Emberlabs Co-Founder Josh Grier recently shared some details on the Official PlayStation Magazine (February 2021 Issue) about how exploration works in upcoming video game Kena: Bridge of Spirits.
According to Grier, the exploration in the game has a light metroidvania structure. He stated that the development team would like to think of it as a wide linear.
Grier explained that exploration offers a lot of options for players to do, but the main path is already set. They could go around certain areas, but in the end, the next area can only be unlocked by solving a puzzle or a mini-boss blocking the way. This is fairly common in some games, but offering different ways to unlock it is a bit rare.
The co-founder gives an example of unlocking Kena’s bow. With it available for use, Kena can now find more ways to unlock the main path. Kena can shoot a target from a series of cogs in a complex puzzle mechanism, which could open a new path. They can do that with a bomb too or using the Rot, the cuddly spirits that Kena has to collect along the way. The more Rot she has, the more power she can use to lift and move objects away from the path she is trying to access.
The upcoming game is promising and hopefully delivers a great time for players.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is launching in March 2021 on PlayStation 4, PS5, and PC.
