After the surprising cancellation of Kingdom Hearts Missing Link,Square Enixreleased on social media Wednesday night a collage of Kingdom Hearts 4 screenshots to keep fans happy. There has been a massive jump in graphical quality as the developer has shifted engines from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5.
Fans Still Have Light in Them
After over three years of silence since theannouncement trailer of Kingdom Hearts 4in 2022, Square Enix has released a teaser image showcasing multiple screenshots from the upcoming game.
“We’re currently working hard on Kingdom Hearts IV and will continue pouring ourselves into the game’s development,” posted theofficial Kingdom Hearts X account. “We’re dedicated to making this an experience that lives up to your expectations!”
The top image shows Sora fighting what seems to be heartless in Quadratum with glowing blue shoes and a transforming keyblade that has turned into chains. The heartless seem to be more realistic as they take on human-like bodies. There are also some heartless with massive purple shields.
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Next, you can see the updated models for the mysterious Strelitzia and our main protagonist, Sora. Strelitzia originally appeared in the mobile game Kingdom Hearts Union X, whose servers have been taken down. The Union X character and Sora look much better than their versions in the announcement trailer. The lighting seems to be improved, and the textures on the models are more detailed. YouTube content creatorHMKilla says on Xthat “The difference is staggering” while comparing the two Sora models we have seen so far. Thetransition to Unreal Engine 5has indeed been impressive.
The last console Kingdom Hearts game to be released is Melody of Memory, which was released in 2020. It’s been a long time.
One of the weirdest screenshots is a classic telephone on a table. It’s exceptionally detailed, and despite this modern setting, Square Enix is placing focus on the outdated item. It could be an important way to communicate with other characters in the game. Something else that is surprising fans is a screenshot of Mickey exploring a library in Kingdom Hearts IV. This seems to be connected to Yen Sid’s task to the King of finding out more about the Foretellers in Scala Ad Caelum.
The last two screenshots are also fascinating. We can see a blue and orange light seeming to resist the Darkside heartless we saw in the announcement trailer. Some have speculated it could be Sora and Riku or Sora and Yozora. The final look into the game has Sora in the middle of the street, witnessing a pretty blue glow. It looks mysterious and magical at the same time.
Missing Link Has Been Cancelled, However
Unfortunately, the game that seems to bridge the gap between KH3 and KH4 has been cancelled. In an announcement post, the officialXaccount for the game said that it was cancelled due to not being able to deliver a “service that players would find satisfactory over a long period of time.” The development team is now fully focusing on Kingdom Hearts 4.
Square Enix has said on social media that it “can’t wait to share more about Kingdom Hearts IV when the time is right.” Until then, fans will have to wait and hope the game appears at theSummer Game Fest, Jump Festa, or The Game Awards later this year.
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