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[kyliethicc]

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an indie game, self-published by a new developer Ember Lab. It's their first game. It's a singleplayer story-based action game with some platforming and puzzles. Out today on PS4 and PS5 and PC (Epic store). It costs $40 USD / 40€ EURO (and you get both PS4 and PS5 versions). Digital only for now, physical release in November.

Metacritic score is now 81.
OpenCritic score is now 82.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Kena: Bridge of Spirits for PlayStation 5 game reviews & Metacritic score: Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a story-driven action adventure set in a charming world rich with exploration and fast-paced combat. Players find and grow a team of...

www.metacritic.com

Kena: Bridge of Spirits Reviews

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is rated 'Strong' after being reviewed by 119 critics, with an overall average score of 81. It's ranked in the top 14% of games and recommended by 83% of critics.

opencritic.com

Some written reviews:

Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review – A Breathtaking and Captivating Wonderland

Kena: Bridge of Spirits by Ember Labs takes players on a poignant and adventous story that hits all of the right notes.

www.dualshockers.com

Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review - Kena: Bridge Of Spirits Review – One Of The Best Adventures Of The Year - Game Informer

Ember Lab's debut game is a hit that you don't want to miss.

www.gameinformer.com

Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review - Smells Like Keen Spirit

Kena doesn't do much new, but does everything well

www.thegamer.com

Kena: Bridge of Spirits review - a gorgeous yet unoriginal adventure

In a short introductory text, Kena: Bridge of Spirits sketches out its world, before throwing you right into its midst.…

www.eurogamer.net

Review: Kena: Bridge of Spirits

I wouldn't call Kena: Bridge of Spirits overly ambitious. More like "strategically ambitious." It's easy to overlook the flaws and have fun.

www.destructoid.com

Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review - IGN

www.ign.com

Kena: Bridge Of Spirits Review - Don't Fear The Reaper

Kena: Bridge of Spirits uses a different perspective on familiar gameplay ideas to create tons of exciting combat and a deep emotional connection with its world.

www.gamespot.com

Kena: Bridge of Spirits review

A great-looking but conventional adventure.

www.pcgamer.com

Kena: Bridge of Spirits review - "The Rot really are a stroke of genius"

"The Rot really are a stroke of genius"

www.gamesradar.com

Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a short but sweet action-adventure game with a heartwarming story and great graphics that make it feel like a Disney movie.

gamerant.com

Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review – GameSpew

Out on PS4, PS5 and PC, Kena: Bridge of Spirits from Ember Lab is a gorgeous journey packed with action and heart. Our review.

www.gamespew.com

Kena: Bridge of Spirits review-in-progress — a magical adventure with action

I like Pixar movies. I like action-adventure games. I like Kena: Bridge of Spirits! This indie title is available on PS5, PS4, and PC.

venturebeat.com

Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review: A Legendary Adventure | Digital Trends

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is the defining console exclusive of the PS5's first year.

www.digitaltrends.com

Kena: Bridge of Spirits promises magic, but can’t deliver much of it

You’ve played this game before

www.polygon.com

Kena: Bridge of Spirits: TODA la información - PS5, PC, PS4 - Vandal

Kena: Bridge of the Spirits es un videojuego de aventura y acción para PlayStation 5 y PC que nos ofrece, además de una enternecedora y épica historia,...

vandal.elespanol.com

Kena Recensione PS5: un'avventura splendida da vedere e da giocare

Abbiamo giocato a lungo a Kena Bridge of Spirits, disponibile su PS5, PS4 e PC: un action adventure imperdibile.

www.everyeye.it

Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review

Here's to new stories in video games.

screenrant.com

Review: Kena: Bridge of Spirits is this year’s best Zelda 35th-anniversary gift

Studio's first-ever game is a 15-hour adventuring triumph, GOTY contender.

arstechnica.com

Review: Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PS5) - A Gorgeous Adventure with an Old-School Approach

Hot to Rot

www.pushsquare.com

Kena Bridge of Spirits review: A PS2 throwback, for better or worse

Excellent visuals elevate an inoffensive and generic action-adventure game for PlayStation and PC.

www.videogameschronicle.com

Some video reviews:

Karak




davidjaffe

 

[VeganElduderino]

Gameinformer 9/10
Polygon din't like it

 

[tmlDan]

so happy its getting reviewed well! Can't wait to play it.

 

[RoadHazard]

Guess it does NOT suck, and neither is it pathetically short!

 

[BaneIsPain]

Pre order justified for me. Gonna start it soon

 

[Perrott]

Holy shit, much higher than I ever expected.

Congrats to the team, it seems that they nailed it.

 

[ManaByte]

No way this is an indie game.

 

[tommib]

Another game reviewing well. Jesus. 2021 as been really tough on the wallet. And 3 more months yet until it finishes.

This is the Beyond Good and Evil 2 we needed.

 

[Zones]

No way this is an indie game.

Don’t mean this in a console war way, but this game looks better than anything Nintendo has ever developed, and it’s made by a team of only a dozen or so people.

Truly a remarkable achievement as far as graphics are concerned.

 

[Ezquimacore]

Fantastic, first Epic store game I'll buy

 

[Corgi1985]

Don’t mean this in a console war way, but this game looks better than anything Nintendo has ever developed, and it’s made by a team of only a dozen or so people.

Truly a remarkable achievement as far as graphics are concerned.

It's true the best thing nintendo has done this year is a limited release of ancient mario roms. Truly pathetic

 

[Ezquimacore]

Don’t mean this in a console war way, but this game looks better than anything Nintendo has ever developed, and it’s made by a team of only a dozen or so people.

Truly a remarkable achievement as far as graphics are concerned.

Of course it's going to look better than Nintendo games, like hundreds of games do. Where Nintendo take other developers to school is in the gameplay and design aspect.

 

[retsof624]

You give an indie team a decent budget and they make games like this and Returnal. Love to see it

 

[GhostOfTsu]

The game looks incredible. It would be considered AAA a couple of years ago before everything went massive open-world. It's like a high-budget Zelda.

I'm already downloading it on PS5 and I will start playing during the night

 

[HotPocket69]

These guys need to take over Zelda

Already blown the fuck away. And this their first fucking game. Holy shit.

 

[Ezquimacore]

These guys need to take over Zelda

Already blown the fuck away. And this their first fucking game. Holy shit.

The disrespect of this site is fkn amazing smfh

 

[Bulletbrain]

Don’t mean this in a console war way, but this game looks better than anything Nintendo has ever developed, and it’s made by a team of only a dozen or so people.

Truly a remarkable achievement as far as graphics are concerned.

It certainly looks better than any Nintendo games for sure, but gameplay wise it seems completely derivative and unimaginative. Eurogamer review was especially critical of this.

 

[TheDarkPhantom]

The deluge of games is upon us, if only I could freeze time... Congrats to Ember Lab, I knew the game would be great from the very first trailer. Returnal, Ratchet, Deathloop, Kena, PlayStation smoking hot .

 

[lh032]

Herman Hulst is contacting Amber Labs for acquisition now.

 

[bender]

Is it as good as Star Fox Adventures?

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Damn, another amazing Sony exclusive this year with Deathloop and Kena.

Sony fans are feasting on all these great lower-key games Sony made this year, even though losing out on Horizon is disappointing.

SlimySnake

I figured some of these would end up bad but it's just hit after hit. Ember Labs seems like a perfect studio to acquire and turn into something bigger...hell, make them Sony's Zelda studio

 

[kyliethicc]

You give an indie team a decent budget and they make games like this and Returnal. Love to see it

Returnal is a Sony 1st party game funded by Sony.

Kena is not funded by Sony. Its a 3rd party indie game.

 

[Marcellus Wallace]

Game is an easy recommendation for PS5 and PC. Pick it up.

 

[Elbow Identity Shallow]

Good to see that it's reviewing pretty well so far.
You can really see their background in the quality of the animations and the personality they've managed to bring to bring to the game. Fortunately, the general consensus is that they seem to know what they're doing with gameplay too. Perhaps not the most challenging of games but they don't always have to be and I think as well as me enjoying it, it's going to be something the kids are going enjoy too.

 

[Dr Bass]

Does anyone know if you can copy the soundtrack to a usb stick if you bought the deluxe edition?

 

[tommib]

These guys need to take over Zelda

Already blown the fuck away. And this their first fucking game. Holy shit.

That’s quite the hot take. Current Zelda team is one of the most well oiled and creative teams out there. They’re leading the industry. BOTW had a profound effect on the overall open-world game industry. Kena looks adorable but there’s absolutely nothing groundbreaking about it.

 

[tommib]

You give an indie team a decent budget and they make games like this and Returnal. Love to see it

Returnal is not an indie game. That game had millions on top of millions thrown at it.

 

[Ezquimacore]

That’s quite the hot take. Current Zelda team is one of the most well oiled and creative teams out there. They’re leading the industry. BOTW had a profound effect on the overall open-world game industry. Kena looks adorable but there’s absolutely nothing groundbreaking about it.

Exactly he's probably too excited and was not thinking... I would give them the visual aspect tho. This thing looks prettier than any Sony/Nintendo/Xbox first party game.

 

[tmlDan]

It certainly looks better than any Nintendo games for sure, but gameplay wise it seems completely derivative and unimaginative. Eurogamer review was especially critical of this.

true, like the 3 hits to kill a boss in Mario odyssey, truly groundbreaking give it a 99/100

 

[HotPocket69]

Exactly he's probably too excited and was not thinking... I would give them the visual aspect tho. This thing looks prettier than any Sony/Nintendo/Xbox first party game.

Best non Zelda Zelda game in over 20 years easily

 

[retsof624]

Returnal is not an indie game. That game had millions on top of millions thrown at it.

Housemarque was an independent studio when they were making Returnal

 

[Karak]

Game is just damned fun and really enjoyable to explore. Glad folks are digging it

 

[Ghost of Caelid]

Will probably wait for ps plus for this game. Glad it’s reviewing well tho.

 

[Ezquimacore]

Best non Zelda Zelda game in over 20 years easily

Does this game has dungeons? Without dungeons I don't understand the comparison. In that case the best non Zelda Zelda game would be Darksiders and Darksiders 2.

 

[tommib]

Housemarque was an independent studio when they were making Returnal

So was Bluepoint when making Demon’s Souls remake. Are they an indie team as well?

 

[iorek21]

Any word on this game’s length yet?

 

[LordCBH]

Polygon din't like it

Shocker. They don’t like anything.

 

[AlexxKidd]

Anyone get the Digital Deluxe edition? Does that staff do anything gameplay wise or is it all cosmetic?

Deciding on regular or deluxe version.

 

[retsof624]

So was Bluepoint when making Demon’s Souls remake. Are they an indie team as well?

I looked up the exact definition of an indie game. I’m wrong.

 

[Saint Boot]

This was everything I wanted Horizon Zero Dawn to be, and more.

 

[Marcellus Wallace]

Any word on this game’s length yet?

8-20 hours

 

[MaKTaiL]

8-20 hours

Wait... what?

 

[Marcellus Wallace]

Wait... what?

Main game 8-10, with all sidequests and collectibles/exploring closer to 20

 

[kyliethicc]

Anyone get the Digital Deluxe edition? Does that staff do anything gameplay wise or is it all cosmetic?

Deciding on regular or deluxe version.

Sounds like its all purely cosmetic.

Just get the standard for $40. They let you upgrade to deluxe for $10 later if you really want the extra stuff.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

So was Bluepoint when making Demon’s Souls remake. Are they an indie team as well?

Indie means independent studio, so he‘s right. Except the shorten term “Indie” tends to imply a small independent studio so actually youre right. He needs to be banned. Its the only way. You have the high ground.

 

[bender]

Sounds like its all purely cosmetic.

Just get the standard for $40. They let you upgrade to deluxe for $10 later if you really want the extra stuff.

You'd be missing the pre-order hat to complete the set anyway. Deluxe would be more about the soundtrack, I'd think

Does this game has dungeons? Without dungeons I don't understand the comparison. In that case the best non Zelda Zelda game would be Darksiders and Darksiders 2.

Kena wins by default then since it doesn't feature Todd McFarlane art.

 

[tommib]

Indie means independent studio, so he‘s right. Except the shorten term “Indie” tends to imply a small independent studio so actually youre right. He needs to be banned. Its the only way. You have the high ground.

What the hell.

 

[Fahdis]

Can we make a thread if we have reached CGI Quality graphics yet from the 90s?

 

[PSYGN]

I wish the in-game graphics remained as good as the cutscenes but I know I'm just being picky at that point.

 

[Hobbygaming]

Pre order justified for me. Gonna start it soon

I'm playing it now it's very charming and the combat feels better than I thought it would. It's beautiful too