Kya: Dark Lineage - Gameplay

Gameplay

Kya: Dark Lineage focuses on action-adventure platforming gameplay, with the player guiding Kya through a variety of stages. During the game the player can earn nooties, allowing them to return to the Nativ city to purchase items required to progress through the game. The player can purchase several items which allow Kya to increase her mobility, including the ability to climb slippery surfaces, perform wall jumps or ride fast-moving lizards called Jamguts. Whenever the player suffers damage, Kya can recover energy by draining it from big amber shards.

The game focuses strongly on the element of air, featuring various sequences in which Kya must use strong wind currents to her advantage (although these can also prove to be a disturbance in certain points). It also features several freefall sequences during which the player must control Kya's speed and the direction of her descent, which usually ends when Kya lands on a big flower called Amortos, serving as an air bag. The player will suffer damage by touching objects while freefalling, or instantly lose a life by landing on the ground (at which point the freefall sequence will be restarted).

Complementing the player's mobility is Kya's "Boomy", a magical boomerang-like weapon which allows Kya to cut ropes and attack enemies. The Boomy can be upgraded twice in the Nativ city, first allowing the player to aim it in a first-person perspective (Silver Boomy) and later (Golden Boomy), which allows the player to activate switches or attack normally unreachable foes. The player can also purchase explosive or electrifying bombs to damage foes. Additionally, there are purchasable traps that can be used to capture rare monsters for the Nativ zoo.

Puzzles, which often rely on items or creatures within the immediate environment to solve, are another part of the game. Other puzzles might require creative use of Kya's mobility or even use of her fully upgraded Boomy's ability to be directed as the player wishes. Some may only be solved when the player has acquired the correct equipment for Kya from Nativ City.

Beyond the beginning portion of the game the player's advancement is based on three factors: The equipment they have purchased, the number of Wolfen/Wolfun Kya has turned back into Nativs and ultimately, the collection of all seven Runes. A total of 260 Nativs can be rescued throughout the course of the game, though the player is not required to rescue them all in order to confront Brazul and complete the game.

A highly praised hand-to-hand combat system which is very similar to modern brawlers is included, during which Kya is unable to use her ranged weapons and must instead engage her foes in melee with punches, kicks and throws. The player will engage in this form of combat whenever a Wolfen/Wolfun is near. Players start with only a few simple moves Kya learns from Akasa, though players can acquire more powerful bracelets in Nativ shops which increase the strength of Kya's attacks and allow her to use a greater variety of combat moves, such as grabbing Wolfen/Wolfun by their tails and spinning them around, or even riding on top of them to ram against others. Whenever a Wolfen/Wolfun is knocked unconscious, the player can exorcize it back into its original Nativ form, assuming Kya has enough Mana spheres.

Further adding to the diversity of the game are Magic Boards which allow Kya to rapidly descend across rocky or otherwise treacherous terrain. These sequences greatly resemble snowboarding games, though Kya initially is forced to simply slide down slippery areas on her feet. Later sequences require players to initially purchase and then upgrade Kya's magic board so that she can gain the ability to jump or rapidly increase her speed.