How to Parry in Kena: Bridge of Spirits

A properly-timed parry is one of the more useful moves in Kena: Bridge of Spirits, but it can be challenging to master at first. Attempting to parry too early depletes the shield and activating it too late leaves Kena vulnerable to attack. Learning how to successfully parry is crucial to tackling the various enemies Kena encounters.

Throughout Bridge of Spirits, Kena will face a multitude of corrupted enemies, each with various approaches to battle. The more difficult these opponents become, the more useful a perfect parry will be in combat. Understanding enemies better is not only helpful for avoiding damage, but also for knowing how to time a parry and counterstrike. Once players get more familiar with different enemy tactics, they can better determine when to parry their attacks.

One of Kena’s abilities is a spirit pulse that also acts as a bubble-like shield. Though the shield deflects hits from harming Kena directly, it also has its own health meter that players need to watch. Being mindful of this health meter is just as important to successfully parrying as the timing of the move itself. If it turns red, it has taken too much damage and will soon break. Even so, completing an effective parry is well worth the effort.

How to Parry in Kena: Bridge of Spirits

To parry, players need to activate Kena’s shield right as an enemy begins to attempt their attack. If playing Kena: Bridge of Spirits on PlayStation consoles, press L1 to activate the shield. If playing on PC, activate the shield using the E key. Calling on the shield at the perfect moment ensures the enemy’s hit lands on the shield itself, rather than dealing major damage to Kena. The timing is key to ensure the shield is not activated too soon or too slowly. If the attack is successfully deflected, time will temporarily slow in-game and the enemy will be knocked back. This gives players the opportunity to land a counterattack.

Players can also upgrade the move using Karma. With this upgrade, Kena will perform a spin attack after a successful parry. Paired with the stunning knockback enemies already suffer after the parry, the spin attack puts the fight even more in Kena’s favor. While this is a helpful add-on, the surest route to the perfect parry is to continue practicing. As the game progresses, learning different enemy tactics and playing close attention to timing will only further improve Kena’s parries in combat.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC.

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