After Square Enix canceled the Missing-Link mobile game, many hoped to see some Kingdom Hearts 4 news. Like clockwork, Square Enix finally released some screenshots of the game, which means a trailer could also be coming soon. The mobile game’s cancellation was unfortunate, but we’ll take it if that means more focus on this fourth game.
Kingdom Hearts 4 actually looks like a next-gen game based on the screenshots released. The PS5 and Xbox Series generation hasn’t looked much different from its predecessors, so seeing this gorgeous game is shocking. That’s not to say other games look unimpressive, but this game takes it to another level.
Maybe it’s the new Sora model, those creepy-looking Heartless, or the lighting, but everything about this game looks like a massive improvement from Kingdom Hearts 3. Even KH3’s haters can’t deny that it still looks good today, so improving on those visuals is an achievement. We don’t wanna sound too graphics-obsessed, but we’re genuinely shocked by how good this game looks.
Some fans will call this blasphemy, but visually, it’s up there with GTA 6. Obviously, both games have completely different art styles, but they also look like they belong on PS5 Pro and whatever the next Xbox is called. We wouldn’t be surprised if these games were re-released for the next generation.
It will be interesting to see what Kingdom Hearts 4 does with this technology and how gameplay is affected. Kingdom Hearts 3 lets Sora work with all of his party at once, no longer having to remove one of his teammates for a Disney guest star. This game also had some of the series’ best movement options, which is another huge improvement.
We haven’t had any other games in the KH series since the release of KH3, so fans have been waiting impatiently. Not having any side games outside of the rhythm title also means we aren’t seeing these mechanics improved upon or reused. That was the benefit of those side games, even if most had filler stories with minimal plot progression.
Here’s hoping that the wait for Kingdom Hearts 4 is worth it, and that the folks at Square Enix took criticisms of the third game to heart. Although the third game is this writer’s favorite, they could have fixed the undeniable flaws in that installment. Let’s hope the devs didn’t improve the visuals, since gameplay and progression-pacing significantly hindered the last game.
Now let’s hope that Kingdom Hearts 4 has an Encanto world, because I need a weird scene where Sora watches that family sing “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.”