Kingdom Hearts Missing Link's new Bloodborne-style artwork is throwing fans off

Kingdom Hearts Missing Link
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Square Enix has revealed more info about its upcoming mobile game Kingdom Hearts Missing Link, as well as released its first piece of concept art, which has caught fans by surprise. 

Over the weekend, it was revealed that beta testing for Kingdom Hearts Missing Link is due to begin on January 13, 2023 - January 18, 2023, with sign-ups now available via the new Kingdom Hearts Missing Link website until December 26, 2023. The only catch is that this beta test is only available in Japan and on iOS devices right now. 

As revealed in a tweet from the Kingdom Hearts Dark Road account, this "prototype test" isn't your normal closed beta test, as it'll only feature some of the full game's functions on a small scale. According to the same tweet, an official closed beta test will apparently be announced later. So we may get a chance to take part worldwide soon after. 

Along with this news, Square Enix has also released some new Kingdom Hearts Missing Link artwork. It's a very different look from what we're used to seeing from Sora, Donald, and Goofy's previous adventures and the comparisons to Bloodborne have already begun. It's not hard to see why several fans have been reminded of the FromSoftware game as the art features a dreary colour scheme, intimidating architecture, and what looks like a lot of mist.

If Kingdom Hearts Missing Link is news to you, let us catch you up. Originally revealed during the Kingdom Hearts 20th-anniversary event in Tokyo last April - the very same event where Kingdom Hearts 4 was first revealed - Kingdom Hearts Missing Link has been a bit of a mystery up until now since all we've had to go off of is a short teaser trailer. In the trailer, we are introduced to a host of new characters in a version of the Kingdom Hearts 3 world Scala ad Caelum. 

It's probably worth keeping an eye on this mobile game, especially considering the role Kingdom Hearts X (aka 'Unchained X' or 'Dark Road') played in the overall story of Kingdom Hearts 3. Series director Tetsuya Nomura has already said that Missing Link will have connections to Kingdom Hearts 4, so you better be ready to play this one when it does eventually release. 

Fancy getting started with the long-running series? Find out where to start with our how to play the Kingdom Hearts games in order guide. 

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at 12DOVE before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.