Kena: Bridge of Spirits [ PC | PS4 | PS5 ]

[Loik V credern]

I've not played this game, and am crap enough at games to think i'd struggle with the difficulty too if others are. Extreme hard difficulty always makes me think of F Zero GX or Cuphead, i've just replayed GX again and the early desert race against the samurai guy dodging the rocks...i'm sure i did it on hard too at the time. Other games i've replayed i've got better at, like Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2, i don't think my reaction times have decreased, if anything i think i see with more clarity now. Bigger screen up close too. It is on emulation but assume it's 99% the same and i had dozens of goes and what encourages me to do stuff again and again is just accepting if i minimise the mistakes i'll eventually do it, I accept that fair deal. I can't complain about difficulty if i'm crashing into all the falling rocks. But GX moves into expecting you to minimise all the mistakes and become a robot that is flawless, and i think...but i'm human. I can't fulfill that expectation, game. It's only a few minutes but it's...fast. So i'll dodge every rock but i've not used every boost. Okay i'll do that...Samurai guy times his boost to overtake me centimetres from the finish line. I'll use every boost until i'm red, then he smashes into me and blows me up. Hmm.

 

I eventually gave up but kept trying for the sake it, resenting the game expecting perfection from me. Like Cuphead i think; well i probably can do it if i just keep trying over and over but there's fine margins, quick reactions required, no room for error. I just want games that are hard enough to make you committed to engaging with it, to want you to highlight your mistakes and minimise most of them. But when there's absolutely no room for error you're not playing with freedom, just restricted into being a robot. Obviously you want to feel the intensity and elation of just scraping through.

 

Eventually i beat Samurai and felt no achievement, just bafflement that it can't have been that hard at the time. I basically had to time my last speed boost to the centimetre and it looked like i wasn't even going to win and somehow did.

 

I went through most of Hard at the time on GX and gave up on the one where you have to dodge the walls in the pipe.

 

I think maybe just number of lives could be the single difference between difficulty levels? Something as simple as that, than number of enemies and how much damage they take. In Cuphead the extra life made a bigger difference than any gun. Then you can not switch difficulties but gauge how many lives/bigger energy bar you need to get through an area or boss. You know? Have a few goes, manually select one more life, and think; maybe i just need two more. I have no idea what this game is, and watching videos still have no idea. Reminds me of Kameo for some reason.

[Benny]

I'm really enjoying this. It helps that it's just completely gorgeous. Everything in the world looks so solid and lovely.

 

I tell you want it reminds me of: it's like when you discovered a nice little unthreatening action adventure on the PS2 and played it through over a weekend because something about the combination of sound and art design came together in a charming way. They didn't usually need to be that complex or innovative, but just a bit beguiling in the right ways.

 

Like the original Jack and Daxter, or Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.

[Popo]

39 minutes ago, Loik V credern said:

I've not played this game, and am crap enough at games to think i'd struggle with the difficulty too if others are. Extreme hard difficulty always makes me think of F Zero GX or Cuphead, i've just replayed GX again and the early desert race against the samurai guy dodging the rocks...i'm sure i did it on hard too at the time. Other games i've replayed i've got better at, like Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2, i don't think my reaction times have decreased, if anything i think i see with more clarity now. Bigger screen up close too. It is on emulation but assume it's 99% the same and i had dozens of goes and what encourages me to do stuff again and again is just accepting if i minimise the mistakes i'll eventually do it, I accept that fair deal. I can't complain about difficulty if i'm crashing into all the falling rocks. But GX moves into expecting you to minimise all the mistakes and become a robot that is flawless, and i think...but i'm human. I can't fulfill that expectation, game. It's only a few minutes but it's...fast. So i'll dodge every rock but i've not used every boost. Okay i'll do that...Samurai guy times his boost to overtake me centimetres from the finish line. I'll use every boost until i'm red, then he smashes into me and blows me up. Hmm.

 

I eventually gave up but kept trying for the sake it, resenting the game expecting perfection from me. Like Cuphead i think; well i probably can do it if i just keep trying over and over but there's fine margins, quick reactions required, no room for error. I just want games that are hard enough to make you committed to engaging with it, to want you to highlight your mistakes and minimise most of them. But when there's absolutely no room for error you're not playing with freedom, just restricted into being a robot. Obviously you want to feel the intensity and elation of just scraping through.

 

Eventually i beat Samurai and felt no achievement, just bafflement that it can't have been that hard at the time. I basically had to time my last speed boost to the centimetre and it looked like i wasn't even going to win and somehow did.

 

I went through most of Hard at the time on GX and gave up on the one where you have to dodge the walls in the pipe.

 

I think maybe just number of lives could be the single difference between difficulty levels? Something as simple as that, than number of enemies and how much damage they take. In Cuphead the extra life made a bigger difference than any gun. Then you can not switch difficulties but gauge how many lives/bigger energy bar you need to get through an area or boss. You know? Have a few goes, manually select one more life, and think; maybe i just need two more. I have no idea what this game is, and watching videos still have no idea. Reminds me of Kameo for some reason.

Quite an extraordinary non-sequitur. 

[dreamylittledream]

1 hour ago, Loik V credern said:

I've not played this game, and am crap enough at games to think i'd struggle with the difficulty too if others are. Extreme hard difficulty always makes me think of F Zero GX or Cuphead, i've just replayed GX again and the early desert race against the samurai guy dodging the rocks...i'm sure i did it on hard too at the time. Other games i've replayed i've got better at, like Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2, i don't think my reaction times have decreased, if anything i think i see with more clarity now. Bigger screen up close too. It is on emulation but assume it's 99% the same and i had dozens of goes and what encourages me to do stuff again and again is just accepting if i minimise the mistakes i'll eventually do it, I accept that fair deal. I can't complain about difficulty if i'm crashing into all the falling rocks. But GX moves into expecting you to minimise all the mistakes and become a robot that is flawless, and i think...but i'm human. I can't fulfill that expectation, game. It's only a few minutes but it's...fast. So i'll dodge every rock but i've not used every boost. Okay i'll do that...Samurai guy times his boost to overtake me centimetres from the finish line. I'll use every boost until i'm red, then he smashes into me and blows me up. Hmm.

 

I eventually gave up but kept trying for the sake it, resenting the game expecting perfection from me. Like Cuphead i think; well i probably can do it if i just keep trying over and over but there's fine margins, quick reactions required, no room for error. I just want games that are hard enough to make you committed to engaging with it, to want you to highlight your mistakes and minimise most of them. But when there's absolutely no room for error you're not playing with freedom, just restricted into being a robot. Obviously you want to feel the intensity and elation of just scraping through.

 

Eventually i beat Samurai and felt no achievement, just bafflement that it can't have been that hard at the time. I basically had to time my last speed boost to the centimetre and it looked like i wasn't even going to win and somehow did.

 

I went through most of Hard at the time on GX and gave up on the one where you have to dodge the walls in the pipe.

 

I think maybe just number of lives could be the single difference between difficulty levels? Something as simple as that, than number of enemies and how much damage they take. In Cuphead the extra life made a bigger difference than any gun. Then you can not switch difficulties but gauge how many lives/bigger energy bar you need to get through an area or boss. You know? Have a few goes, manually select one more life, and think; maybe i just need two more. I have no idea what this game is, and watching videos still have no idea. Reminds me of Kameo for some reason.

It’s really not that hard, I mean it’s a lot more difficult than the Pixar movie framing might suggest but I am basically no better than distinctly average at games and getting worse as I enter my 40s but with a little persistence I made my way through the spikes and you know I got a real adrenaline rush from beating the couple of serious challenges (mainly the first section boss and the first form of the final boss are kind of tricky).

 

But anyway the rest of the game is just delightful and for me the couple

of jagged edges in the difficulty actually added to the charm. Gives the game a little bite you might suggest.

 

Said it before and I’ll say it again, my game of the year no question.

It’s charming, stunningly pretty and incredibly compelling. @Benny is spot on with the Jak and Dexter and Enslaved comparisons, particularly the latter. And you know what, Enslaved remains one of my favourite PS3/360 era games.

[Trumpets]

This game is excellent! I bought it mainly for the visuals and the forresty setting, but it works on every level for me. The combat is tight and challenging but not overly so, there's a ton of exploration and environmental puzzle solving without it ever going full open world, and of course it does indeed look and sound tremendous.

 

I get the comparisons to old PS2 action adventures but those games were rarely this well put together. It reminds me more of modern Tomb Raider, just with more charm and a much better main character.

[TommyG]

I’ve just completed this on Spirit guide (first play through) found the difficulty setting about right. There are some hard bosses which took many attempts and I used YouTube for some tactics for a boss near the end but on the whole I really enjoyed it and got through it fine. 
 

Having not completed many games this year as I have a busy work/family life the fact that this kept me coming back speaks volumes.
 

It’s an aesthetically beautiful game and the combat is fun. Easy exploration and simple puzzles made it all the more enjoyable for me. The story was good also. Not much else to say other than I’d highly recommend it. 

[Trumpets]

I just finished it too, mostly on Spirit Guide, although I turned it down to Story for the last two bosses just to get it done.

 

Pretty hard to fault really. Maybe not super original in any way but so well put together that it didn't matter.

 

If Ember Lab fancy making another one I'd certainly play it.

[NecroMorrius]

Me: "Gosh, this looks pretty, combat seems pretty simple, I suppose it is a kids game after all"

 

Wood Knight: "Lol"

 

Really enjoyed the first couple of hours of this. It's beautiful and has a nice flavour. The controls could be a tiny bit tighter, but it's not a big issue. 

[Mogster]

I was really enjoying this for quite a while. It looks gorgeous and has a nice mix of exploration and surprisingly intense combat. I'm very near the end now though, and I've reached a boss fight that's stepped over the line from tricky to just, well, annoying. I played through all of Sekiro last year, and the three days or so I spent fighting the last boss were some of the most fun I've ever had in a game, but here it feels like every time I die it's down to the controls not quite being up to the task, or that I'm missing something of course.

 

I'll keep at it seeing as I've come this far though.

[Mogster]

Aaaand I beat it. Next! 

[TommyG]

Haha I had to YouTube one boss because I was missing a technique that proved critical to the fight. There's actually a lot of creativity available with Kena's arsenal. 

[Mogster]

After my little tantrum yesterday I went on to finish the game today. I thought it was very good, but I had a few niggles that stopped it from being brilliant. I felt it was crying out for a tighter combat system for a start, and I had the odd issue with the platforming too where Kena would randomly decide not to grab highligted ledges.

 

Overall I'm glad I played it though. It wasn't exactly the breezy Christmas game I was expecting, but I'm always up for a crunchy combat challenge. It obviously looks beautiful too, which always helps.

[Uncle Mike]

I got this for Christmas, so have have spent January working my way through it. I didn't love it, all told, but it's not bad.

 

The world is clearly beautifully presented, but it's so empty. The combat can be quite involved and interesting, but the controls are a bit too sticky (for example, I seemingly never got tired of doing a heavy melee attack instead of drawing my bow) for some of the encounters it puts you into. Some of the bosses are a significant step above the rest of the game, difficulty-wise. And I never really got into the story.

 

There was a thing a little before Christmas where the guy from Days Gone was complaining that he didn't feel that they got fair treatment critically, and that people should have treated it as a v1.0 of a better game. I didn't think that was fair for Days Gone, but I do think that would be fair for this. With a bit more budget, a bit more refinement, and with the experience they've presumably gained from this one, I could imagine their next game being a lot more enjoyable.

[Jamie John]

I've played this for ninety minutes or so and am having a lovely time. It's quite a simple game, but it looks and sounds bloody sumptuous, and the low-stakes gameplay and gentle exploration go down easy after a long day. The controls feel a bit soft, if that's the right word, but apart from that this is hitting some good notes.

 

Uncharted x Pikmin x Starfox Adventures x Princess Mononoke-lite.

[jonamok]

56 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

I've played this for ninety minutes or so and... the low-stakes gameplay

Shh. Nobody tell him.

[Jamie John]

I unlocked the 

Spoiler

bow

earlier and this is getting properly good now. I love games that reward exploration, and this does it consistently. The combat's getting pretty tasty at times, too. Is this what you were talking about, @jonamok?

[dreamylittledream]

43 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

I unlocked the 

  Reveal hidden contents

bow

earlier and this is getting properly good now. I love games that reward exploration, and this does it consistently. The combat's getting pretty tasty at times, too. Is this what you were talking about, @jonamok?

 

Wait for it….wait for it

[jonamok]

😄

[Jamie John]

Hot damn, this is great. I just ran down my DualsSense battery playing for about four hours straight 

 

I've got the 

Spoiler

bombs now (awesome idea to make them also trigger platforming sections)

and I've just unlocked a massive new area, which I'm looking forward to exploring. I've collected every collectible I've been able to access so far, and scouring every nook and cranny for secrets feels really rewarding.

 

The combat is getting meaty now, too, although it'd be good to see a bit more variety in the enemy types. Maybe this will come later.

 

I'm surprised more people aren't talking about this, especially as it's on PS4 as well as PS5, and it was a budget release. It certainly doesn't feel like a budget game. Not quite the triple A standard of polish, but pretty damn close.

 

Excellent.

[dreamylittledream]

Impressed you made it past Taro without resorting to multiple expletives (actually he’s the biggest difficulty spike in the game…well till the penultimate boss anyway).

 

 The second main area is probably the best semi sandbox in the game in terms of exploration so do enjoy. The story for this section is just as bitter sweet tragic too.

 

 I’m surprised the game didn’t gain more traction given it’s on PC as well as both PlayStation formats. It really is something very special.

[Jamie John]

3 hours ago, dreamylittledream said:

Impressed you made it past Taro without resorting to multiple expletives (actually he’s the biggest difficulty spike in the game…well till the penultimate boss anyway).

 

Yeah, that was a good bout. I twigged pretty early on that I needed to shoot the 

Spoiler

lantern and the big purple spot on his back to get some big damage in, so it wasn't too tough.

 

That battle, in particular, was very Souls-esque: the way he lumbers about and drags his sword behind him seemed like an obvious homage to some of the bosses in Bloodborne, or Artorias, or this fucker from DS3, which I thought was cool:

 

 

Spoiler

 

I think I had more trouble in the fight before that against the guy in the cave, but that's because the lock-on let me down a couple of times.

 

And I'm enjoying the narrative as well. The way you piece together all the memories from the relics you collect and then see how they fit into what actually happened later on is satisfying.

 

I must have not been paying attention at the very beginning of the game, though: Kena is a spirit guide, essentially solving problems for ghosts so they can pass onto the afterlife - is that right? I can't remember if it's been explained as to why 

Spoiler

no living people are around, or the corruption is there in the first place, or what the rot fairies you're collecting actually are. Is the game set in purgatory, or something? Maybe Kena is a ghost too and she has to do all this so that she can pass on herself at the end...

 

Looking forward to finding out, anyway!

[Uncle Mike]

It's not explained yet, but will be. You're right that it just drops you in with very little context at the start.

[dreamylittledream]

Yes the game does literally drop you in with no context at all as to who Kena is or where exactly she is, so you haven’t missed anything.

 

Spoiler

The reasons for the rot and well everyone being dead are explained but there is a certain degree of ambiguity even at the end as to where Kena stands or why exactly she is there.

 

[Benny]

I've been very very gradually going through this with a session maybe once every weekend. I've been enjoying it so much I just like to savour the time I spend with it.

 

It's really just a lovely little game and very beguiling. The poor reviews have really done it a disservice. It's clearly been made with love and polish. I've been playing on the default difficulty and to be honest the difficulty spikes haven't been that noticeable. Even on

 

Spoiler

Taro. Just took a few tries when you work out what his weak point is.

 

But I do think those spikes are a little surprising considering the laid back nature of everything else. But to me it makes it more involving, as it makes having to fight feel genuinely serious in such a beautiful to explore world.

[Uncle Mike]

Although it took a few retries on each, I didn't find most of the bosses or minibosses that challenging. They are a large step above the meat and potatoes bad guys, but not generally too bad. It was the final stretch where I thought it started getting overly-punishing and where I thought the slight fluffiness in the controls wasn't up to the exactnesses needed in the fights.

[Jamie John]

The checkpoints are more annoying than the fights themselves - the way they make you walk ten steps forwards and watch the same cutscenes again each time you die.

 

But I agree: the actual battles haven't been too tough so far, really; I've not died more than twice to anything. Yet, anyway. I think the way that the fights are juxtaposed with the cutesiness of the world make them seem harder than they actually are; if this looked like Souls, or Remnant, or Mortal Shell, or a dozen other grimdark games then I don't think people would bat an eyelid, but the Disney-esque tone and the fact that you've got a train of sprites wearing various colourful hats trailing after you at all times make the punishing nature of the boss encounters stand out.

 

It's sitting on an 81 Metacritic score, though, so it's not as if it's been critically panned. From what I can remember, there wasn't much else being released on PlayStation when it came out in September, so I don't really get why more people didn't pick it up.

[dreamylittledream]

23 minutes ago, Benny said:

I've been very very gradually going through this with a session maybe once every weekend. I've been enjoying it so much I just like to savour the time I spend with it.

 

It's really just a lovely little game and very beguiling. The poor reviews have really done it a disservice. It's clearly been made with love and polish. I've been playing on the default difficulty and to be honest the difficulty spikes haven't been that noticeable. Even on

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Taro. Just took a few tries when you work out what his weak point is.

 

But I do think those spikes are a little surprising considering the laid back nature of everything else. But to me it makes it more involving, as it makes having to fight feel genuinely serious in such a beautiful to explore world.

I thought it reviewed generally quite well, aside from the mean spirited drubbing Eurogamer gave it) 81 on metacritic it appears.

 

 Seems more it just got lost on release and PlayStation console exclusivity probably didn’t help.

 

The difficulty can be over egged, it’s not really Disney Dark Souls, more the combat occasionally takes a more prominent role than you’d expect.

 

It’s not so much punishing as more mixes the traditional Zelda approach to dealing with bosses (use your new talent) with a more aggressive edge than you might be expecting.

 

 Personally I enjoyed the occasional additional frisson from the bosses and mini bosses; it was only really Taro and the penultimate boss that paused my progress beyond a couple of retries and both of those drop you straight back into the boss fight so its not like you lose huge amounts of progress.

 

I’ll keep saying it, I adored this game and it’s a shame we won’t see a sequel (developer has confirmed no plans) which must be sales driven in part.

[Benny]

I think honestly if people only associate punishing difficulty with "grim dark", or cutesy games with being "easy", that more a problem with the players or game industry tropes as a whole than with this game.

[Jamie John]

Is there a sort of treasure map thing you can buy later that lets you know where you've missed collectibles? I've been collecting all of them as I've been going up to this point, but the Fields area is so sprawling that I don't fancy searching all of it again for one missed Rot.

 

And I'm up to Rot level 4 now - is there any incentive to collecting any more, beyond the compulsion of Gotta Catch Em All, and trophies? Does having more of them actually affect the game at all?

[Uncle Mike]

Nope, maybe if you get all of them (I think there's 100) you get a trophy and perhaps the Rot go to level 5 (but all that probably does is give you 5 in-combat actions, and it seems unnecessary.) And there's no obvious map I saw either.

 

You'll have bought every skill significantly before the end. The meditation points are obviously worth finding, as are the spirit mail things (as you'll actually see bits of level from those.) Every single Rot and Hat etc, not so much.