If critical acclaim is an accurate judge, Kingdom Hearts 3 has somehow surpassed the massive expectations the long-awaited game had leading up to its release on January 29.
Despite countless delays, info leaks and an engine chain, KH3 garnered a Metacritic score of an 88 on PlayStation 4. Only Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 received a higher aggregate score with a whopping 91 score for the stylish remake of the 1998 classic.
PlayStation Lifestyle scored KH3 a perfect 10, which is rare from any accredited publication. The website’s Keri Honea wrote:
The developer has refined and perfected the combat. It kept its silliness intact. It kept in the darker themes and deep moments of self-reflection that we all need every once in awhile. It’s, quite frankly, the best Kingdom Hearts game Square Enix has ever created.
Calling KH3 the best of the series is high praise for the next entry in such an iconic series with a sometimes persnickety fanbase. Jonathan Dornbush of IGN wasn’t as head-over-heels in love, but he still spewed mostly pleasantries KH3′s way in his review.
Dornbush scored the game an 8.7 and he wrote:
I thoroughly enjoyed Square Enix’s evolution of Kingdom Hearts’ gameplay and fidelity to Disney’s beloved animated movies. While the storytelling could use some punching up, Square has done a fantastic job of capturing the spirit of these worlds while giving us a massive toolbox for battles and exploration. Even as I watched the dust settle on the story I wanted to jump right back in to collect everything.
For a game without an online presence that relies entirely on its story to entertain, replay value is key. Not every gamer enjoys playing through games multiple times just to get all of the goodies and extras, but when there is a title that compels you to, that’s a significant accomplishment.
KH3 doesn’t have any “negative” reviews on Metacritic’s books. In fact, the lowest score it received from any reviewer is an 8. There are more than a handful of reviewers who settled on that score, and one of the more interesting summaries came from Chris Carter of Destructoid.
Carter had perhaps the most critical things to say about the game but didn’t deviate much from the consensus thought about KH3. Carter wrote:
Kingdom Hearts III might not be the best final entry possible (and knowing this series, a “Final” mix of the “final game” is easily an option), but I’ll dearly miss Sora and his friends. Despite all of the absurd twists and turns, the character missteps and the complete lack of some series-defining cast members, there are very few creations out there that make me smile this often.
If that’s the worst of the major reviews, it might be safe to say, if you have any taste for fantasy, action-RPGs spiced up with Disney, Pixar, and Square Enix characters, there is a good chance you’ll enjoy KH3 as well. Look out for Forbes’ review of the game in the coming days.
