Update, 11/17/21:
The physical deluxe edition of Kena: Bridge of Spirits will be out this Friday.
Detailed today in a new press release from Kena dev Ember Lab and Maximum Games, this deluxe edition of the PlayStation-exclusive game will cost $49.99. It will include a digital soundtrack, a retail exclusive physical sticker sheet, a unique digital in-game silver staff for Kena to use, a golden Rot character skin, and “unique celebration hats for the Rot.”
Maximum Games says the deluxe edition will be sold in “popular retailers” and can be purchased directly from its website. The game will continue to be sold as a standard digital edition release for $39.99 and a digital deluxe edition for $49.99 on PSN, too.
While waiting for the physical deluxe edition to hit stores, check out our thoughts with this Kena: Bridge of Spirits review.
Original story continues below…
Original Story, 9/20/21:
Ember Labs’ Kena: Bridge of Spirits looks to have the same magical qualities of a fantastical Disney-Pixar movie. Two new trailers revealed more backstory and gameplay footage, as well as a dynamic photo mode that has me incredibly excited to take pictures with NPCs (and I usually gloss over photo modes when playing games!). Additionally, a physical deluxe edition was announced in partnership with publisher Maximum Games.
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Kena: Bridge of Spirits follows the titular heroine/spirit guide as she travels to a distant land in search of a sacred mountain shrine. Spirits have been transforming into monsters, and only Kena can bridge the gap between life and death to make things right again. She’ll meet plenty of colorful personalities along the way, including sooty little anthropomorphic creatures called The Rot, which will aid her in battle. For more backstory details ahead of the game’s release, watch the launch trailer above or check out Marcus Stewarts’ Everything We Know About Kena: Bridge Of Spirits.
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A Photo Mode trailer also dropped today. Kena has no shortage of awe-inspiring vistas, vivid magical effects, and endearing character models. Taking pictures, however, amplifies these gorgeous visuals, and a “Say Cheese!” option lets Kena and her friends properly pose for the camera. I’ve never seen this component in a video game before (as I said above, I usually don’t activate in-game photo modes – maybe some of you have seen a feature like this in other games?). Nevertheless, the game’s charm and warmth undoubtedly come through. I can’t wait to see all the photos that players post on social media. Who knows, maybe I’ll finally capture some memories of my own.
The trailers are currently buzzing, meaning that you might’ve missed the news that Kena: Bridge of Spirits is also getting a physical deluxe edition in November. Ember Labs partnered with Maximum Games, a sub-publisher on titles like A Plague Tale: Innocence and Minecraft Story Mode. Priced at $50, this deluxe edition will launch with a copy of the game, the digital soundtrack, and cosmetics for The Rot and Kena’s staff.
“Our community was extremely vocal about their desire for a physical edition from the moment we first announced the game,” said Ember Labs’ chief operating officer Josh Grier. “It’s an honor to create a game people want to add to their collections, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Maximum Games to make that happen so quickly after the initial launch.”
Does this news make you even more excited for the game, and do you plan on taking a lot of pictures with the ensemble cast?