Kena might not be perfect, but it's far from what one might expect from a studio's first game. It could've been more helpful as far as tutorials go, too, seeing how it never really teaches you how to lock onto enemies even though that's something you can definitely do. The way the game makes Kena pause on impact after jumping from any noticeable height even though you buffered your landing with a double jump also seems to break an unwritten rule about video game physics. Enemy bosses' grab attacks are particularly generous with their hitboxes and can sometimes feel unfair, though it's more about learning to play by the bosses' rules as opposed to things simply being inconsistent. Things do get a bit funky from time to time regarding hitboxes and physics, but that's to be expected from any game. Everything from the arena to the choreography to the way the audio syncs up during that fight proves that Ember Lab didn't just get lucky with its first game and that it knew exactly what a memorable moment should look like. The first act's boss teaches players the importance of learning move patterns in combat, but it's the second act's boss – the Corrupt Woodsmith – that really stands out the most.
With one, sometimes more main bosses in each "act" of Kena and several smaller bosses scattered throughout, Kena's more deserving than most games of a boss rush mode. These moments are where the brilliant animation and the deceptively challenging combat intertwine. That's another thing Kena does well: The boss fights. Parries and shield management became especially important in both normal combat and in climactic boss fights. Playing through the game on the "Hard" difficulty forced me to utilize essentially every cooldown available with specific abilities and attacks necessary for optimizing damage against different enemy types.
Its animation style and the simplicities of its combat are deceiving – the game's much more challenging than it appears. What keeps the combat from getting too stagnant though is the game's difficulty.
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