not have to endure loading times if you do not bite into the grass or uses the speed. Yes, actually there is also on the PlayStation 5, on which we have drawn the game, charging screens, which are always only one second to see.

A real open World game in the true sense is Kena: Bridge of Spirits is not, as it is very linearly guided through the world and many areas can not be entered in the beginning. There is still enough to discover. Everywhere vases, baskets or boxes are hidden from which their gems will be achieved, which can exchange them in the world market carts against headgear for the rott. They playfully have no reason, but since the little ghosts look so cute, it is still pleased if you can put them a fox cap or a dinoxy.

A lot to collect

Karma, a different currency that earns her in the gameplay, serves to unlock new skills in an uncomfortable upgrade system. There are not many of them, but every single improvement is very welcome and expanded your action possibilities in the fight. At the touch of a button when targeting with the arch, slow down the time or to make the rott from your rod a kind of hammer, which inflict significant damage to all enemies in the nearby area, are simply very valuable upgrades.

Incidentally, to be able to unlock all improvements, you will have to find more rott and thus increase the rotting level. Overall, there are 100 of the cute beings, of which you really go on the PS5 every single one. They are sometimes well hidden, which is why it is worthwhile to keep your eyes open and explore the environment exactly. In addition, there are other nice collectibles. For example, you will find ghost letters at the end of optional climbing passages. Then brings her to the respective mailbox in the village to enter buildings there, which were previously closed.

There are also some memories of deceased who provide you with information about their lives, and places where Kena has meditated, increasing their maximum life energy. Curious chests, in turn, confront them with partly quite crunchy fighting challenges that are to be mastered to unlock new hats and earn more gems. Where you needed for the story alone eight to ten hours, complete lists can spend up to 15 hours with Kena: Bridge of Spirits, which is perfectly fine given the price of 40 euros.

Who can animation films can obviously also video game graphics

We must not forget that this is an indie title, even the first work of a small studio, which looks like it would have made an experienced AAA developer. Visually, Kena: Bridge of Spirits certainly not at the level of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, but as opposed to the InsomniaC title also appear for the PS4 and still brings a lot from the PlayStation 5. In performance mode, the rott romp on the screen at 60 frames per second. Here you have to do without natives 4k, but you have a liquid gaming experience. You can live with 30 fps, you play in Fidelity mode and enjoys the full 4K resolution, in which the detailed environments come again a bit better. But we have always played in performance mode and that does not regret. Kena: Bridge of Spirits also looks absolutely fantastic. Just the very atmospheric lighting and the great animated figures are an eye-catcher and sometimes forget that you really play a game here and does not look a movie.

Speaking of movie Looking: In advanced intermediate sequences, Ember Lab shows again clearer, where its roots lie. The clips are excellently staged and look chic, but we ll find it a pity that they run with a fairly low frame rate. Maybe that s an artistic decision, maybe you wanted to save simply space. Animation films that are produced for (home) cinema are always more fluid.

The soundtrack of Kena: Bridge of Spirits is absolutely tip. The orchestral pieces that have a very Asian touch (which fits perfectly for setting), every movie would also be perfect. Especially the beautiful flute sounds and the pieces with singing have done it to us. The English language output is neat, but does not stand out very. There is no German setting, but well-translated subtitles - well, mostly at least. In a few exceptions, the texts were in English with us. And where we are about mistakes right now: we did not land through a glitch in black and then had to reload the game. But since it is quite often stored automatically (you can also secure your progress at any time), we started quasi at the exact same point and had nothing lost.

Conclusion

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is one of the most warm games that we have ever played. The little rott we immediately closed in our heart and now we actually wait for the corresponding plush figures. But they are not only sugar sweet, but also an enrichment for the gameplay, even if they are not so much the focus on how to get used by the pikmin from their games. Kena: Bridge of Spirits otherwise scores with excellent pacing and clean game design. The game dares nothing new, but what makes it do well. The extremely successful presentation and the flat, but beautifully narrated history ensure the rest. We can only put you on Ember Labs first video game and are curious what the studio is approaching next.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Per

Very well-balanced gameplay mix

Great world that you like to explore

Useful upgrade system

Fun, challenging fights

Lace look

Beautiful soundtrack

A lot to collect

Impeccable control

The rott are simply sugar!

Contra

Everything just known food

Story is very shallow

4.5 / 5 stars

Now Kena: Buy Bridge of Spirits!