Kena is a love letter to the adventure games of our past. When playing it, you can see plenty of inspirations from classic PS2-era games, but the most obvious inspiration is The Legend of Zelda. This game takes many notes from various Zelda titles, especially Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild.
The semi open world is gorgeous and breathtaking, and feels open enough to where you can feel the freedom in exploring without being totally lost. Combat can be iffy at times and the camera sometimes will fight you in specific bosses, but overall it was a fun treat, especially once you unlock all abilities. The story structure is very similar to BOTW but with a deeper narrative thrown in your face rather than told by world building NPCs.
The soundtrack and graphics are the biggest things to highlight. The soundtrack is mesmerizing and relaxing, while not being afraid to amp up the intensity for some of the most epic vocals I've heard in some time. The graphics... well, you know about those Pixar-like animations.
Kena is a game worth playing, especially if you go in blind. It's one of the best indie games ever made and should absolutely be experienced on the PS5. I would love a sequel.

Reviewed on Oct 14, 2022


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