Kena: Bridge of Spirits, a woefully underrated, charming adventure game from 2021, is getting a sequel this year in the form of Kena: Scars of Kosmora. This return to Kena's spirit-guiding adventures may not have been what many were expecting from Sony's first-party lineup in 2026, but it's certainly a welcome addition.
By the standards of most modern, AAA games, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is rather quaint. Its world, while graphically stunning and artistically distinct, is far from sprawling or packed with side activities to engage in, and is generally just not as robust, content-rich, or epic in scale as many of its contemporaries. But these aspects are part and parcel of what makes Bridge of Spirits a special experience: it's not trying to be the next Assassin's Creed or Witcher 3, it's just trying to realize its vision. This focus on vision will hopefully be retained in Kena: Scars of Kosmora which, with its new PS Studios label, could very well be a grander and more expansive version of its predecessor.
What Does the PlayStation Studios Label Mean for Kena?
What Is PlayStation Studios?
PlayStation Studios, the label that you'll see when booting up most major PlayStation exclusives, is the game development and publishing branch of Sony Interactive Entertainment. PS Studios doesn't actually make any games itself, but it oversees and supports projects from Sony-owned studios, including:
- Insomniac Games
- Sucker Punch Productions
- Naughty Dog
- Santa Monica Studio
Is Kena: Scars of Kosmora Owned by PlayStation Studios Now?
Unlike Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, and Insomniac, Kena developer Ember Lab is an entirely independent studio: it's not owned by Sony or any other large entity. Rather, Ember Lab has a publishing partnership with Sony for its Kena games, which, in the case of Bridge of Spirits, meant additional funding, early access to PS5 development kits, and marketing support, all of which contributed to its ultimate success.
Now under the banner of PlayStation Studios, Kena: Bridge of Kosmora can be expected to be treated like a true first-party Sony game, with the funding that comes with that. Again, this doesn't mean that Ember Lab is being acquired by Sony at this point, but it does suggest that the latter has a much higher degree of confidence in the former. And according to Ember Lab, this increase in confidence and trust is paving the way for a more ambitious and substantial Kena game later this year.
'Partnering with PS Studios Has Empowered Us' — How PS Studios Might Improve Kena: Scars of Kosmora
Writing for the PlayStation Blog, Ember Lab co-founder Josh Grier explains that the new partnership with PS Studios has "empowered" the team to create a beefier experience "built with an emphasis on tightly designed regions, deliberate progression, and a strong sense of adventure." This is a rather vague description of PS Studios' contribution to Kena: Scars of Kosmora, but the point seems fairly clear: Sony is giving Ember Lab more support this time around, which will theoretically allow for a more detailed (read: more expensive) final product.
The first Kena is still one of the best-looking games on the PlayStation 5, so it's exciting to imagine how Scars of Kosmora will improve upon its already cutting-edge fidelity. In terms of pain points, Bridge of Spirits was often disappointingly linear and mechanically straightforward, so it will be interesting to see whether Scars of Kosmora builds these elements out. The game's reveal trailer hints at larger, more open-ended areas, so perhaps level design will be one major manifestation of the sequel's PS Studios affiliation.
I would love to see Scars of Kosmora flesh out the combat, exploration, and progression aspects of the first Kena game. With Ember Lab already proving its mettle with respect to graphical fidelity, art design, character animations, and the like, I'm hoping to see Scars of Kosmora be "better" and not necessarily that much "bigger" than its predecessor.
Kena: Bridge of Kosmora Should Hold Tight to Its Humble Roots
Like I said before, Kena: Bridge of Spirits isn't so loved because it's another big-budget open-world game—it's loved because it has heart. Writing, animation, and overall atmosphere are what make Kena special, not massive overworlds or skill trees that take millennia to fill out. I suppose what I'm trying to say is, despite its larger budget, I hope that Kena: Bridge of Kosmora doesn't wind up feeling like a Pixar-tinged take on Horizon: Forbidden West or another paint-by-numbers open-world adventure.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits, in my opinion, doesn't suffer very much from a lack of scope or scale. It has mechanical elements that could be better realized, and I can maybe see the benefits of bigger, more diverse environments, but if Kena: Scars of Kosmora succeeds, it will probably be by virtue of what made its predecessor successful: a healthy, thumping creative heart. So long as Ember Lab doesn't lose sight of that, Scars of Kosmora should be a worthy new entry in this burgeoning series.
- Released
- 2026
- Developer(s)
- Ember Lab
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Prequel(s)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Number of Players
- Single-player
WHERE TO PLAY
Kena: Scars of Kosmora expands the action, adventure & combat of its award-winning predecessor as the player traverses a vibrant island filled with buried secrets, wandering spirits, epic bosses, and distinct cultures.
Kena, now an accomplished Spirit Guide, travels to the mysterious island of Kosmora seeking a cure for her affliction and to reconnect with a friend from her past.
There, she is confronted by a powerful corruption that fractures her staff.
Needing it to survive, Kena must accept Kosmora’s forgotten and dangerous form of Spirit Guiding that manipulates the elements.
On her journey, Kena discovers and nurtures memorable spirit companions – whose powers she will harness to solve puzzles and defeat enemies using new elemental abilities.
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PC
