Kena: Bridge of Spirits plays it safe — and that's OK
Kena: Bridge of Spirits plays information technology rubber — and that'due south OK
Kena: Bridge of Spirits was i of the first games nosotros ever saw for the PS5. Every bit such, fans have been waiting for more than a yr to have control of Kena and guide her through a fantasy world inspired by Due east Asian mythology. During the Tribeca Flick Festival, I got a chance to go hands-on with Kena, and got a substantial taste of this spirited action game, which will debut on August 24 for both PS5 and PC.
My demo comprised an 60 minutes of gameplay from what appeared to exist an early part of the adventure. I took control of Kena: a teenage girl who has the ability to communicate with the spirit earth – equally the game's title suggests. There's a distinct Avatar: The Last Airbender vibe, since Kena wields a magic staff and acts every bit a medium between the mortal globe and a more fantastical one. And, like Avatar, Kena: Bridge of Spirits draws inspiration from East Asian folklore, in its visuals, setting and story.
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For case: The demo begins with Kena agreeing to track down a lost spirit named Taro. Only she can encounter the two mischievous spirits, Saiya and Beni, who know the way to the sage Rusu's house. To find Taro's trail, she stands atop fonts of spiritual energy, and dons an enchanted pull a fast one on mask. Kena: Bridge of Spirits has a whole set of magical rules that govern its world, and internalizing the game's world-edifice is very much part of the adventure.
Kena: Span of Spirits gameplay
Gameplay-wise, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a traditional action/risk title. The first thing I had to do was find my mode to Rusu'due south house, which was far away, through a dark wood and on top of a daunting superlative. When I entered the forest, I found that foreboding red flowers blocked my manner. In order to become rid of them, I'd have to larn two important skills: fighting off enemies, and harnessing the Rot.
Start off, combat in Kena is pretty uncomplicated. The ruby flowers y'all'll see periodically spawn diverse types of enemies. Basic varieties wield axes and shields, and crave either light or heavy attacks with the staff to defeat. Larger foes can lob ranged spells at you lot, and require blocking, dodging – or using the Rot.
The Rot are Kena's virtually creative gameplay mechanic, although they bear more than than a passing resemblance to Nintendo's Pikmin. Every bit Kena explores the earth, she'll recruit small, beautiful, shadowy creatures known collectively as the Rot. Out of gainsay, they can help her solve puzzles by smashing through barriers and manipulating afar objects. In combat, they're Kena's only way to destroy the red flowers that spawn foes. They can also paralyze stronger foes, even so, so combat tin can become a balancing act betwixt using the Rot to stay alive, and using the Rot to end a fight.
While the Rot are a creative touch, the residuum of Kena's gameplay should be pretty familiar if y'all've played an activeness/adventure title sometime betwixt the PS2 era and at present. After my first few combat sessions, the map opened up onto a series of isolated, rocky ledges, and I had to platform my way across to Rusu's business firm. You can double-jump, shimmy beyond ledges and even utilize the Rot to stabilize platforms for short periods of time. Over again, in that location's nada groundbreaking here, simply it all works pretty well.
From at that place, the demo proceeded conventionally. Rusu's house had been overtaken by the malicious red flowers, which necessitated a curt trip into a nearby cave (preceded past an extremely frustrating gainsay department; Kena cannot have many hits, and her healing abilities are express during battle). There, I encountered my first dominate: a fearsome Kappa demon. I dodged his projectiles, fought off his minions, used the Rot to paralyze him and whittled down his health over a few minutes.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits outlook
After I'd rescued Rusu, I got one more ability to close out the demo: transforming my staff into a bow and arrows. After a few increasingly difficult target do sections, I got to put my skills to the examination against the Woods Knight boss: a monster that was highly resistant to melee, but had vulnerable yellowish crystals all over its body. By sniping them with the bow, I was able to incapacitate and down it with only a few blows.
That was the end of the demo, salve for a few minutes to explore Rusu'south house and play with the upgrade system. Equally you defeat enemies and explore the environment, y'all'll get diverse kinds of currency for new staff and bow abilities. You tin besides hunt down well-hidden Rot upgrades, which let you use their abilities more ofttimes.
Having played it for about an hour, what struck me most most Kena: Span of Spirits was simply how conventional it feels. The story and setting seem promising, and it's heartening to encounter such an ambitious production from a tiny studio like Ember Lab. But I wonder whether gamers will approach Kena in that light, or treat it like the adjacent indispensable PS5 console exclusive.
Either style, Kena seems worth checking out for action/take chances fans, particularly those who want something family-friendly. Since nosotros never actually got a neat Avatar: The Final Airbender game, this may be the side by side-all-time thing.
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Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/kena-bridge-of-spirits-hands-on
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