Ahead of its September 21 launch, Kena: Bridge of Spirits developer Ember Labs has announced that the game will feature a photo mode.
Revealed in an article on the PlayStation Blog, Kena: Bridge of Spirits' photo mode will include one or two functions not typical of the more 'standard' versions of the feature seen in many games.
Instead of simply stopping time to allow players to take a quick freeze-frame of the action, Bridge of Spirits grants players the option to bring its characters to life as they look to set up the perfect snap. While moving the camera in photo mode, Kena and the game's other characters will keep their attention on you; readjusting their positions to cater for more personality-fueled intimate shots.
In addition, the photo mode also comes with its own "Cheese" function. Once you've pinned down your angle and you're ready to add another shot to the album, selecting the function will cause the characters in the photo to say "CHEESE" and strike a pose. According to Ember Labs, many characters in the game come with multiple poses, meaning that you can take various shots at any location within the game without it feeling repetitive and unmemorable.
Ember Labs producer, Thomas Varga, spoke a little further about why the team wanted to flesh out their photo mode for Kena: Bridge of Spirits. "Developing photo mode and the Cheese function were exciting animation opportunities for us," he said in the PlayStation Blog post. "Not only does this function introduce another entertaining element for players, it also allowed us to showcase character personalities as we developed each unique pose."
For more, make sure to check out our Kena: Bridge of Spirits preview, which looks at how the game looks to weave together features of different PlayStation hits like God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn to create an intriguing blend of Pixar-style animated combat and exploration.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.