Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Kena Bridge of Spirits is a souls-like action adventure RPG by Ember Lab. It’s beautiful, sad, cute, & emotive.

The photomode appears simple & basic at first, but don’t let it trick you. Unlike many games where photomode is accessed via the pause menu, Kena’s is accessed by pressing P (or up on the d-pad) during play. It has multiple sections however, & it was a long time before i stumbled on the finer tuning by pressing V once in photomode.

Photomode in this game had the delightful surprise where it gives the player access to lighting controls – you can apply extra light to the subject of your image (be it a person, rot, or object), you can allow or freeze action, & you can fine tune the light on your subject to include direction, style, or colour.

Screenshot of Kena Bridge of Spirits. A close up of a rot sprite in Kena's lap. Her hand rests gently on its head as she pats it
Screenshot of Kena Bridge of Spirits. A rot sprite peeks out from a wooden crate
Screenshot of Kena Bridge of Spirits. Rot sprites gather on a wooden deck in front of a door
Screenshot of Kena Bridge of Spirits. Rot spirits look out off the edge of a wooden deck. The one standing in the foreground is wearing a silly hat.
Screenshot of Kena Bridge of Spirits. Fire burns in a ruined barn, the sky red & full of falling ash. In the distance a tower sends a beam of white light skyward.
Screenshot of Kena Bridge of Spirits. 3 rot spirits gather on the edge of a deck. One is wearing a fox mask