Josh Grier, COO of Ember Lab, discusses how the studio built Kena: Bridge of Spirits' animated-film visual style, drawing from their animation background and inspirations like Miyazaki and classic Zelda. He covers the asset pipeline from concept art to in-engine implementation, the switch from Unity to Unreal Engine 4 and its benefits for VFX-trained artists, and key rendering techniques like the Deadzone Regrowth system and crafted lighting. For the Nintendo Switch 2 port, the team focused on optimizing HLODs, billboards, LOD thresholds, and texture memory budgets while preserving the emotional impact and character expressiveness of the Rot companions. The sequel, Kena: Scars of Kosmora, is being developed in Unreal Engine 5.
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IntroductionBefore we discuss the Switch 2 version specifically, Kena: Bridge of Spirits has been widely praised for its “animated film” quality visuals. How did your team initially approach building that signature art style, and how did your background in animation influence your pipeline?Sort: