Story [spoilers]
KENA: Bridge of Spirits is a story driven game. Story mode is centered around a spirit guide trying to heal the land after an entire village died. She helps assist three different spirits in the town that have had a harder time moving on.
TARO
Taro – who you are lead to by his younger twin siblings Beni and Saya who don’t understand what happened to their brother. After an illness kills their parents Taro Beni and Saya journey up to meet with Rusu an archer who lives in the mountain’s who has acted as a mentor to Taro. Once they arrive Rusu sends them away and on their way down the mountain they get hit by the shock wave of the mountain shrine’s destruction. Taro had been out collecting food for the group in the morning but is separated from them and desperately tries to find his siblings despite his injuries which he ends up dying from.
ADIRA
Hana is Adira’s love and guides you through her story. Adira was the town’s talented wood-smith and responsible for the incredible wooden architecture and technology you see throughout the game. You see Hana leaving her to go look for help for the village effects her. Hana sailed into the ocean and even after years adira builds a lighthouse to try to guide her home only to be hit by the sock wave from the mountain shrine and passing on.
TOSHI
Toshi was the village chief and felt responsible for every death of the villagers around him. He believed that the god of the mountain shrine was to blame for the illness that ravaged the village. He took it upon himself to go and kill the god. He died in the attempt and the shock-wave produced and killed many. The corruption that followed left the village in ruins and how you find it in the game.
Game Play
KENA: Bridge of Spirits has many different options for game play and difficulty
- Story mode – Easier game play and meant to get through the story and fights without much difficulty
- Spirit guide – Some fights can be challenging and it may take multiple attempts to beat bosses.
- Expert spirit guide – You’ll want to know all the mechanics ahead of time. Not impossible but a good challenge for seasoned players
- Master spirit guide – At LEAST one full play-through of the game and detailed understanding of mechanics.
+ Games and Challenges
Unlike some Games KENA has a post story mode game loop to keep you engaged.
+ GAMES
After you complete the story there is an option to make a new + game which will take your old save, level, and rot to play thought the story again with more difficult bosses.
CHALLENGES
In the village center behind the graves you’ll find a small shrine with many different challenges the player can go through. Some are races some are gauntlets of combat. There are three levels of success for each of them and each gives a different reward. You can get hats for rot, charms and even outfits for your character.
My Personal Opinion
I’ve played though KENA: Bridge of Spirits about three times and have a total of 57 hours in the game. I love this game the combat is just difficult enough to be engaging and anyone can make it through the game on story mode so the game is totally approachable. The only gripes I have with the game are in its story but those are just nitpicks on plot choices. The after story-mode content can keep you going for hours and the game is a fantastic ride.
Steam Store and Pricing
The game right now is 39.99 which is pretty good considering the current inflation of game prices in the past few years.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1954200/Kena_Bridge_of_Spirits/