Back during the Steam Lunar New Year Sale I picked up Kena: Bridge of Spirits. I saw gameplay for it over the holidays and it immediately caught my attention. So far this game has managed to suck about four hours out of me, and what a glorious four hours it was! It features beautiful cinematic visuals that could compare to a Pixar film, a beautiful soundtrack, and top notch voice acting. I played this on my TV today and it felt like controlling a movie.
Kena (pronounced Kay-nuh)is a young Spirit Guide, who makes use of her magic to help souls that are unable to pass on. She’s on a journey to find a sacred mountain shrine, and befriends creatures known as “Rot” along her travels. Her little friends can aid her in purifying the forests of evil, and are strong enough to lift objects for Kena.
The game features a giant world to explore, souls in need of saving and a forest in need of magical intervention. When exploring it feels like a modern Tomb Raider game, but when fighting it feels like Dark Souls without all the cursing if you die in battle. Then it finishes off with a touch of Okami, thanks to the Rot aiding your spiritual power to cleanse the forest of evil.
In some areas you can unlock what are called “Forest Tears”. Forest Tears enable the Rot to unlock their full potential – allowing you to clean up the area and uncover areas you couldn’t access before.
I might play a bit more on Steam Deck before bed; it was nice to play it on the couch earlier, though. And even nicer, the cloud saves going between the two. 😀