Meet the Rot, Kena: Bridge of Spirits’ cute sidekick creatures

Mystery shrouds these curious little creatures. What are they, where did they come from, and most importantly, how can they help Kena restore their corrupted home?

What are the Rot ?

As with any habitat, the Forest in Kena: Bridge of Spirits requires a series of checks and balances in order to thrive. But something is broken. Corrupted.

Here, tiny, elusive Forest Spirits known as the Rot carry the responsibility of continuing the natural cycle of decay and regrowth. They have been scattered across the landscape and are in hiding from the corruption that has taken over the Forest. That is, until they meet a brave Spirit Guide known as Kena.

Undeniably cute with their large eyes, furry tummies and fondness of a scratch on the chin, within these mini beings beat the hearts of warriors – once they feel brave enough to join the fight. 

How did Kena find them?

The first Rot Kena meets happens to be the Hero Rot, the leader of the pack, in an abandoned village. The Hero Rot is sensitive to the location of hibernating Rots and other items in the area and alerts Kena when they’re nearby.

Both the Rot and Kena share a deep connection to the Spirit Realm. Through this connection, Kena can communicate with the Rot and lure them from their hiding places.

Once brave enough to leave the safety of their hideout, they dedicate themselves to helping Kena restore balance to the Forest and take on the corruption.

Getting to know the Rot

What makes each Rot unique?

Each of the Rot have varying forms of plant life growing in their hair: buds, stalks, moss, etc. Some believe this is just for decoration, but the Rot are partially composed of plant material. The longer they are around, the more their natural flora grows, so you may be able to tell a Rot’s age by how much plant life you see on their heads.

Perhaps in an effort to maintain individuality, the Rot also love to wear hats and masks. They take great pride in these items that Kena chooses for them to wear once they’ve been unlocked at various carts found throughout the forest. 

How do they communicate?

The Rot communicate with Kena using simple sounds and physical cues, but a more advanced form of communication takes place between themselves.  The Rot use a complex system similar to the network of threadlike hyphae seen in many fungi species to communicate quickly and effectively. You will see they work as a perfect unit, even as their group grows in numbers.

What do they eat?

Eating is an important aspect of the Rot's life. In a way it’s their day job – eating naturally decaying parts of the Forest helps new life flourish. It’s not all work though, they’re also partial to the rare ‘Stinky Fruit’ that grows in unique places around the Forest.

Are they better alone or as a group?

Rot make a great team when they work together, especially under the leadership of the Hero Rot. Once discovered, they eagerly join each other becoming nearly inseparable. It is almost as if they are meant to live and work together, but some other force has led to their separation…

What do they do in their downtime?

When Kena finds the Rot, they are in a deep sleep state to conserve energy. To help them hide from danger, they turn invisible while they’re asleep – another reason why they’re so hard to find!

As Kena explores the forest, her team of Rot never miss a chance for a quick rest in cozy nooks, reclining on a comfy looking stone or floating lazily in the river. Helping Kena fight the corruption is hard work, but they’re always ready to jump to attention when needed.

Abilities and combat skills

While they have no natural predators, they are terrified of the corruption taking over the forest. Their key to survival has been to hide – but with Kena around, things are about to change. 

Rot Infusion abilities

As Kena discovers more Rot and accumulates Gems and Karma, she is able to unlock Rot Infusion abilities. These abilities allow the Rot to jump into her staff and power up her attacks.

Rot Arrow

When Kena draws her bow, she can activate the Rot and they will hop into her arrow, adding their power for a devastating, piercing blow.

Bind

The Rot can stop most enemies in their tracks swarming attackers and pinning them in place. Large enemies require more Rot to hold them down.

Rot Hammer

When Kena winds up for a heavy attack, the Rot can gather around her staff adding to the power of her swing.

Rot special abilities

With the help of a Forest Tear, the Rot can temporarily come together to form a shape shifting cloud. In this form, they can clear away large barriers of corruption, restore ancient shrines and attack enemies. As Kena’s team of Rot grows the cloud takes on new enlarged forms.

Spin Attack

This quick swirling attack is effective for clearing out groups of enemies.

Slam Attack

The slam is a slower attack but deals a more devastating blow as the cloud leaps into the air and dives through enemies.

Outside combat

The Rot can assist Kena outside of combat by moving large objects, repairing broken bridges, repositioning sacred crystals and finding valuable objects.

Spirit Mail

These items once belonged to villagers that Kena and the Rot must return to that person’s house. This helps bring the villagers peace and restores their home. 

Relics

Instrumental in Kena’s mission as a Spirit Guide, these help trapped spirits move on.

Gems

Kena uses Gems to unlock Rot hats and masks once they are discovered.

Ready to meet the Rot?

Buy Kena Bridge of Spirits on PlayStation Store

Editions:

Standard Edition

PS4PS5
  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits PS5™ & PS4™

Digital Deluxe

PS4PS5
  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits PS5™ & PS4™
  • Kena Digital Soundtrack
  • Kena Digital Deluxe Staff
  • Golden Rot Skin

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Platform:
PS4, PS5
Release:
20/9/2021
Publisher:
EMBER LAB
Genres:
Action, Adventure
Voice:
English
Screen Languages:
Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish
To play this game on PS5, your system may need to be updated to the latest system software. Although this game is playable on PS5, some features available on PS4 may be absent. See PlayStation.com/bc for more details.

Download of this product is subject to the PlayStation Network Terms of Service and our Software Usage Terms plus any specific additional conditions applying to this product. If you do not wish to accept these terms, do not download this product. See Terms of Service for more important information.

You can download and play this content on the main PS5 console associated with your account (through the “Console Sharing and Offline Play” setting) and on any other PS5 consoles when you login with your same account.

See Health Warnings for important health information before using this product.

Library programs ©Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. exclusively licensed to Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe. Software Usage Terms apply, See eu.playstation.com/legal for full usage rights.
Kena Bridge of Spirits and all related characters, images, music, sounds, and gameplay sequences shown are copyright Ember Lab, LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.
The Ember Lab, Kena Bridge of Spirits, and related character marks are property of Ember Lab, LLC.
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