KENA: BRIDGE OF SPIRITS

Rotten to the core, in the best way possible

After teasing us for over two hours in our demo with the promise of 100 cute and cuddly Rot to collect and use, EmberLabs’ co-founders Josh and Mike Grier finally cave in and show us the mass of wholesome goodness in action. On screen 100 big-eyed, black squidgy creatures dance to our every command.

It’s hard not to be impressed by the spectacle. Running on PS5 there’s no slowdown, the 4K visuals remain clean and sharp, and every Rot has its own personality and action. Some will follow obediently, some will dally in the Disney-like colourful scenery, while others play and tussle with one another. We know they’re individual little Rotties because we bought one a hat earlier, using the game’s Gem currency, and we can see the cap bobbing around amid the muddle of cuteness.

While the developer is aiming to bring the same level of detail to the PS4 edition of Kena: Bridge Of Spirits, currently you can only see 20 Rot on screen at once.

ROT A LOT

Your Rot matter because they’re the glue that binds everything in the game together. Out of combat you use your Rot to manipulate the environment and solve puzzles; you can command them to help move objects, such as statues and boulders, in order to discover secrets and collectibles.

Areas of the world are locked away if you don’t have enough Rot to open new paths or solve puzzles. Usefully the DualSense rumbles lightly when a Rot is hidden nearby, and on the map we see tallies indicating how many Rot remain in areas of the world.

“It’s a pretty big world, so to go and find all 100 Rots could be a little difficult,” says Mike Grier.