Things Only Adults Notice In Kena: Bridge Of Spirits

As a spirit guide, Kena helps spirits move on. However, that is not the only form of letting go that the game focuses on. The game also explores the idea that moving forward isn’t the same thing as forgetting about something — or someone. This concept is also  during the game’s central plotline. 

In one instance, the village leader, Toshi, complains about the failing land around the village. When Zajuro tells him that this means it’s time to move to a new location and that their home is wherever their people are, Toshi refused, ultimately leading to the village’s destruction. This line of thinking is echoed in the plotline of Adira. She did not want to leave her home either, fearing her companion Hana would not be able to find her way back if she left her physical location. What they didn’t understand was that this didn’t mean they had to forget about where they came from. 

The game also points to this idea with the Rot, Kena’s nature spirit companions. At the end of the game, the player finds out the Rot are small manifestations of the nature spirit that guarded the mountain and whom Toshi destroyed in a rage. Eventually, Kena tells the Rot it’s okay for them to leave her, and they do, slowly reforming in the image of the nature god. The player is left with the idea that it does not matter if something leaves them, their mere existence affects them in way that means they will never be forgotten, meaning they’re never truly gone.