Reviews are out now. I'll get the game whenever it comes out.
Kena: Bridge Of Spirits Review Thread
- Thread starter BrawlMan
- Start date
I do disagree with Skill Up a little bit. A kid can handle the difficulty, and as he mentioned, the game has easy mode. I feel the underestimates these generations of kids. Not every single one of them is a Fortnite, GTA, or Call of Duty junkie. That's been the problem with a lot of kids games and 7th and 8th generation, being too easy or making it as if that they can't handle a puzzle. If most of us could do a lot of the difficult hurdles back in the day, the kids of today can do it too. Not all kids are teens have the attention span of erosion. The game has obvious kid and family appeal, it looks like it's hitting all the right notes. He loved the game and everything, but I just failed to talk about that little side note.
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I was worried yesterday when this game was launching at 9pm my time and there were no reviews anywhere. But having played Kena, I can say that this game is fucking great.
The game is like a Dreamworks film, except you get to play it. The little minions you get are actually adorable and have countless little animations that happen for a wide array of contexts. For example when you go for a swim, they will do little dives into the water off your body, or simply float on their backs with you, GAHHH it's fucking cute!
The game plays like a action Mascot game, similar in what you would expect from a Ratchet and Clank or Jak and Daxter type of thing. You are exploring levels working towards a main objective, but there are lots of little off-shoots and small puzzle elements along the way that will grant you some extra currency WHICH YOU SPEND ON LITTLE HATS FOR YOUR MINIONS AND IT IS JUST TOOOOOOO FUCKING CUTE!!!!! or you can find extra minions.
Character progress is a two layered system. First off you have to gather more and more of your little minions called "Rots", finding a certain number will unlock a new Rot level which will grant you and your Rot friends more abilities. These range from being able to open more areas in the environment (metroidvania style) to unlock more attacks in combat. The second level of progression is used by spending souls earned from defeating enemies. You spend these souls to unlock combat moves, much the way you spent exp in God of War 4 to unlock combos, special attacks, things like that.
Combat itself is your standard 3rd person action affair, light attack, heavy attack, dodge, block, and parry. There is no stamina system so it's not nearly as hard as anything like a DMC or Dark Souls game (I was gonna call my impressions "dreamsouls" but @BrawlMan beat me to making a thread, so I'm just writing it here). But combat is fun, and very responsive. As you progress more and more options in combat become available including using your minions to do various attacks, you unlock a bow-type attack, and more and it's all quick, easy, and fun to use.
Exploration is intuitive and it's hard to get lost because frankly the overworld map is great. There's lots of little things to discover at the end of off-paths and even if there isn't another minion to add to the collection there is usually come sort of interaction or unique pose the minions will make on a statue or wall or something.
It's nice, this is a good game, you guys should get this game.
The game is like a Dreamworks film, except you get to play it. The little minions you get are actually adorable and have countless little animations that happen for a wide array of contexts. For example when you go for a swim, they will do little dives into the water off your body, or simply float on their backs with you, GAHHH it's fucking cute!
The game plays like a action Mascot game, similar in what you would expect from a Ratchet and Clank or Jak and Daxter type of thing. You are exploring levels working towards a main objective, but there are lots of little off-shoots and small puzzle elements along the way that will grant you some extra currency WHICH YOU SPEND ON LITTLE HATS FOR YOUR MINIONS AND IT IS JUST TOOOOOOO FUCKING CUTE!!!!! or you can find extra minions.
Character progress is a two layered system. First off you have to gather more and more of your little minions called "Rots", finding a certain number will unlock a new Rot level which will grant you and your Rot friends more abilities. These range from being able to open more areas in the environment (metroidvania style) to unlock more attacks in combat. The second level of progression is used by spending souls earned from defeating enemies. You spend these souls to unlock combat moves, much the way you spent exp in God of War 4 to unlock combos, special attacks, things like that.
Combat itself is your standard 3rd person action affair, light attack, heavy attack, dodge, block, and parry. There is no stamina system so it's not nearly as hard as anything like a DMC or Dark Souls game (I was gonna call my impressions "dreamsouls" but @BrawlMan beat me to making a thread, so I'm just writing it here). But combat is fun, and very responsive. As you progress more and more options in combat become available including using your minions to do various attacks, you unlock a bow-type attack, and more and it's all quick, easy, and fun to use.
Exploration is intuitive and it's hard to get lost because frankly the overworld map is great. There's lots of little things to discover at the end of off-paths and even if there isn't another minion to add to the collection there is usually come sort of interaction or unique pose the minions will make on a statue or wall or something.
It's nice, this is a good game, you guys should get this game.
Regarding perceived issues about difficulty, hate the keep beating that drum but once again early on most if not all games Nintendo made had variable difficulty built into the game and nobody thought anything of it. It was just how it was and most kids got along just fine because most games were designed well enough to gradually teach things. Now everyone needs to be coddled and handed a trophy for every little thing. It’s kinda teaching kids to expect that sort of thing for minimal effort, while things like learning patience and perseverance for the rewards get tossed aside.
Yes I know they’re “just games” but it’s a missed opportunity if they can’t also be used to reinforce good intangible values in younger minds; maybe even older ones too.
Yes I know they’re “just games” but it’s a missed opportunity if they can’t also be used to reinforce good intangible values in younger minds; maybe even older ones too.
I had an eye on this one even read the whole GameInformer piece and I hooked and sold. I love when traditional animators move into the game sphere and combining that experience. Plus its just look bright and beautiful and I have a soft spot for anything with color.
Plus this just sprang up out of nowhere could of sworn it was releasing next year but this is a bonus.
Plus this just sprang up out of nowhere could of sworn it was releasing next year but this is a bonus.
It was actually supposed to come out in August and got delayed four weeks for some extra polish.
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
Putrid pile of pus, Polygon strikes again. Whatever, this game and studio are going places.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits promises magic, but can’t deliver much of it
You’ve played this game before
www.polygon.com
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What is wrong with this Arstechnica review? Seems fine to me.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.
Putrid pile of pus, Polygon strikes again. Whatever, this game and studio are going places.
This quote, " It feels like a game meant for kids, not adults trying to recapture the joy of childhood, like myself. Except it isn’t really — the puzzles are too obtuse, the multistage boss fights too difficult, for that to be the case. Instead, what we have is perfectly fabricated “wholesomeness.” Can you pet the spirit creature? Probably. "
It's like people can't handle a remote challenge, I don't understand. But at the same time i do. These journalists have no idea what the fuck kids can and can't do, I mean NES games were hard as fuck and we still beat them as kids. This is the same attitude that fucking has people crying about easy modes in Dark Souls. Give me a fucking break.
At the same time it's obvious that these Journalists aren't actually gamers. They are writers that happen to have to work with games despite having no interest in them.
The only professional journalist I trust are Easy Allies. And they're mostly made up of the former members of Game Trailers. They've been the business for over 20 years at this point now. I'll still have my disagreements with them, but I can see where they're usually coming from. Polygon and the rest I have no respect for, because majority of them don't even try. The only thing I hate more than IGN is Polygon.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits Is a Visual Paradigm Shift Like Super Mario 64
Ember Lab's Kena: Bridge of Spirits on PlayStation 5 is a paradigm shift of awe-inspiring beautiful visuals, like Super Mario 64 before it.
www.escapistmagazine.com
I like how within a month we had two throwbacks to old school gaming, first with F.I.S.T. Forced in Shadow Torch and now Kena.
I've been playing Kena for a couple of hours and while it hasn't exactly sunk its teeth in for me yet it's nice and relaxed and kinda a breath of fresh air compared to the usual Sony first-party blockbusters. It gives off heavy Jak and Daxter vibes. I'm a little iffy on the visuals, it just feels a tad too much like the generic Pixar style, and there's a teenie bit of roughness here and there. But the game looks very nice regardless. There's one scene early on in a dark forrest with a thunder storm that kind of knocked my socks off with the lighting.
I've been playing Kena for a couple of hours and while it hasn't exactly sunk its teeth in for me yet it's nice and relaxed and kinda a breath of fresh air compared to the usual Sony first-party blockbusters. It gives off heavy Jak and Daxter vibes. I'm a little iffy on the visuals, it just feels a tad too much like the generic Pixar style, and there's a teenie bit of roughness here and there. But the game looks very nice regardless. There's one scene early on in a dark forrest with a thunder storm that kind of knocked my socks off with the lighting.
And considering it's a $40 AA title, is all the better. And I've seen the rough you've mentioned, some of the cutscenes had weird frame issues and some aliasing issues, but ultimately neglegible considering the title. It's minor enough that I wouldn't have been upset if it was a $70 title tbh, and this stuff will get patched out.
Eventually when I do get a PS5, I will still not pay $70 out of the gate for any new AAA game.
I know. I've been buying PS4 versions of games I want. But that well is not going to last forever. It'll dry up at some point. Once Ragnarok happens, that is it. The PS4 games will be less and less at a faster rate.Buy the games on ps4, and then just don't get the ps5 upgrade.
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Glad this is getting good reviews because I was in as soon as I saw the trailer. I've seen some reviews that say its not very original and in fairness, yeah, the game doesn't so much as wear its influences on its sleeve but is actually fully clothed in them. If people were put off by unoriginal games, COD and Ass Creed would be dead by now.
Yeah, I'll pick this up at some point, does anyone know how this plays on PS4? Or should I just get it in a couple of years when I start thinking about a PS5.
Yeah, I'll pick this up at some point, does anyone know how this plays on PS4? Or should I just get it in a couple of years when I start thinking about a PS5.
Last I heard, the PS4 version runs just as good.
Some of these reviewers that are complaining about the lack of originality, are the same ones that give Call of Duty and Assassins Creed 7s,8s, 9s or 10s every time they come out. So hypocrisy, thy name is jerk face. So the people who complain about lack of originality can screw off. If they wanted something unique that badly, then start going to the indie scene.