Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PC/PS5/PS4) - Story-Driven Action Adventure - 2021

[6souls]

Developed by Ember Lab

A story-driven action-adventure, the game seamlessly blends narrative with exploration, puzzle-solving, and fast-paced combat for a beautiful, immersive journey. Kena: Bridge of Spirits is slated to debut in time for the 2020 holiday season.

This gorgeous adventure takes players on a journey of self-discovery as Kena restores balance to an ancient village in a once-thriving environment. Players take on the role of Kena, a young Spirit Guide on a quest to uncover the mysterious story surrounding the demise of the village. Using her staff and the help of her collection of tiny companions known as the Rot, the player will disarm adversaries, unlock new skills, uncover secrets, and restore the beauty of the land.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is the first game from Ember Lab, a small indie studio that honed its skills creating character-driven animated commercials and branded game apps for clients such as Coca-Cola, Major League Baseball, and Hisense. The studio was formed in 2009 by brothers Josh and Mike Grier with the mission to tell great stories with universal appeal. Ember Lab is a tight-knit team of 14 that seeks out and collaborates with emerging talent and developers worldwide.

Many in the game industry may know the studio for Majora’s Mask – Terrible Fate, a short fan film released in 2016 that explored the dark origin story of the Skull Kid. The short combines real-world locations and CG characters. It has been viewed more than 20 million times across YouTube and Facebook and has been praised as one of the best game-inspired fan films.

Ember Lab also released an original sci-fi/fantasy short film titled Dust. The film was named Best Film at DragonCon; Best Sci-Fi by Hollyshorts; Best VFX, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best of Fest at Filmquest; and is a Worldfest Remi Award Winner.

One of the most unique aspects of the game revolves around enhancing Kena’s abilities with the help of her Rot companions. Building a bond with the Rot leads to a deeper, more organic combat and a nuanced skill evolution. Kena: Bridge of Spirits has been designed to take advantage of the PlayStation 5 hardware performance and DualSense controller. The game features immersive haptic feedback including simulated string resistance for Kena’s Spirit Bow.

“We’ve had this game concept for some time, and we’re finally able to bring our vision to life with the support from Sony and the capabilities of the new hardware,” said Mike Grier, chief creative officer of Ember Lab. “We want Kena: Bridge of Spirits to immerse the player in a detailed, fantastical world that feels real.”

https://www.emberlab.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/EmberLab/featured
https://www.epicgames.com/store/prod...f-spirits/home

[6souls]

Delayed to 2021

[Lucavi]

So is anything coming out at launch for the Xbox?

[Qalbert]

odd thread to ask in but a few things:
AC:Valhalla
Watch Dogs Legion
Yakuza: LaD
DMC5:SE
Falconeer
Gears Tactics
Dirt 5
probably a couple others I can't think of atm

[Lucavi]

Asked in this thread because this and Halo were the two games that I remember seeing during the Xbox reveal "hypefest" awhile back and both are delayed. Got me to wondering how many other games announced then are also delayed, and what's actually going to come out on time.

[Qalbert]

this isn't on xbox lol

[6souls]

[6souls]

[Tomiko]

Didn't realize this came out Monday (despite following the game on PS) and the reviews seem very positive with some minor issues.

Best praise review I've seen is calling it This years best Zelda 35th anniversary gift

Metacritic has it currently sitting at 83 & 9.1.

I plan to get it, but I hear the physical release is supposed to be coming in November and I prefer physical over digital.

Anyone here played it yet?

[6souls]

[-Zer0-]

Didn't realize this came out Monday (despite following the game on PS) and the reviews seem very positive with some minor issues.

Best praise review I've seen is calling it This years best Zelda 35th anniversary gift

Metacritic has it currently sitting at 83 & 9.1.

I plan to get it, but I hear the physical release is supposed to be coming in November and I prefer physical over digital.

Anyone here played it yet?

I bought it on release but haven't gotten around to it yet cause of work. Can't wait to get to it this weekend.

[Guitarman]

Yeah i have it but haven't had time to sit down with it. I'll dig in this weekend and report back.

[Byrd]

Anyone here played it yet?

I played the first 90 minutes or so last night. A lot of fun so far, looking forward to getting back to it tonight.

Combat is light and easy (on Normal difficulty, at least), the Rot are cute and not in the way, which I was a little concerned about.

It very, very much feels like Pixar: The Game. Hints of maybe some darker things around the corner, but I would imagine it will stay pretty light hearted.

Was surprised to see a world map for some reason, although I don't think the map is that big. But it keeps getting bigger as I explore, so maybe.

Controls light and easy, some decent work with the haptic controls, but nothing too fancy (yet).

[Tomiko]

That's great to hear and covers quite a bit, thanks!

I ended up buying it as well, but I'll also have to wait until this weekend to dive in.

[Tomiko]

I played the first 90 minutes or so last night. A lot of fun so far, looking forward to getting back to it tonight.

Combat is light and easy (on Normal difficulty, at least), the Rot are cute and not in the way, which I was a little concerned about.

It very, very much feels like Pixar: The Game. Hints of maybe some darker things around the corner, but I would imagine it will stay pretty light hearted.

Was surprised to see a world map for some reason, although I don't think the map is that big. But it keeps getting bigger as I explore, so maybe.

Controls light and easy, some decent work with the haptic controls, but nothing too fancy (yet).

Finally started this last night and this accurately describes my experience as well. I started on Normal as well and it feels pretty easy so far but I assume that will change as I get further in the game.

The biggest issue that I've had so far is trying to figure out camera sensitivity. I have it where I'm okay with it currently, but it can easily be set to being too fast/slow.

[Byrd]

Finally started this last night and this accurately describes my experience as well. I started on Normal as well and it feels pretty easy so far but I assume that will change as I get further in the game.

I found the game relatively easy with a couple of exceptions, up until the last two bosses. Found a huge difficulty spike there. The dodge window seemed either inconsistent or was narrow enough it did not work for me. I had to reinvent my tactics - that had previously worked on every fight - completely for the second to last fight and somewhat for the last fight. Was far more frustrating than fun, which cast a negative light on my whole experience. Maybe other people will experience it differently.

[Tomiko]

That sounds a bit annoying for it to change so late in the game. I guess I'll leave it on Normal for now. I appreciate the heads up!