When Kena: Bridge of Spirits released in 2021 for PC and PlayStation consoles, it was quite the artistic marvel. Developed by Ember Lab, a California-based studio with roots in CG film animation, Bridge of Spirits was part of a handful of early PS5 titles that teased the power of Sony’s then-nascent hardware. Among contemporaries like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and It Takes Two, Kena showed that games could rival Disney in terms of cinematic magic.

Years later, Ember Lab has only expanded that dream. In 2024, the studio brought Kena to Xbox consoles. This past February, they announced a sequel, Kena: Scars of Kosmora, which promises new characters, greater action, and even more impressive visuals. And now, as of March 26, 2026, one more wave of players gets the chance to experience Kena’s inaugural journey — this time on Nintendo Switch 2.

I loved Kena: Bridge of Spirits when I played it on PS5. The visuals were unlike any I’d seen before, and despite a wealth of influences — Horizon Zero Dawn, Pikmin, Ori and the Blind Forest, among others — Kena managed to carve out an identity uniquely its own. The game was also deceptively tough, a far cry from its lush greenery and adorable Rot creatures.

Having replayed on Switch 2, I’m pleased to share that Kena: Bridge of Spirits has made the successful jump to Nintendo hardware. The art is as tantalizing as it’s always been, and the gameplay holds up well, even among modern titles. While the Switch 2 port suffers some obvious compromises in both visual fidelity and performance, don’t let that discourage you. Even if this is your only option to play Kena, you’re in for a treat.

Mending the Land

If you’re brand-new to Bridge of Spirits, here’s the skinny: You play as the titular Kena, a spirit guide who helps wayward souls make their way to the spirit realm. For reasons that become clear later in the game, her objective is to visit the mystical Mountain Shrine abutting an abandoned village.

Despite her proximity to the shrine, Kena is blocked from accessing it due to a corruption that is transforming a once-green land into shades of purple and grey. Thus begins a roughly 12- to 15-hour journey that involves traversing the neighboring cliffs, plains, and wintry peaks of this village, helping various characters while slowly cleansing the land of corruption.

Saving nature from malevolent forces is hardly a new concept. From Princess Mononoke to James Cameron’s Avatar series, I’ve seen enough of these storylines for an entire lifetime. Still, at a time when the realities of climate control are under constant siege, it feels good to save a world and its people from their own unraveling. Kena is a likeable protagonist, full of wisdom, compassion, and confidence. The world of Bridge of Spirits can be an unforgiving one (as we’ll get to), but Kena always rises to the occasion.

I just wish, then, that Kena had more time to shine. So much of Kena: Bridge of Spirits focuses on the stories of the spirits Kena assists rather than the bridge-builder herself. We get so little into who Kena is, how she became a spirit guide, and what drives her beyond simply being a good Samaritan. Kena: Scars of Kosmora will undoubtedly explore more of these themes, but it feels odd that Ember Lab chose to avoid them in Kena’s inaugural story.

Rot Never Looked So Cute

While Kena is the de facto lead of this story, she isn’t alone in her travails. In addition to the world itself, which offers plenty of personality, Kena is joined by an ever-expanding cast of tiny, blob-like creatures known as Rot.

Why “Rot”? I’ll leave you to ponder the connotation. Despite their obvious ties to the corruption at hand, though, these little critters sure are cute. At countless turns in Kena’s journey, you’ll discover new Rot (under boulders, within pots, etc.), which grant access to expanded actions in combat. Rot also play a critical role in exploration, as players can summon them to move blocks, realign statues, and trigger levers, Pikmin-style.

Most importantly, though, every Rot you acquire can be outfitted with its own hat. Birthday hats, frog hats, even-tinier Rot hats… There are so many hats. It’s a silly inclusion that bears no weight on the story, or combat, or Kena’s progression as a shaman, but I found myself captivated by it nonetheless. (Oh, and I guess you can acquire new outfits for Kena as well.)

Serene Sights, Brutal Bouts

When you’re not hopping between Uncharted-esque handholds, cracking open a chest filled with currency, or discovering the umpteenth hat for your Rot minions to don, you’re likely engaged in one of Kena: Bridge of Spirits’ many, many combat encounters. Despite the sheer beauty of the world, make no mistake: This game is no cakewalk.

I played on the Spirit Guide (i.e., normal) difficulty level and, despite priding myself¹ as a “Gud Gamer,” I found myself getting routinely cooked. Battles are fast, with aggressive enemies and scarce opportunities to heal. Timing is key, whether it be a well-executed dodge, a perfect parry, or a carefully aimed arrow from Kena’s trusty spirit bow. While retries are swift and checkpoints extremely forgiving, the reality is that Bridge of Spirits may not be everyone’s cup of green tea.

Speaking personally, though, I had a blast. There’s a refreshing linearity² to Kena’s structure, with arenas that are just large enough to promote creativity and just small enough to create pressure. The same goes for non-combat sequences. With one notable exception (the game’s middle act, which eschews linearity in favor of a semi-open environment), Bridge of Spirits is a guided, intimate adventure reminiscent of the best PlayStation 2-era games.

All Roads Lead to Nintendo

Of course, the main question at hand is: How well does Bridge of Spirits perform on Switch 2?

In terms of pure technical speak, here’s the rundown. Like many current-gen games, Kena offered two visual modes on PS5: a 30-FPS “quality” mode that outputs at 4K, and a 60-FPS “performance” mode that dynamically scales between 1800p and 4K. The Switch 2 version eschews either of these options for a single, 30-FPS experience, with resolution ranging depending on where you’re playing. When docked, you’ll get up to 864p, while in handheld mode, you’ll get up to 540p.

To put that in layperson’s terms: It’s a serious visual downgrade. If you played on PS5 like I did, you’ll likely immediately notice the differences, from jaggier textures to choppier performance, especially in busy battles. Handheld mode is the Switch 2’s competitive advantage, but upon trying it, I quickly switched back to docked mode. The game simply compromises too much fidelity to warrant playing on the go.

The good news? The game is still incredibly beautiful, and that isn’t lost at all in the transition to Switch 2. Vistas are gorgeous (I found myself clicking the “screenshot” button often³), and there’s a fluidity to combat that shines through, despite the Switch 2 being capped at 30 FPS. All told, I played through the adventure from start to end on Nintendo’s latest console, and while I much preferred playing on beefier hardware, the Switch 2 captures the experience admirably.

If you only own a Switch 2, don’t let talk of frames and pixels scare you. Kena was never destined for the same heights⁴ on this hardware, and it’s a minor miracle the game runs as well as it does on a Nintendo platform.

Final Thoughts

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an excellent game that is perfectly enjoyable on Nintendo Switch 2. Despite a lower resolution and framerate than on PS5 or Xbox Series X, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to revisit the world, characters, and battles of Kena’s debut journey.

If you’ve never played Kena before and would like to experience the magic before Scars of Kosmora drops, this is a fitting entry point. That said, if you do own any other modern platform, I highly recommend playing elsewhere — if only to enjoy Ember Lab’s work at its utmost beauty.

Score: 8.4/10

Kena: Bridge of Spirits, developed and published by Ember Lab, released on PC, PS4, and PS5 on September 21, 2021. A version for Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One hit shelves on August 15, 2024, while the most recent Switch 2 port arrived on March 26, 2026.

MSRP: $39.99. Version reviewed: Switch 2.

Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the developer.

Credentials: Bloodborne, Celeste, Cuphead, Elden Ring, Nine Sols, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. If it crushes me to dust, I want to play it. ↩︎
While I imagine Kena: Scars of Kosmora will go bigger in size and scope, part of me wishes it wouldn’t. Linear experiences like Bridge of Spirits (or Compulsion’s South of Midnight) feel exceedingly rare in an industry dominated by massive open worlds and live-service experiences. ↩︎
All screenshots in this review were taken by yours truly, in docked mode on Nintendo Switch 2. ↩︎
In terms of specs, the Switch 2 matches up closer to a PS4 Pro than a base PS5 or Xbox Series X. I never expected it to look incredible, so I was pleasantly surprised to play through without much issue. Still, as Digital Foundry explains, the port could have been even better with some additional love. ↩︎