Kena: Bridge Of Spirits - What We Know So Far

During Sony's PS5 "Future of Gaming" event, gamers were treated to enticing footage of the next-gen console's software library. Among recognizable IP's such as Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Gran Turismo 7, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, a brand new title elicited plenty of interest from many who saw it.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a third-person action-adventure game being published and developed by animation and digital content studio Ember Lab. The game's Pixar movie-esque art design, cutesy helper creatures, and compelling main heroine all combined to produce lots of intrigue about the game. In anticipation of this upcoming PS5, PS4, and PC release, which is already expected to wow players in 2021, let's take a deeper look at Kena: Bridge of Spirits.

Some assumed Kena: Bridge of Spirits would release as a launch title for the PS5, but due to the 2020 pandemic, Ember Lab was forced to push its first video game project into the following year. The development studio sent out an update to its fans via Twitter that explained its decision to change Kena's original debut.

"We have made the difficult decision to delay the release of Kena: Bridge of Spirits to Q1, 2021," shared the tweet, highlighting the affect of 2020's many challenges, including the need to adjust to working from home. Ember Lab explained that the decision seemed like the best move, both for the "well-being of the team" and to ensure Kena lived up to its standards and vision.

It's not all bad news, though. During an interview with Game Informer, Ember Lab noted that there's a pretty good deal in store for those who purchase Kena: Bridge of Spirits on PS4. Anyone who picks up the current-gen version will be able to get a free upgrade to PS5 once it makes the jump to next-gen.

Only one trailer for Kena: Bridge of Spirits has released thus far and it happens to be the announcement trailer that debuted during Sony's PS5 "Future of Gaming" event. A ton of positive feedback has been thrown at the game ever since and pushed it higher up the list of most anticipated PS5 games.

The trailer transports players to a mystical forest full of whimsical characters, such as a pair of twins seen frolicking together and a trio of small black creatures. You see the titular protagonist sitting in a meditative stance alongside even more of the lovable miniature beasts. Following that scene, Kena fends off unseen threats with her wooden staff before the trailer reveals the forest baddies Kena must face as she utilizes the aid of her adorable allies.

Kena wasn't originally developed with PS5 hardware in mind, however Ember Lab's chief creative officer Mike Grier told Game Informer it used the machine's extra horsepower to do more with its development tools. Grier described getting the performance it wanted out of the PS4 as "a nightmare," but one that ultimately made transitioning to the souped-up PlayStation 5 much easier.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits follows Kena, a young spirit guide who makes her way to an abandoned village in search of a sacred mountain shrine. The village is located within a massive overgrown forest plagued by a curse and filled with restless spirits. Kena's main goal is to uncover the secrets behind the village's forgotten community and help its spirits move on to the afterlife. She'll have to engage in battle with the more corrupted spirits and use the aid of the Rot, which are the small black creatures capable of decomposing nature's dead and rotting elements.

While chatting with Game Informer, Ember Lab provided more information on the title's art design and environmental homages to real-world settings. "Bridge of Spirits is set in a fictional place that's an homage to a variety of different Eastern locations," the studio stated. "You'll find nods to Japan, Bali, and other places in the geographic features and architecture. Kena's not from the place she explores in the game, either. She had to travel quite a distance to get there. Mike jokes that she didn't ride her bike over, to give you a sense of how far she's come."

It seems both Kena and players are in for quite a journey when Bridge of Spirits launches in 2021.