Seneste anmeldelser af Chabs

Above all, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a feel-good game.

Everything in its world is adorable... The characters, the setting, the sounds and music...
It is all beautifully crafted, every aspect of it. You can really tell a lot of thought and effort was put into it.

The story is the bittersweet tale of Kena in her quest to reach the Mountain reigning over this beautiful but desolate land.
There's not much detail and very little exposition. You are just thrust in this world and do your best to reach your destination, making friends along the way. What little pieces of story there is is potent, however. It's very much a "less is more approach".

Gameplay-wise, it's relatively simple.
Some light platforming is involved with very simple mechanics, and puzzles are very simple and never really make you think hard.
For combat, you've got your light and heavy attacks with variants (sprinting/jumping), a bow, and bombs you can throw. No different weapons, no mods, just a few skills and that's it. Enemy variety is good enough, and you got your boss fights too.
Normal difficulty can be a bit challenging, but it's all relatively easy. There are harder difficulties that are actually quite challenging, but there's no incentive for you to pick them, aside from the feeling of having accomplished something I guess.

In terms of graphics and performance, the game looks absolutely gorgeous and plays well most of the time. The only issue I had was stutters that seemed to specifically happen after big effects (explosions, attacks, that sort of thing). It got pretty annoying during late game, where bigger attacks and bigger effects were displayed. The lighting from these effects is really beautiful, but there seems to be a lack of optimization in that department.

Overall, I honestly very much enjoyed Kena for what it was.
It's not a particularly amazing game in terms of gameplay, and many would find it boring I'm sure. But it's a beautiful game made by what seems to be a very dedicated team.
What kept me going was its beauty and endearing story. Its replayability may be next to nil, but the journey was one I won't soon forget.

A solid and fun side scroller!

Loved the meticulous pixel art, the simple gameplay with decent variety and some challenge if you want it, and the funny writing.

Super simple but very engaging.

This is more of an experience than a game.
Despite its simplicity (mechanics, graphics), it NAILS the atmosphere.

A must try if you're into atmospheric experiences.

RTX sure gave this game a glow up.
It used to look good for its time, very post-processing effects heavy, but good.
Now it's a lot more tame, with good looking realistic lighting and upscaled textures.

Gameplay-wise, it's just as stale as it used to be.
Besides mid-to-late game enemies being too spongey, the rest just works. It's just not fun. And much like before, it's mega-short (which is probably a good thing...), making it not really worth it. The original had MP at least, but even that was short-lived.

The story... There's a story at least. It's a very 2010s one.
I can't quite discribe it, but it felt like I played 10 other games just like this. It's still engaging enough tho.
So as a product of its time, it's alright.

All in all, I honestly believe your money is better spent somewhere else, whether this is on sale or not.
It's great looking, near bug-free with good performance, but is extremely short-lived, simplistic and doesn't warrant a revisit unless you've got money to burn.

Honestly, the game sucks. It always has.
It was always about "Can your PC run it".

And back then my PC couldn't. Like "15 FPS" couldn't.
So, it's 2023, cranked all the graphics to "Can it run Crysis", smooth as butter. I ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ won... I guess.

A very straightforward and simple game: mine, upgrade, defend, eventually die, and repeat.
There's no particular skill to hone, play long enough and you won't miss a thing.

You get persistent upgrades and temporary ones you find during runs at random. These temporary ones all have a upgrade tree, great for variety, but you won't need them all. There are clear winning strategies. It can be frustrating at times because a run's success could just be luck-based, but it ultimately doesn't matter much.

For the price point, I'd say it's a steal!

Very pretty on the outside, but bland as hell overall.
It's just the product of gaming standardisation.

It plays greats, looks great, is more or less bug-free (as far as I could see), but there's really nothing to keep you there.
I can't care about the story, I can't relate/empathise with the cast, and the world is pretty much an empty shell.
Shooting feels like previous Far Cry games, and honestly I never really liked it there either. Despite all the bells and whistles, it's really not satisfying at all.

It's still OK if you grab it at a heavy discount, but seriously not worth its full price... You'd basically be paying for Giancarlo's performance at that point.

Buyers beware: You may like what you see, but dislike what you'll get.

The primary aspect that is touted anytime Kenshi is mentioned is freedom.
Freedom to trade, to kill, to explore, to build, to (ironically) become a slave, to escape from slavery... You can "do anything" and "be anyone" in this game. And in many regards, it is true.

You see, there are no inherent goals in Kenshi. it is a subjective notion.
The world is your oyster, but good luck stirring things up on your first playthrough.

Kenshi only starts revealing itself after you invest time in it, because what Kenshi is not is a casual experience that you can just load up, play, and extract some enjoyment out of. You will get bored at first. You will feel lost and wonder what to do. And to be quite honest, depending on what you like, you may still feel like that after hours of gameplay.

Because therein lies the issue with all pure sandbox games: you can distract yourself for a while, enjoying the systems of the game, up to a point. With no overarching goal to direct you, only the most avid fans who can fill the void with their imagination will truly enjoy Kenshi.

For now, I appreciate what Kenshi is about. I enjoy the exploration for the sake of exploration, I enjoy recruiting and training people, I enjoy meticulously building my base of operation and expanding it.
What I appreciate less is the micromanagement that is sometimes involved, the different non-gamebreaking but still annoying bugs that inevitably come with sandboxes, the lack of a feedback loop and of a gamification of exploration.

All in all, I have spent 48h in Kenshi's world so far, some good, some just... Grinding, a few bad. Am I enjoying it? Heck yeah! But I wish the game felt less like a blank canvas you can only paint with 2 colors. It relies too much on this "freedom to do anything", but even said freedom is restricted. It hides the game's lack of depth. Or maybe said depth is too well hidden? Who knows... Will update if I see anything.

Get it already!

It's a 11/10 game.

It's repetitive, sure, but it is wholly embraced and exploited.
Repetitiveness is at its CORE, and it's what makes it so great.

You get:
- crisp gameplay
- compelling art style
- many different power-ups,
- a huge roster of bonuses (boons) that can mix together and form even greater bonuses,
- a small assortment of arms that can be upgraded in many MANY ways,
- a great storyline with thousands of lines of dialogue, very often reflecting your choices, achievements, advancements and failures too...

The game looks simple, but it's far from it.
There's almost never a dull moment.