Today was a play Steam Deck in bed kind of a day. Was having one of those dizzy kind of days, but I’m able to handle side-scrollers ok. Next time I play I predict a not lame boss battle will be awaiting me!
Indie Gaming
Kena: Photo Mode Edition
Another adventurous evening was spent in the Pixar-Perfect looking world of Kena: Bridge of Spirits! I discovered Photo Mode and it all went down hill from there.
I’ve made more rot friends, destroyed the Wood Knight, and slowly mastering archery!
I’ve mostly been playing it on Desktop. It runs ok on Steam Deck, if you don’t mind playing at 30FPS. 99% of my gameplay has been with a controller, but for some of the trials I had no problems playing keyboard and mouse.
It’s nice to have the option to choose between the two.
Piercing The Soul
Got to learn archery tonight in Kena: Bridge of Spirits. It was a fun reward for beating a boss battle.
The bow also allows you to grapple to unreachable places if you happen to notice a large blue flower. It helped me reach a nice meditation spot. Great for permanently increasing your health, AND a good spot to call it a day. There’s another boss up ahead that has convinced me to call it a night.
Conquering The Seven Sirens (Contains Spoilers)
I’ve been having fun in Shantae and the Seven Sirens! They must have had extra money leftover to put some of these cutscenes together… I mean look at the intro video, it has so much energy:
Most of the cutscenes in game are pretty short, but they do offer a nice touch. I kinda want to see a Shantae anime now.
In Seven Sirens, you’re on vacation! Actually it’s for the Half Genie festival, where you perform other Half Genies with different powers… until all but Shantae mysteriously disappear.
Now, I don’t want to spoil it for you… but the cause of the disappearance of the other Half Genies miiiiiiiight have something to do with these Sirens. This potted plant Siren was as irritatingly deadly as she was adorable.
After freeing one of your fellow sisters of fabulousness, they will reward you with a coin that will allow you to shapeshift instantly into a certain form. In this case I can become a newt and climb up walls, very similarly to the Monkey form in Half Genie Hero. So far I’ve managed to destroy two baddies and save two buddies!
I still have tons more exploring to do, but so far I’m really enjoying it! I even played a little more on my Steam Deck this morning. Next time I play it’ll be under the sea!
Saturday Aesthetic: Retro
Been in an old-school aesthetic kind of vibe tonight. Getting closer to finishing my Lilac save, and I’m starting to get the hang of playing Neera.
I’ve played Tempest before, but tonight was the first time I tried Black Widow, and a couple of others. Amazing how these old games can still be fun.
Hello Down There!
I have four different saves going in Freedom Planet 2 (one for each character) and decided to give Neera a bit of progress.She takes a little bit to get used to, but I’m starting to figure out her ice staff.
They were also kind enough to throw in an in game arcade game to play at the Battlesphere! I got sucked into it enough that I even got an achievement! Really like the little details devs put into these games.
Getting Ready To Headbang To My Hearts Content
Starting a new Shantae adventure! I have Shantae and the Seven Sirens up and running on my Steam Deck!
I’ve gathered up most of the genies before calling it a night – just wanted to whet my appetite a little until the next time I get to play!
It’s Been Another Unreal Weekend With Kena!
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. 😀
Daughter Of The Genies
The last bit of Shantae: Half Genie Hero was a true test of my patience. At one point it was like playing a lava infested Flappy Bird game, and the boss battles were pretty brutal, but not as brutal as the ride out. But the challenge is what makes it fun! Now all that’s left is to go back and plink away at the other achievements in my spare time. There is also additional DLC for this game, but the reviews don’t make it look very promising. If they ever choose to put it on a sale or put it into a bundle I’ll consider it.
But for now I can happily add this to my list of finished games!
All You Need Is Love… and Starfish
Finally began my journey to the hideout of Risky Boots! The water level kinda reminds me of the scrolling Mario levels, but with added mermaid power! Which is excellent because there was a lot going on the screen. I picked up some friends along the way, and they helped me destroy my obstacles to help me get to the next area:
Now it all comes down to using everything I’ve learned in all the other levels. As the end draws closer, I’m relishing every moment drawing closer to it! I’ll have to leave off in the lava underground… running tonight’s SteamOS update kinda took away from my playtime.