At today's State of Play event, Kena: Bridge of Spirits unveiled a release date for later this year, pushing back its launch window of March 2021, with a gorgeous gameplay trailer.
Indie development studio Ember Lab was first founded back in 2009, creating animated commercials and even a short film based on The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask titled Terrible Fate. Kena: Bridge of Spirits became the studio's "natural next step." Ember Lab's debut game is a story-driven action-adventure with unique mechanics such as using a staff as Kena's main weapon and using her magical abilities to guide spirits.
An exciting new trailer for Kena: Bridge of Spirits dropped at today's State of Play livestream, showing off some new gameplay mechanics and unveiling an enticing story that players can expect in the upcoming indie game.
Kena is able to manipulate and direct the Rot, small companions that are attracted to Kena and her magical powers. Throughout Bridge of Spirits, Kena will restore the world to a better state than it was left after a trauma that occurred sometime ago. Players will deal with corrupted spirits that "challenge Kena at every turn." It's not quite clear yet what Kena's exact goal is yet, whether that is eliminating a curse relating to the land, helping the spirits that lie between the living and the dead, or both, but it's clear that Kena aims to feature a rich and emotional story supported by unique gameplay and gorgeous scenery.
Combat with Kena's staff will be a major part of Bridge of Spirit's gameplay. The staff has different abilities and can seemingly be leveled with experience. For example, Kena's staff can turn into a bow and be used as a ranged weapon, but in the new trailer shown at State of Play, it can also control matter like earth to deal damage to enemies.
And it looks like Kena will take a dark turn at some point as well. The trailer shows a character, who is shown at an earlier moment, being swallowed by pieces of wood and earth, and turning into a large beast the Kena must fight.
While it was originally expected to release in 2020, then pushed back to Q1 of 2021, Kena: Bridge of Spirits has now been assigned a specific release date of August 24, 2021. While this is later than most gamers would have expected, Kena certainly looks to be an action-adventure akin to Breath of the Wild and The Pathless that exploration players should look forward to.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits launches August 24, 2021 for PC, PS4, and PS5.
