One of the most crucial things that influences how I review the games that I’m sent codes for, is successfully identifying its target audience. Since my goal is to not so much review based on my own preferences, but instead on evaluating how well the game holds up against its peers in serving the audience it was made for, it’s critical that I get a feel for this early on. Where it can be challenging is with games like Kena: Bridge of Spirits, which in my mind looks and sometimes feels like it’s intended to have a more cozy feel in a way, given the very cute little critters you’ll work with who are weirdly called the Rot. Contrast that with combat that can be a little more demanding than the norm, and even though you can choose the difficulty you want to roll with initially, the mix of the game’s overall tones still feels unusual.

The thing is, there’s no denying that the game is absolutely gorgeous, and feels like it makes pretty effective use of the horsepower of the Switch 2. Whether it’s the lush environments you’ll be exploring, the visual flourishes associated with the various weapons and powers you’ll wield, or even the silly cuteness of your little Rot pals wearing a variety of hats you can put on them, the game delights visually. It turns out that your mini minions can also come in handy for moving objects tied to puzzles and sometimes even in combat as well, setting you up for some helping healing or even more directly attacking in certain cases. While this would by no means be considered to have Souls-like combat, I would argue that on the default difficulty it’s still a little tougher than the norm, as especially when tackling multiple enemies at once you can get into trouble.

That leads to a few features that tend to feel like daring swings that can feel more like misses. One in particular that I was never able to get comfortable with involves your rot being combined into a pretty powerful entity. Outside of combat it’s very useful for breaking through barriers and sometimes revealing the odd secret, but in the thick of battle it just tended to get me into trouble, trying to control it with the right stick while not being removed from the active battle itself, usually ending in my taking a bit of a beating. There were also times where the lush forest environments, no matter how pretty, ended up making me feel quite lost. Given that at least some of my frustrations wouldn’t be eased by lowering the skill level, that helped contribute a bit to my feeling that the game’s intended audience wasn’t entirely clear. I could see more casual gamers being attracted by the game’s look and more cute aspects, only to be frustrated by elements that may be tougher than they’re accustomed to. But at the same time I would think more experienced gamers could dig into the degree of challenge, but be turned off by the game’s somewhat more cutesy look and feel. There’s still a pretty good game here to be enjoyed, just be sure you’re getting what you may personally be looking for out of it.