Kena: Bridge of Spirits Pixar-like charm is lost behind a ton of performance issues

Date:
Tue, 21 Sep 2021 04:00:16 +0000

Description:
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a charming, family-friendly title that will likely delight both adults and children alike, but its technical issues and lack of originality make it liable to become another forgotten action-adventure.

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I wasnt sure what to expect from Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Developer Ember
Labs adorable adventure caused quite a stir when it was revealed at the PlayStation Future of Gaming showcase in 2020 Following a delay, it felt like Kena retreated into the shadows a bit - leaving some anxiety about whether it would still meet its new release date of September 21, and whether it would fall at the final hurdle many highly-anticipated releases have in the last couple of years.

Developing a game in the current climate is a heavy cross to bear, particularly for a smaller studio like Ember. My heart hoped I would be pleasantly surprised while my head said to temper expectations.

This cautious approach was probably for the best. Kenas charming world and
art style is its real hook, offering a family-friendly action-adventure that wouldnt look out of place as Pixars next film. However, its, unfortunately, let down by its lack of originality and poor technical performance, with the latter often being too glaring an issue to ignore based on my experience with PS5 code. Best PS5 games : the PlayStation 5 games you need to play Equally challenging and charming (Image credit: Ember Labs)

Kena: Bridge of Spirits follows young spirit guide Kena who, while on a quest to reach a sacred place of power, comes across an abandoned village that is afflicted with corruption as a result of lost souls who havent quite moved on to the other side. Accompanied by companions known as Rot, who take the form of adorable little blob-like creatures, Kena sets out to uncover the secrets of the village and to clear the corruption by helping the spirits move on -
an act that helps her untangle her own past.

"[Kena's] world is a vivid and lush one, packed full of ruins, shrines and flowing rivers, beckoning you to explore but also offering a serenity thats only bolstered by its unforgettable Balinese score."

The first thing thats striking about Kena: Bridge of Spirits is its
aesthetic. Its world is a vivid and lush one, packed full of ruins, shrines and flowing rivers, beckoning you to explore but also offering a serenity thats only bolstered by its unforgettable Balinese score. Fortunately, exploration is absolutely encouraged and rewarded - and proves a necessity as you progress.

While Kena is set specific objectives to complete, there is plenty to collect and unlock on your journey, from Spirit Mail that needs to be delivered to
the village, to Rots that, when found, join your posse and follow you like children on a school trip. Unfortunately, its hard to track which of these collectibles youve picked up as they dont actually appear on the map, it just tells you how many you have out of the total for an area. (Image credit:
Ember Labs)

While Rots are cute, the game leans on this perhaps too heavily, letting you collect Gems ( loads of Gems) to buy hats to pop on your spirit companions. While hats are an adorable feature, and will likely delight children, it
feels like theres perhaps more emphasis on collecting Gems for those than on the Karma needed to unlock new abilities. And you will, at times, find yourself clamoring for that Karma - and for new Rots. Both play a key part in the games combat, with Rots assisting in battles with special attacks (when theyve gained enough courage in brawls to draw them out) and Karma allowing you to unlock new abilities via the games somewhat limited skill tree.

While the combat and its various elements take a bit of getting used to, it does feel pretty good. On PS5 , the DualSense controllers haptic feedback helps to immerse you in the action while its adaptive triggers let you feel the tension in your bow as you line up your shot. Its a nice touch, but I
have seen it implemented better elsewhere.

But dont let the family-friendly nature of Kena trick you into thinking this is an easy game. I was taken slightly aback, playing on Spirit Guide mode
(the equivalent of medium), that I struggled with some of Kenas boss battles and puzzles. This level of challenge is a pleasant surprise to a degree, as
it does provide a bit of bite, but I found myself questioning how a child playing on the same difficulty setting was meant to grapple with the elements I found tricky.

Often, boss battles rely on correctly timed dodges, using the right strategy and knowing when to use resources such as health - which is often limited and can only be unlocked by using a Rot ability. If this was a game primarily aimed at adults, this wouldnt be as much of an issue as it is, but even the easiest mode can see boss fights being fairly relentless. A technical letdown (Image credit: Ember Labs)

What makes Kenas combat that much more frustrating is its technical performance issues. The game has two modes, Performance Mode, which sees it running at upscaled 4K at 60fps, and Fidelity Mode, which sees it running at native 4K at 30fps. To be honest, I can't see a massive difference visually
in the two modes but I have found Fidelity Mode almost unplayable due to how sluggish it is - so I've stuck with Performance Mode.

"While the general bugs are annoying, the frame rate issues are detrimental
to the game experience itself. Not only do they throw off dodges that need to be timed correctly, but it means that cinematic cutscenes - which are
actually incredibly stunning and beautifully done - stammer like a knockoff PS1 game."

Even still in Performance Mode, Kena suffers from frame rate drops quite
often - along with a multitude of other bugs such as cutscenes not
triggering, getting stuck in the environments and textures sometimes not looking quite right. While the general bugs are annoying, the frame rate issues are detrimental to the game experience itself. Not only do they throw off dodges that need to be timed correctly, but it means that cinematic cutscenes - which are actually incredibly stunning and beautifully done - stammer like a knockoff PS1 game.

The cinematics have such potential, its frustrating to see it wasted. This is especially true as theyre the pillar stones of the story and often I found their stammering issues an obstacle to emotionally connecting with the game and its characters - I feel that, without these issues, maybe I could have made that connection. According to Ember Lab, these cinematics are pre-rendered videos running at 24fps - so we would expect them to run better. Its a shame as they do look good enough to go toe-to-toe with Hollywood animated films but I found them almost unwatchable as they were so janky. Whats more, theres no seamless transition back into gameplay, with a very clear difference from when youre watching the cinematic to when youre back in the less-visually-impressive gameplay world.

A launch day patch was set to fix issues, but I still find the cutscenes difficult to watch since it was implemented. Its an issue that currently robs Kena: Bridge of Spirits of its best moments, and an element that could have garnered it the redemption it needed. That little something extra (Image credit: Ember Labs)

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is almost reminiscent of an Xbox 360-era adventure: its fun, colorful and charming. But it also risks becoming forgettable. Sure, Kenas art style and world are its hooks, but it doesnt feel like the game
does much thats unique - that pushes the genre forward and cements its place as a must-play action-adventure among a plethora of others.

However, I understand that Kena isnt solely built for adults and, for younger players - and those not particularly bothered by technicalities - Kena is likely to delight. Its a game of heart and empathy, but isnt afraid to shy away from its dark moments - after all, it is a game thats ultimately about death.

I loved playing Kena in the moment, once I looked past its jarring technical issues, and played for hours on end. But if you ask me in a year to recall
the best bits, its likely I will have forgotten a lot about it. I enjoyed it as it fits a formula Im already pretty familiar with, which many games have tapped into before. But I couldnt help waiting for a wow moment that never came. New PS5 games : upcoming PlayStation 5 game release dates



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/kena-bridge-of-spirits-pixar-like-charm-is-lost -behind-a-ton-of-performance-issues/


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