Following the pulse-pounding events of Kingdom Hearts III and its Re Mind DLC, it’s finally time to see where Sora’s adventure will take him next. So far, the details are pretty slim, but we’ll cover everything that we’ve uncovered so far, including a look at the new trailer that just dropped for the upcoming game.

Kingdom Hearts IV announcement trailer

First up on our list is the announcement trailer for Kingdom Hearts IV. We haven’t received an official, lengthy story trailer just yet, but the announcement for the upcoming game came in a special compilation video revealed at the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary Event, which was held in Tokyo on April 10, 2022. The almost eight-minute long video also gave us a glimpse at some other Kingdom Hearts titles that are in the works, but for now, let’s focus on Kingdom Hearts IV.

Roughly halfway through the compilation, we’re given our first glimpse at Kingdom Hearts IV. In it we get a good glimpse at Sora as he appears in the Quadratum, a setting that the series has never fully explored until now. As it has only appeared somewhat briefly in past titles.

This area is more akin to our real world, and in the trailer we get to see Sora facing off against a massive boss enemy. It’s a shocking change-up from the past animations and settings we’ve explored in Kingdom Hearts IV, and one that probably adds even more questions to the list of unanswered questions for most Kingdom Hearts fans.

Kingdom Hearts IV characters

Like any mainline Kingdom Hearts title, Kingdom Hearts 4 will center around the series’ main protagonist, Sora, the Keyblade wielder. Not much about the plot is known, or even who the villains will be. We do get a quick glimpse of series’ staples Donald and Goofy before the video moves on, though, which means they’ll probably be involved somehow, too. There’s also the mysterious Strelitzia, who we see interacting with Sora before he makes his way to the center of Quadratum, but it’s hard to tell at present what role she’ll play within the game.

Kingdom Hearts IV story and gameplay

Much like the characters, the announcement leaves little to share about the story. We do know that Sora will visit the Quadratum, and that it looks to play a larger part in the story. We also know that this part of Sora’s story is being referred to as the “Lost Master Arc.” Aside from that, though, all we can do is speculate with the rest of the Kingdom Hearts fandom.

Based on the little bit of gameplay that we’ve seen so far, though, it looks like Kingdom Hearts 4 will include some pretty intense boss fights. You’ll want to make sure you’re prepared for whatever the game throws at you when it releases, which is why we recommend checking our our Omni thumbsticks. These versatile grips click onto your existing thumbsticks easily, allowing you to take advantage of their exceptional grippiness without having to completely replace your thumbsticks altogether. Kingdom Hearts boss encounters (and combat, for that matter) is very much unlike any other game in that it’s real-time and often requires you to perform platforming

Kingdom Hearts IV release date

Unfortunately, this is yet another big question mark for Kingdom Hearts IV. Because this is just an announcement that the game is in development, Square Enix hasn’t shared how far along it is, or even when to expect to learn more about it. As such, all we can do is wait for some official news to drop sometime in the future about a possible release date. Right now, we don’t even have a release window to look at.

Of course, everything we know about Kingdom Hearts IV is constantly subject to change as the developers reveal more about Sora’s upcoming adventure. In the meantime, why not take another jaunt through Kingdom Hearts III, or the Re Mind DLC, to brush up on everything that happened in the last chapter of the series.