KENA: BRIDGE OF SPIRITS: A FILM STUDIO MADE A GAME, AND THE ROT STOLE IT
8.0 of 10 bananas. Ember Lab's debut looks like an animated film and plays like a tight, old school action adventure with a crowd of tiny Rot helpers. Gorgeous and surprisingly hard in its boss fights, but the story is thin and the world is a corridor.
By the Alpha. PS5 Deluxe Edition disc listing. Updated Oct 28 2026.
Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from launch reviews, critic consensus, update history, and what is known about the game today. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One (developed and published by Ember Lab, released September 21 2021 on PlayStation and PC, Xbox in 2023). The Amazon button is the PS5 Deluxe Edition disc, published at retail by Maximum Games. At my Oct 28 2026 check it was sold and shipped by a third-party seller named Game Express Online, below the typical price, with only a few left in stock. Look at the seller and stock before you pay.
Get Kena: Bridge of Spirits Deluxe Edition for PS5 on AmazonStore check, Oct 28 2026: new copies on offer from a third-party seller, Game Express Online, shipped by the seller, and stock looked low. Prices and sellers change, so look before you pay.
Sit with me a moment. The first trailer fooled my whole troop. They thought it was a Pixar short. Then a young spirit guide swung her staff, and a crowd of little black puffballs with leaves on their heads tumbled after her. Some games earn love for their mechanics. This one earned it with the Rot first.
What It Wants To Be
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a third person action adventure. Kena is a young spirit guide who helps lost souls move on, in a village rotting from corruption. She fights with a staff and a bow, solves light puzzles, and gathers the Rot, small forest spirits who follow her, move objects, and swarm enemies. You collect hats for the Rot, clear corrupted areas, and face big boss fights. The Deluxe Edition box adds a digital soundtrack, a golden Rot skin, a unique staff, a sticker sheet, and celebration hats for the Rot.
What Works
Critics placed it around 80 on Metacritic, and it won Best Independent Game at The Game Awards 2021. The art and animation are film quality, which makes sense from a studio that started in animation. The combat is tighter than it looks, with parries, dodges, and Rot attacks that turn a fight. Boss battles are tough and memorable. A free anniversary update added a New Game Plus and more challenge.
What Breaks
Listen well. The story is simple and quiet, and the characters do not get much room. The world looks open but is mostly a corridor with side paths. Bosses can spike hard on a game this gentle looking. And the copy I checked had only a few units left from a single third-party seller, so stock may vanish.
Who Should Play
Play it if you love Zelda style action adventure, animation, and a fair challenge, and want a finished game you can clear in a couple of weekends. Skip it if you want a rich story or a true open world.
STRENGTHS
- Film quality art and animation
- Rot companions are charming and useful
- Tough, memorable boss fights
- Finished in a couple of weekends
HONEST COSTS
- Thin story and characters
- Corridor world behind open looks
- Boss difficulty spikes
- Low third-party stock at my check
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