'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Kena: Bridge of Spirits, published and developed by Ember Lab, is an action-adventure video game. While it is not strictly open-world, it does allow some degree of open exploration.
The protagonist of Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a young spirit guide who helps deceased people move from the physical to spirit world using her magical abilities.
Kena uses a staff to attack enemies while her pulse ability acts as a shield, helping her defend herself. She explores puzzles through the map while some small spirit animals known as Rots help her complete tasks and battle against enemies.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits has a Zelda-like experience while the graphics are straight out of Pixar movies backed by good gameplay and level design. Presented through a third-person perspective, it is available on PlayStation and PCs.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits blends Disney's iconic visual with Zelda's unique gameplay
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is set in a fictional location inspired by Eastern locations such as Japan and Bali, which doesn't seem to be her place of origin.
It starts with Kena learning all the basic movements and combats necessary to progress inside an abandoned cave. From there, she starts to explore the forest in search of corrupted spirits to purify.
The main village has been through a lot of tragedy and has been abandoned since then. As Kena continues to explore, she restores the corrupted parts of the places to their actual state.
In the game's lore, deceased people can remain between the physical and spirit worlds if they are traumatized or feel unfinished. She tries to understand their difficulties and help them achieve their liberation.
The scar from her hand to shoulder represents a traumatic experience with her father that will be explored as the story progresses. The other characters, Saiya and Beni, are two young children whose elder brother Taro is a restless spirit.
The world and its puzzles
The campaign of Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a treat to the eye with its level design and its puzzle-solving.
Kena uses a staff throughout the story, which helps her solve these puzzles and changes its shape to a bow when long-range shooting is needed. It also acts as a grappling hook to reach spots that are unreachable otherwise.
These puzzles and some combat elements rely on the Rots. Players collect these "Pixar" look-a-like forest entities, who act almost like an army of ants that Kena can control.
These entities lift heavy blocks near a wall so users can jump on top of it, carry crystal rocks to complete puzzles so doors can open, using Kena's pulse ability. Another major power is that they can absorb a Forest Tear and revert to its original beastlike form, clearing any corruption blocking Kena's way.
The Rots during combat can distract enemies and land clean shots at them, or they can power Kena's most potent attacks. To perform any such action, gamers must collect yellow courage orbs by attacking enemies or taking damage.
Rots play an essential part throughout the title, especially when dealing the final blow to certain enemies or clearing lingering corruption in the areas.
These features make Kena: Bridge of Spirits an enjoyable experience, along with the mind-calming OST that has to be mentioned.
