Kena: Bridge of Spirits

 PlayStation 5
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1291 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,034 out of 1291
  2. Mixed: 162 out of 1291
  3. Negative: 95 out of 1291

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  1. Burzyk
    May 29, 2022
    7
    Pretty, fun and satisfying little game. Too bad that Xbox has this kind of games in Game Pass, and here (Sony) you have to pay for it.
  2. slaine130177
    Oct 12, 2021
    7
    Le jeu est trop juste pour mériter le 8/10, mais mériterait un 7.5.
    Plutôt beau, on sent que les développeurs ont l'expérience de l'animation et nous en fait profiter. Les décors sont chatoyants, les effets plutôt sympa mais on voit tout de même les limites d'une petite équipe. Pas mal de bugs de collision, des pop ups de décors, l'eau qui est belle de loin mais insipide de près, des    Le jeu est trop juste pour mériter le 8/10, mais mériterait un 7.5.
    Plutôt beau, on sent que les développeurs ont l'expérience de l'animation et nous en fait profiter. Les décors sont chatoyants, les effets plutôt sympa mais on voit tout de même les limites d'une petite équipe. Pas mal de bugs de collision, des pop ups de décors, l'eau qui est belle de loin mais insipide de près, des soucis de gameplay (lourdeurs ou latence dans les commandes assez souvent), etc...

    Pour un 1er jeu, cela reste un bel exploit et une belle aventure. Les boss sont sympas et certains défis plus corcés. Ca manque encore de vie (tout est atrocement vide). De même l'histoire des chapeaux est inutile (dommage qu'il n'y ait aucune incidence sur nos compagnons, cela reste que cosmétique), donc argent inutile, quête aux trésors inutile, si ce n'est pour avoir le platine.

    Une belle promesse pour l'avenir et un titre qui se fait avec plaisir, tranquillement, sans prétention mais rafraichissant.    … Expand
  3. BluSegov
    Sep 24, 2021
    7
    What so special about This PS4 game???
    It’s good game, puzzle was good and nice graphics done by an indie studio.
    Fanboy
  4. Bloodwingxjorn
    Sep 22, 2021
    7
    I had high expectations when going into this game. I wanted this to be my new favorite but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Basic animations like jumping feel off. Side characters not really that interesting, not that special of a story and combat way to easy. (Expert) It took me a couple of hours to push through the beginning started enjoying it a bit more after upgrades and moreI had high expectations when going into this game. I wanted this to be my new favorite but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Basic animations like jumping feel off. Side characters not really that interesting, not that special of a story and combat way to easy. (Expert) It took me a couple of hours to push through the beginning started enjoying it a bit more after upgrades and more combat skills. Main character is cool, combat is fun even though it is easy. Game looks very beautiful. I would wait for for it to be on sale for 50% off. You will have a solid experience. I went in the wrong when I anticipated it to  much.… Expand
  5. zubiecup9999
    Sep 27, 2021
    7
    For the first several hours, I really loved this game. Unfortunately, towards the end, it just became an aggravating bosh rush. Boss after boss with almost nothing in between. I ended up sighing every time I realized that each boss near the finale wasn't the FINAL boss. It's pretty rare that I just want a game to end so I can see the story through, but this is just one of those titles.For the first several hours, I really loved this game. Unfortunately, towards the end, it just became an aggravating bosh rush. Boss after boss with almost nothing in between. I ended up sighing every time I realized that each boss near the finale wasn't the FINAL boss. It's pretty rare that I just want a game to end so I can see the story through, but this is just one of those titles.

    Honestly, up until about the ten-hour mark, I would have given this game a 9, but I truly believe the game overstays its welcome. If you explore even a little, you will unlock every useful ability well before the end of the game, so that sense of progression completely evaporates way too prematurely.

    Overall, it's certainly a solid first effort from this new studio, but the fact that this title was created by an inexperienced developer simply becomes all too clear the deeper you get into it.    … Expand
  6. IntoxicatedRush
    Oct 14, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I like the story, graphics and music it was pretty fun to play. Now i'm playing on master difficulty legit and it is broken with the boss fights because you get attack and killed when you in an animation and that need to be address.… Expand
  7. Haannss
    Nov 17, 2022
    7
    Good work for an indie company. The art direction is just amazing and graphics are also good. The game is quite simple and intuitive to control. Major control issues, specially when new abbilities have been collected, because the control interpretation is not good. The difficulty is high at some points, but that's not the main problem. The worst part is that you really feel the game isGood work for an indie company. The art direction is just amazing and graphics are also good. The game is quite simple and intuitive to control. Major control issues, specially when new abbilities have been collected, because the control interpretation is not good. The difficulty is high at some points, but that's not the main problem. The worst part is that you really feel the game is unfair, and that bosses could kill you whenever they want. You win just because they allow you to, by not doing the combo that would kill you in two seconds. That feeling keeps going on final bosses all the second half of the game, and it's a pity because the game could have been incredible if more balanced.

    The story is good, and it's easy to discover Kena's world from her perspective. You always want to know a bit more about it.

    All in all, the game is very good in some aspects, and it could have been a great game if the control and difficulty were a little bit more balanced, instead of a souls wannabe. A pity.    … Expand
  8. Schmaerzkeks
    Feb 24, 2022
    7
    Für ein Indie Spiel wirklich traumhaft. Die Story hätte etwas komplexer sein können.
    + Optik
    + Gameplay
    + Charaktere
    - Umfang zu gering
    - Story zu blass
  9. tracyjnsn
    Jan 28, 2022
    7
    This is important for every buyer to know that this game, similarly following other sony titles has incorporated LGBT elements. This time, into a game also aimed at children. There is a lesbian couple on which a subplot is heavily based upon and it is described heavilty through cutscenes about how much affection both have for each other. I believe this is definitely not suitable forThis is important for every buyer to know that this game, similarly following other sony titles has incorporated LGBT elements. This time, into a game also aimed at children. There is a lesbian couple on which a subplot is heavily based upon and it is described heavilty through cutscenes about how much affection both have for each other. I believe this is definitely not suitable for children as children are too young and innocent to be exposed to such topics and understand them, better for them to discover it on their own as they reach adulthood rather then play with their mind and indirectly fill them with lgbt things. This game should have Teen rating.… Expand
  10. StIwY
    Jul 26, 2022
    7
    Game is mediocre. Weak design, weak plot, the last boss without checkpoints is a bulls_it, Rot searching is useless along with hats...what's the point ? And at cherry on the top, is quite short. I was expecting much more.....
  11. tsznx
    Feb 18, 2022
    7
    The game is good, very interesting at the beginning, but it gets very repetitive after some time. Nice look, but lack of NPCs. The world looks very empty. And I have to say, some bosses are too hard compared to all the rest of the game. I haven't finished the game yet, but seriously considering to stop playing.
  12. GRX3m0m
    Dec 24, 2022
    7
    Excellent game, breathtaking graphics, but completely ridiculous difficulty spikes in certain bosses.
  13. Richard4949
    Aug 17, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There’s a lot of good in this game for sure. The graphics are simply amazing. The world is surprisingly large and extremely fun to explore. The combat is fairly simple, but some of the boss battles are very difficult. You’ll see what I’m talking about towards the end. And there is no checkpoints either. And there is the worst camera assist system ever. Like, who ever approved this needs to be fired and go work at Pizza Hut. Ember labs clearly can make a good game and they’re competent, so I don’t understand how this made it in. Even when you turn it off, it still will pop up and prevent you from looking at the boss you’re trying to attack or parry, and it’ll highlight what it thinks you should be doing. It literally prevented me from beating the final boss many times. It’s beyond frustrating. If you’ve played it, then you know.… Expand
  14. StaTplay6
    May 21, 2022
    7
    I find this game fun and challenging. I wish there was a 2 player mode though. The controls are hard to learn at first but you will understand them eventually.
  15. Evac1996
    May 22, 2023
    7
    I like the game, for an indie game its awsome, great features with the dualsense, good gameplay mechanics, and ok history
  16. gkehn
    Dec 21, 2022
    7
    + world and graphics
    + solid, difficult combat
    + story emotional at points
    + the rot

    - story a bit jointed
    - not much depth
  17. JoseCal
    Jul 11, 2023
    7
    I think it’s okay. Honestly, it’s very repetitive and the graphics could have been a bit better. The story was very weak, but at least the gameplay was smooth and quite enjoyable.
  18. RGames2k
    Sep 7, 2023
    7
    اللعبة رائعه
    القصه غير محمسه ولكن القيم بلاي جيد
    الشخصيات جيده
    الجرافيكس جيد

    اللعبه جيده
  19. thaesino
    Jan 27, 2023
    6
    Wonderful game. Nice music. Nice story. Nice, simple combat (no DS here, which is a nice break sometimes as everyone these days seems to want to copy FromSoftware).

    Only one reason I game a 8/10... the animations and voiceovers just aren't there. Small studio, I believe, which is fine. But something about the animation feels unpolished - almost like Kena isn't "attached" to the world.    Wonderful game. Nice music. Nice story. Nice, simple combat (no DS here, which is a nice break sometimes as everyone these days seems to want to copy FromSoftware).

    Only one reason I game a 8/10... the animations and voiceovers just aren't there. Small studio, I believe, which is fine. But something about the animation feels unpolished - almost like Kena isn't "attached" to the world. The facial gestures are also really limited which probably means there was no mocap. And finally... voiceovers at times sound (in English at least) as though they hired the first people they could find off of Tik Tok or something.

    But definitely give this one a try if you own a PS4/PS5. Wonderful fun, and the closest thing to a Zelda game you'll play in a while.

    EDIT (after 100%): Buy it on sale. What I thought was just the beginning 1/3rd of the game ended up actually being the whole game. Because all the narrative parts didn't quite connect with one another, the various parts of the game felt more like side-quests than different chapters of the same story. I'm not quite sure why the studio didn't hire better writers if they knew that other parts of the game would naturally suffer under the limitation of a smaller studio.    … Expand
  20. Edgard86
    Nov 20, 2021
    6
    This game is so boring. So much repetitive, the difficuld doens not match with the gameplay. The gameplay is too generic. I wouldn`t buy this game at lauch is i could come back. Buy it when it has for about 50% cheappear than now.
  21. Rad_Pitt
    Sep 23, 2021
    6
    No idea what game everyone else played but mine was full of jank, cheese, and bugs. Has some potential but fails to get remotely close to it.
  22. paduladiego
    May 25, 2022
    6
    BR = Jogo, bonito e fluído, porém completamente desbalanceado, quanto mais forte fica menos dano causa e mais dano sofre... ainda com muitos bugs e falhas nos processos de luta de colisão. jogo chega a ficar chato e revoltante devido ao desbalanceamento de golpes e falhas em ataques.
    - - - -
    EN = The game is beautiful and fluid, but completely unbalanced, the stronger it gets, the more    BR = Jogo, bonito e fluído, porém completamente desbalanceado, quanto mais forte fica menos dano causa e mais dano sofre... ainda com muitos bugs e falhas nos processos de luta de colisão. jogo chega a ficar chato e revoltante devido ao desbalanceamento de golpes e falhas em ataques.
    - - - -
    EN = The game is beautiful and fluid, but completely unbalanced, the stronger it gets, the more minor damage it causes and the more damage it suffers... still with many bugs and flaws in the collision fighting processes. The game gets dull and revolting due to the unbalanced blows and failures in attacks.    … Expand
  23. Lajouasse
    Sep 22, 2021
    6
    Un jeu vraiment sympa mais un peu trop linéaire et classique.
    Un jeu indé très beau, on sent que le studio viens de l'animation.
    Pour le gameplay je suis un peu déçu, c'est assez redondant et manque d'inspiration. C'est du déjà vu. L'histoire est sympa, mais sans plus, un peu trop enfantin pour moi et vraiment maladroit par moment, Comme certaines scènes qui ne sont pas du tout    Un jeu vraiment sympa mais un peu trop linéaire et classique.
    Un jeu indé très beau, on sent que le studio viens de l'animation.
    Pour le gameplay je suis un peu déçu, c'est assez redondant et manque d'inspiration. C'est du déjà vu.
    L'histoire est sympa, mais sans plus, un peu trop enfantin pour moi et vraiment maladroit par moment, Comme certaines scènes qui ne sont pas du tout cohérentes avec e qui c'est passé plus tôt. Des dialogues un peu long et sans intérêt etc... Je pense que le fait qu'ils viennent de l'animation ils ont essayé de faire comme dans un film d'animation mais pour un jeu ça ne marche toujours car on est actif contrairement à un film.
    Le jeu est un peu trop linéaire, on suit l'histoire et pas grand de plus. Peu de chose à coté à faire, peu de possibilité d'exploration et de liberté.
    J'ai eu un bug super chiant dés le début après le tutoriel lors de la première quête quand j'ai récupéré le masque de Taro. Dés que je le mettais je rester en mode vision FPS. Très chiant et même en prenant une ancienne sauvegarde le problème continuer. J'ai dû recommencer une nouvelle partie et tout recommencer.
    La musique est sympa et correspond très bien à l'univers du jeu.
    Un jeu indé sympa mais un peu maladroit et qui n'apporte rien de vraiment original    … Expand
  24. Bodipo86
    Feb 21, 2022
    6
    Creo que kena es un buen juego. Creo que no es notable ya que en lo personal me ha parecido un juego un tanto aburrido en sus combates, exceptuando quizás el último Boss que realmente destacaba con respecto a los otros. Un juego entretenido con puzzles sencillos pero funcionales y una historia que guía bien al juego en sus mecánicas. Pero su punto fuerte es a nivel artístico y visual, queCreo que kena es un buen juego. Creo que no es notable ya que en lo personal me ha parecido un juego un tanto aburrido en sus combates, exceptuando quizás el último Boss que realmente destacaba con respecto a los otros. Un juego entretenido con puzzles sencillos pero funcionales y una historia que guía bien al juego en sus mecánicas. Pero su punto fuerte es a nivel artístico y visual, que sencillamente es excepcional. En resumen un juego audiovisualmente muy vistoso pero con una jugabulidad que no es nada del otro mundo.… Expand
  25. 5thavenuecrazy
    Oct 4, 2021
    6
    While I was fairly excited for this game, ultimately I didn't really like it and I quit after an hour or two and I have no plans to go back.

    The game is unimaginative and boring. Everything the game does has been done by a thousand other games. Kena adds nothing new to the mix and it is hard to keep on going. Add to this the same repetitive gameplay, the boring obtuse puzzles, and    While I was fairly excited for this game, ultimately I didn't really like it and I quit after an hour or two and I have no plans to go back.

    The game is unimaginative and boring. Everything the game does has been done by a thousand other games. Kena adds nothing new to the mix and it is hard to keep on going. Add to this the same repetitive gameplay, the boring obtuse puzzles, and the enemy difficulty that is all over the place and it doesn't make for a very fun game. This game might have had a review score of 7 or 8 from me had it came out a decade or two ago but right now I don't see how anyone could play this and think anything other than this is a "blah" game. Generic as can be. Nothing inherently bad, just nothing to keep you wanting to go on other than maybe "to get your money's worth" since you can't sell this digital-only game.    … Expand
  26. GrubletsOnIce
    Oct 2, 2021
    6
    Great puzzles, platforming and challenging combat, but don't be fooled by it's Pixar/Rated E for Everyone. There is gay couple representation here. This isn't for children mind you. Parents and/or the rating board should be aware.
  27. marcos979797
    Oct 14, 2021
    6
    It makes it obvius it's their first attempt at creating games.... Graphic is cool, soundtracks too, but it totally needs a revision in originality, plot, and environment variety (there is just a forest and some snow at the end of the game)
    The plot is super predictable and character has no personality
    The gameplay and the puzzles are still very enjoyable
  28. Daanvandam
    Jun 17, 2022
    6
    I had pretty high expectations going into this hoping the devs would not follow common western design trends but when the uncharted climbing sections came in my heart sank. I think its best to go into this game blind and set the expectations somewhat lower. For some reason I thought the action gameplay was going to be great but the combat is really simple. Not as precanned animation asI had pretty high expectations going into this hoping the devs would not follow common western design trends but when the uncharted climbing sections came in my heart sank. I think its best to go into this game blind and set the expectations somewhat lower. For some reason I thought the action gameplay was going to be great but the combat is really simple. Not as precanned animation as Spider-Man but it is close sadly. Length of the game was perfect though.… Expand
  29. Gosticouilles
    Aug 7, 2022
    6
    I was really looking forward into playing this game and sadly, I'm really really disappointed. Besides being pretty, this game doesn't offer much. I feel like playing a Ps2 Remake. Mecanics are really outdated, the music is sometimes good but sometimes really annoying and the combat system is one of the worst I've seen in decades. I usually play my games on hard or normal difficulty and II was really looking forward into playing this game and sadly, I'm really really disappointed. Besides being pretty, this game doesn't offer much. I feel like playing a Ps2 Remake. Mecanics are really outdated, the music is sometimes good but sometimes really annoying and the combat system is one of the worst I've seen in decades. I usually play my games on hard or normal difficulty and I just put this one on story mode since controls aren't responding at all and bosses are just damage sponges that take 50 hits+ to kill. Parrying is really tedious and frustrating too. I would recommend to play this game when it's 20$ or less :(… Expand
  30. Tonykov
    Jan 29, 2022
    6
    A Zelda game with Dark Souls level of difficulty bosses. An example of mixing two concepts and ending with a result worse than the sum of its parts. Frustrating final bosses destroy the overall positive perception of the game.
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Awards & Rankings

34
#34 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2021
11
#11 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 82 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 71 out of 82
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 82
  3. Negative: 0 out of 82
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 18, 2022
    80
    Kena is a playful and beautiful adventure, but it does not bring any breathtaking innovation. But it has the potential to take you to a fairy tale and let you experience the story of a young girl, which is a balanced experience.
  2. CD-Action
    Jan 19, 2022
    90
    Ember Lab didn’t try to reinvent the wheel. Instead the developers opted for tried and true mechanics that entertained us time and again in many action adventure games, and mixed them in an almost perfect way. The beginning might be a little slow, but when Kena: Bridge of Spirits gains momentum, it becomes truly great. It’s hard for me to point out any significant flaws apart from overall lack of originality. What a debut! [12/2021, p.74]
  3. Impulsegamer
    Oct 28, 2021
    100
    Kena: Bridge of Spirits should take most gamers around 10 to 12 hours to complete, depending on the amount of exploring and the level of difficulty. While the blockbusters games of 2021 continue to deliver the same ho-hum experience of 2021, Kena is a much needed ray of sunshine to the current choices of titles available and more importantly, looks fantastic on the PlayStation 5.
    Read full review
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