Review
Played on: Xbox Series X
Released: 2024
Original release: 2021 (PS4, PS5 & PC)
For someone that hasn't followed Kena in any way on social media, it turned up in a sale on my Xbox last year. I was looking for something my daughter would like and with the main protagonist being a young female, Kena was a good starting point. Add in some charming small creatures called Rot, and a simplified adventure experience with a small sprinkle of RPG elements and it kind of became an instant hit.
As I understand, Kena was recognised as a bit of a big deal within indie titles when it came out back in 2021, but with my main platform being Xbox it didn't see the light of day on my console until 2024. After observing my own kid having fun with it, I decided to start my own playthrough!
While the main development took place in the US, the design team are from Vietnam and there's a distinct Asian style to the fantasy world which blends nicely into its spiritual and mystical world.
Let's take a closer look!
Introduction to Kena's world is surprisingly brief, throwing the player pretty much straight into its woodland environment. As you progress the story gradually reveals why the world is covered in a corruption. I could've done with a bit more of a backstory in the intro and overall, the storytelling is done in too subtle manner. While Kena is a great main protagonist, I felt her reason and main goal to help the world to be vague and half-baked.
Key to the spiritual side of the world is Kena's ability to connect to the souls of people that have passed away. Allowing her to see what has happened prior to it all being taken up by corruption. She also has the ability to communicate with Rots. These small, black creatures, which incidentally are super cute, can be found throughout the world to collect. For kids they add a cute and friendly element, with small hats to collect for them, but the Rot also serve a purpose: strengthening Kena's special abilities and helping her progress.
There's a healthy blend of gameplay elements to keep things exciting. Firstly, the exploring is mix between light platforming and modern Tomb Raider styled climbing. Striking the right balance for young players as well as experienced. The tricker climbs and platforming segments are often in conjunction with abilities; triggering platforms to freeze mid-air for a set time for example. Thus, forcing you to quickly traverse jumps and climbs.
There's also a neat way to pull Ken through the air by locking herself onto special flowers. These work a bit like how a rope hook would in similar games. At first these are easy to use, however as you progress, they become increasingly tricky and require timing as platforms you are standing on disappear or Kena is mid-air with no ground to land on. However, the platforming and climbing is much easier than the combat.
Which brings us to the second element of gameplay; combat. This is where it gets serious and why there are many difficulties to choose from. On the surface it can be a light and breeze hack 'n' slash with Kenas's stick weapon or bow. On the flipside, on higher difficulties, it can basically be a Souls-like challenge with partying and dodging at a high level.
Personally, I'm bad at the latter and thus had to resort to an easier difficulty to get past the surprisingly tricky boss fights. Each boss has a distinct weakness and attack pattern, requiring you to learn when to parry, dodge and then strike.
In general, enemies around the open world can appear in large waves, which in turn can be quite a challenge. Especially areas covered in corruption which how to be cleared can get messy with a swarm of small enemies charging you, whole larger ones hit you with severe damage. A combination of parrying and dodging, as well as hitting weak points on the enemies with your bow will allow Kena to get the upper hand and deal massive damage.
Lastly, we have the added element of the Rot. These little critters have a purpose other than jumping cute and festively about. As you deal damage on enemies their courage increases, allowing Kena to pull out her special Rot attacks. These deal significant amounts of damage and can be a game changer in a hard boss fight. They also allow you to harvest a certain flower which heals Kena's health during combat.
The Rot system is a clever element; in order to use high damage attacks, you need to be on the ball by either parrying or attacking. Simply, avoiding combat and running away won't build the Rot courage. It's about keeping momentum, just be prepared for a tough fight!
You also have a simple ability tree to level up some of Kena's attacks either with her fighting stick or bow, there are also some super attacks with the Rot to unlock. In general, they really aid to allow the bosses to be easier, exploring is key to getting awarded the currency to upgrade.
Visually, Kena is stunning. I don't think I've seen anything as close to Pixar styled movie quality before, and it runs at 60fps too! It's so incredibly sharp and CGI looking. Sure, the animation can look at bit stiff, but the environments and characters look stunning.
There's a lovely, lush aesthetic to the nature, blended in with village elements and the creepy red corruption destroying it all. One can accuse it to be a bit repetitive overall, with only the snowy are doing a small entry towards the end. But I found it an incredible exploring experience, nevertheless. The way sunlight reflects on certain surfaces, seeing grassy fields in front of you or a tempting waterfall to jump into.
There's a limited open world design going on which is refreshing, it opens put a fair bit but doesn't go overboard with size. You'll spot a few cool things in the distance to explore, but it's about crossing a field or bridge to get there, not the next valley over. It's condensed with things to explore and less square metres of freedom, finding a great balance of freedom and linearity.
There’s not much negativity to point out here; perhaps my biggest gripe is that the story is somewhat tame in its presentation and is predictable. I never found it very engaging, then again chasing ghost telling a story of what has happened before the corruption never was going to light the world on fire.
Story aside, the gameplay makes up for it all and it's one of those titles to play for that reason alone. The atmosphere is nevertheless mazing and helps fill out the need for. comprehensive story.
I wasn't expecting Kena to deliver on so many elements at once; exploring, platforming and advanced combat, all while sporting a beautiful, CGI aesthetic. Mixing it all together in a really satisfying experience. It might sound like an indie title, and in its scope is so, but it delivers a technical brilliance which makes it seem like far bigger budget title.
Furthermore, the pacing and size of the game is spot on, allowing momentum to be keep high and not overwhelming the player with endless options and areas to explore.
One of the best platform and combat combos I've seen in recent years; perfect for kids and adults alike!
