What lies behind the mask?
The game Kena: Bridge of Spirits from Ember Lab has been available since September 21st 2021, I took longer to evaluate this game as I wanted to give it enough time to give an appropriate review.
At first the game seems easy enough, but it becomes more and more challenging as it progresses, this is often not present in most game, where you set the difficulty level at the beginning and then it remains the same as you get more end more accustomed to the gameplay mechanics and improve, the game remains stale at the level selected. Yes some games allow you to change the difficulty settings during the game, but this one does not wait for you to make that decision, it does it for you.
To me this game is the meeting point between Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tomb Raider, especially with the climbing and sliding part, but I do have to say the Rot are one of the best companions I have had to use in a video game, not only do they provide the cuteness factor of the game but the different ways they can be used in the game makes them so versatile. Yes like many games out there this one contains a lot of combat and Boss fights, but there are so many other layers to this game that it can keep you busy and there are more things to do than just run from one fight to another.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an exploration and puzzle game and the fights are there as a second layer of hindrance, the learning curves of the fights is not steep at all and there is plenty of puzzles to keep even the most prolific player busy for a while. This game allows you to go at your own pace and explore the map to discover all its hidden secrets. To me this game is a 5 Alarm Fire, and will definitely be on my list of top games for 2021. This is the perfect game for the Holidays, as the whole family can sit and play the game together, even if it is a solo game, it is always fun to try and solve puzzles as a family.
For review purpose, the game was tested on a PlayStation 5. , the game tested was the digital version, there is now a Digital Deluxe version available. The game is available for PS5, PS4 and PC.