The Switch 2’s first year has been fairly positive, with a slew of first party releases that sees Nintendo fans jumping for joy with the likes of Pokemon Pokopia, Donkey Kong Bananza and the steady flow of upgraded editions of their popular Switch 1 games such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Mario Wonder and more. The moniker of ‘Nintendo Switch 2 Edition’ is enough for any hardcore Nintendo fan to double dip (me included), and as such, it seems pretty clear that third party developers are also seeing the same levels of popularity bringing their games to the new system.
A surprising addition to the line-up, at least to me, was Ember Lab’s delightful action adventure Kena: Bridge of Spirits. A PlayStation-only title for a little while, Kena is a lovely game, full of heart and exploration, with a central protagonist well on their way to becoming a staple of the industry, with a next-gen fully fledged sequel on the way. A Switch 2 release is certainly welcome. The popularity of the game on Steam Deck is testament that players love having a game like this on the go, so it makes perfect sense, especially with the tone and gameplay of Kena seemingly fitting comfortably into the consoles’ pantheon.
You may remember we reviewed Kena way back in 2021 and gave it an eight, a great score in anyone’s book so the following will focus primarily on the Switch 2 version of the game. If you’re looking for a deep dive into the games narrative, mechanics, gameplay etc, I advise checking out the review above.
Bridge of Spirits, then. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in this world, running around gorgeous forests surrounded by little black Rot wearing silly hats and performing incredible magical feats to help me take down the infestation of evil that plagued this perfect world. I immediately fell back in love with the Rot, because how could you not? These cute as all heck creatures are a joy to find and collect around the world, seemingly more than happy to follow Kena on her adventure because all their friends are doing the same.
It’s been super fun to replay this one. The balance of the game’s fairly simplistic mechanics tooled with an engaging narrative and world to explore gives you reason enough to want to know more, and to fall a little deeper into the exploration here. The Switch 2 version is no different, and looks blisteringly good in handheld mode.
What is a little disappointing then is the game is stuck in 30fps on both handheld and docked modes. It feels a little heavier for this reason, and when the game’s combat is inherently based primarily on parrying and dodging, it’s unfortunate that it couldn’t have been just a little bit smoother for the new release.
Obviously visually the Switch 2 won’t compete on a level of a PS5, and for the most part the game still looks great with those wonderful cutscenes still coming to life on the handheld screen. It would appear the game isn’t quite running as smoothly as you may expect it to, five years later on a system that evidently has little issue running the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 and Star Wars Outlaws with little issue.
If framerates aren’t a worry for you, and understand there will be drawbacks on a system less powerful then Kena doesn’t throw up any genuinely serious issues that would otherwise push you away. Otherwise, it’s worth keeping in mind if you’re about that life.
It’s a little disappointing but thankfully, the art style remains intact, even if it’s taking a bit of hit in terms of atmosphere. Clearly Ember Lab had to trim the edges a little bit to ensure the game can run at all, and the general player isn’t going to notice anything if they haven’t played the game before, but as someone who dropped over 30 hours in the original release, it’s pretty striking, and I question whether at least a 40fps may have been possible considering the lack of density in the levels of the Switch 2 version.
Still, Kena’s heart and enchantment remains, and that’s what drew people to the game in the first place. You’ll want a small army of dark creatures following you around at all times after this, and hope to see Kena in many games moving forward. The world is fun to get lost in, notably because you’ll likely find something that will help you along the way, even if it’s just another Rot hiding under a rock. The game is happy to share with you all of its little secrets, and the more you’ll find the more you’ll uncover about this fantastical forest world that is jumping off the screen at you. Oh, I’m very excited for the sequel.
There’s every chance from a technical standpoint at least that Kena: Bridge of Spirits will be improved over time on Switch 2 and the hope is to get that framerate smoothed out just a little bit to allow the game to run just that little bit better on the console. I’m thankful I now have the game to play wherever I go, I just wanted it to shine a little more.
It just deserved a better port.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is available now on Switch 2, Xbox Series S|X, PS4, PS5 and PC
Developer: Ember Lab
Publisher: Ember Lab
Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.
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