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Kena Bridge of Spirits Review Thread

Punished Miku

Gold Member
Lots of Xboners are eating some crow today with these reviews 🤣☠️

Id tag you all but there's too many
I read the Destructoid review because I usually line up with that guy's taste. Had about 10 different qualifying statements in it trying to downplay expectations or explain shortcomings. The game seems okay? Pretty graphics and fairly standard gameplay. I think after the honeymoon period wears off people will likely settle around that opinion around here as well. I haven't seen anything that impressive in the videos I've been watching. It looks like a charming game with nice graphics.
 

dano1

A Sheep
Botw game has 5 dungeons/divine beasts and 120+ shrines, plus all the side quests. Kena looks amazing but it's nothing like botw or any zelda game in terms of design. This is more like a normal action adventure game, we don't have much of that genre anymore so I'm happy with this. I still don't understand why people are trying to compare this to zelda.
No Zelda has been a favorite of mine since completing the first one! Zelda is on a different level of complexity!! That said I’m having a great time with this game!
 

Phase

Member
Originally I was uninterested, but I've seen enough now to know that I'll pick it up. Should be an enjoyable experience, and not too lengthy. The biggest surprise to me was the combat. It looks well done and fun to play.

Oh no, this would be my first purchase on Epic...
 
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GymWolf

Member
I am loving the game so far. A platformer with some fight to it. Hoping it gets more interesting as we go. Def need more games like this, hopefully it sells well.
How is the ratio combat/platform?! Like 30/70 or more 50/50?
 

Hobbygaming

has been asked to post in 'Grounded' mode.
@killatopak you got me. Now compare those visuals to Kena and you'll see my point 🤭 In particular, compare the lighting of that game to the screenshot Hobbygaming Hobbygaming posted. Lightyears ahead.
This is what I saw when I read this comment
Sad Cry GIF by Team Coco
 
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GHG

Gold Member
Where are the performance tests?

PC: 3800x, 3070Ti, 24” 1080p, gsync, no-HDR, 2.1 sound, desk and chair

PS5: 65” 4K, no-VRR, HDR, 7.1 Atmos sound, couch

Where do I play this?

I've bought both versions but I have a feeling the 4k OLED and atmos (although there's no atmos from the PS5 my receiver can take care of the rest) will be the superior experience for this type to game.

Probably won't dig in until the weekend though because I'm still busy with Deathloop.
 
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Dr Bass

Member
anyone get the digital deluxe? .... anyone? Can you get the soundtrack off the system and onto your computer if so?
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Where are the performance tests?

PC: 3800x, 3070Ti, 24” 1080p, gsync, no-HDR, 2.1 sound, desk and chair

PS5: 65” 4K, no-VRR, HDR, 7.1 Atmos sound, couch

Where do I play this?
It's a gamepad game, so I would play it on the TV + couch. In my case that would be PC plugged to TV, but if you can't, go for the PS5 version imho.
 

Papacheeks

Banned
I read the Destructoid review because I usually line up with that guy's taste. Had about 10 different qualifying statements in it trying to downplay expectations or explain shortcomings. The game seems okay? Pretty graphics and fairly standard gameplay. I think after the honeymoon period wears off people will likely settle around that opinion around here as well. I haven't seen anything that impressive in the videos I've been watching. It looks like a charming game with nice graphics.

What's impressive is the quality of animation, lighting, character designs in a pretty decent package at a budget price of $40. It reminds people especially ones who played games from the PS2 era of a time where budget games could be pretty great in quality.

And this is from a First time "game studio". They mostly do animation and commercials and branched out to make something pretty great.

The thing that sucks is the story of someone who was fucked over by ember labs.


I see his name is in the credits under prototype but most of his animations were used in final game. Hope the guy gets something out of this, be nice if SOny recognized some of this and did something about it.

Or at least Ember labs back pays the guy from what they make.
 

Fredrik

Member
I've bought both versions but I have a feeling the 4k OLED and atmos (although there's no atmos from the PS5 my receiver can take care of the rest) will be the superior experience for this type to game.

Probably won't dig in until the weekend though because I'm still busy with Deathloop.

It's a gamepad game, so I would play it on the TV + couch. In my case that would be PC plugged to TV, but if you can't, go for the PS5 version imho.
Sounds like PS5 version is the way to go for me, thanks 🤝 Is the framerate stable?
 

Punished Miku

Gold Member
What's impressive is the quality of animation, lighting, character designs in a pretty decent package at a budget price of $40. It reminds people especially ones who played games from the PS2 era of a time where budget games could be pretty great in quality.

And this is from a First time "game studio". They mostly do animation and commercials and branched out to make something pretty great.

The thing that sucks is the story of someone who was fucked over by ember labs.


I see his name is in the credits under prototype but most of his animations were used in final game. Hope the guy gets something out of this, be nice if SOny recognized some of this and did something about it.

Or at least Ember labs back pays the guy from what they make.
If small teams can actually pull this off sometimes then that's awesome. The Ascent is another example. But the downside is the games will take 5 years and probably not have dlc since they can't make it fast enough.

I saw that article as well. Sounds kind of shady for sure. I guess shit happens.
 

iHaunter

Member
Exactly he's probably too excited and was not thinking... I would give them the visual aspect tho. This thing looks prettier than any Sony/Nintendo/Xbox first party game.
Not surprising Combat isn't very innovative. It's definitely different. They're known for Animation and Graphics. Buy em, give em a bigger budget, give em a dev team, BOOM. Kena 2 lookin like a huge exclusive.
 

dorkimoe

Member
Only 5 minutes in, just giving impressions
-Graphics amazing
-60 fps amazing
-cutscenes appear to be in 30fps? yuck

I hope these devs get bought up and get a chance to make a big sequel. I dont know where the game is going to go as i said only literally 5-10 minutes in. Id love to see ability to upgrade gear/loot type mechanics. Sony could buy this studio and have their own fable franchise on their hands.
 

nowhat

Member
Indie devs often hold reviews until release day as a free form of marketing.

Leads to impulse buys if the reviews are positive.

Much more effective for small teams without big advertising budgets.
I'm also guessing (and this is 100% pure unadulterated speculation courtesy of my rectum) it may be the case that the game was finished very close to release. It was delayed, and as there's no physical release (yet) it didn't have to "go gold" some weeks before release.
 

IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
All i'm saying be fair before criticising. Reviewing games is still too subjective. Reviewing [based on the VISION and based on the development context] is very healthy for all games.

That's just nonsense to me; a game should have some objective qualifications but those should have nothing to do with who the dev team is, what their vision was, etc.

The product has objective things about it:

- A price tag that should be taken into account, don't judge a $10 game the same as a $100 game
- Things like bugginess
- Other technical aspects like whether the framerate sucks or the resolution is really low
- Amount of content, features, etc.

Why should someone judge a product differently depending on the creators "vision", their dev team experience, etc.? Those are facts to bring up for context, not something that should go into a review.

"This chef never cooked food before, and their vision was to create a burnt piece of toast. Due to these factors I give this burnt piece of toast a 9/10."

It's just utter nonsense to me. A good reviewer will attempt to understand what a creators vision was, but that's separate from judging the product.

A good review is one where the author thoroughly explains their opinion, where they are coming from, etc. Because if you explain why you did or didn't like something, the reader can take that into account. The purpose of a review is to inform a potential consumer, nothing more, nothing less.

Hell in a lot of industries they prefer the reviewer not even know who the creator is, to remove their bias. You do "blind" tastings of wine/beer/food, and review the product w/o any knowledge of who created it, on purpose.
 
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Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
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game looks amazing on a decent pc

i would say looks like a next gen game (ps5)
plays like a PS2 game

holy shit this game controls are basic and clunky.. once you poke through the pretty visuals.. it's basic af so far..,
refunded

not that i wil play anything besides d2 this thursday anyway

The devs should go back to the n64 game banjo kazooie and dig into what made that game good. Intro etc.


i would recommend loop hero , hades, valheim and factorio above this game.. (as far as indie games go)
 
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Malakhov

Banned
This game is absolutely gorgeous and I just love the simplicity about it. Looks great with my 3070ti but getting only 50fps in 4k ultra, my 6800xt tomorrow should get this above 60.
 

Saaleh

Banned
That's just nonsense to me; a game should have some objective qualifications but those should have nothing to do with who the dev team is, what their vision was, etc.

The product has objective things about it:

- A price tag that should be taken into account, don't judge a $10 game the same as a $100 game
- Things like bugginess
- Other technical aspects like whether the framerate sucks or the resolution is really low
- Amount of content, features, etc.

Why should someone judge a product differently depending on the creators "vision", their dev team experience, etc.? Those are facts to bring up for context, not something that should go into a review.

"This chef never cooked food before, and their vision was to create a burnt piece of toast. Due to these factors I give this burnt piece of toast a 9/10."

It's just utter nonsense to me. A good reviewer will attempt to understand what a creators vision was, but that's separate from judging the product.

A good review is one where the author thoroughly explains their opinion, where they are coming from, etc. Because if you explain why you did or didn't like something, the reader can take that into account. The purpose of a review is to inform a potential consumer, nothing more, nothing less.

Hell in a lot of industries they prefer the reviewer not even know who the creator is, to remove their bias. You do "blind" tastings of wine/beer/food, and review the product w/o any knowledge of who created it, on purpose.
Just imagine if
¬ kena's budget is 200 million.
¬ Advertised to showcase the power of the ps5
¬ 6 years development cycle
¬ 300 developers
¬ the studio already famous producing quality and legendary games..etc

the vision would of been way bigger. Our expectations would be at least something like the design quality of TLOU2/Ragnarok/Rift/Spiderman, but then we get this, we all would make fun of this game(BECAUSE of its studio and its corresponding vision). So the FULL context of the studio + its vision is essential before reviewing, it is the Abstraction/foundation of a review, it determines the structure of the reviewing process, it means an accurate, reasonable and fair reviewing and it is a consistent metric used for all games(works for indie and AAA). Then whatever your taste and opinion i will respect it. Reviewing a game is a JOB, not a hobby, so i expect high quality and professional skills from the reviewers. Today, Gaming media is a joke and all over the place. So many contradictions in the name of opinion/taste..

Hell in a lot of industries they prefer the reviewer not even know who the creator is, to remove their bias. You do "blind" tastings of wine/beer/food, and review the product w/o any knowledge of who created it, on purpose.
I don't mind if that is a type of reviewing. It gives unique feedback. But it wouldn't be a fair review. scores/reviews will actually destroy good games if they score bad based on that random metric. indie(15 people with almost no budget) vs indie (100 people with a good budget) vs AAA vs first party. There wont be any context with this type of reviewing and reactions will be random..
 
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Ezquimacore

Banned
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sddssdsd.jpg



game looks amazing on a decent pc

i would say looks like a next gen game (ps5)
plays like a PS2 game

holy shit this game controls are basic and clunky.. once you poke through the pretty visuals.. it's basic af so far..,
refunded

not that i wil play anything besides d2 this thursday anyway

The devs should go back to the n64 game banjo kazooie and dig into what made that game good. Intro etc.


i would recommend loop hero , hades, valheim and factorio above this game.. (as far as indie games go)
they obviously are better at visuals than gameplay but I would not say the gameplay is bad, just basic. Next time they will hire a better game director and will make a masterpiece.
 

Rengoku

Member
Any comparison on PC VS PS5? Not sure where I should grab the game.

I havea 3080 but my ps5 is hooked up to my OLED.
I'm sort of in the same situation too.
PC - should be able to get solid 4k 60fps with a 3080.
PS5 - have to choose between upscaled 4k 60fps, or full 4k 30fps.

Also, dualsense is available on PS5, not on PC
 

Ezquimacore

Banned
I'm sort of in the same situation too.
PC - should be able to get solid 4k 60fps with a 3080.
PS5 - have to choose between upscaled 4k 60fps, or full 4k 30fps.

Also, dualsense is available on PS5, not on PC
the game is well optimized on pc, even run on my sister's 1050 ti at 1080p high-ultra.
 
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