Critical Mode Has Been Added To Kingdom Hearts III

Kingdom Hearts III released this January, and while it received a mostly positive reception from both fans and critics, the general consensus was that the title lacked a lot of the challenge found in previous instalments. Those looking for more of a bite out of their Disney and Square Enix crossover will be glad to know that series staple difficulty Critical Mode is being added to the game in a free update.

News came via the Kingdom Hearts Twitter account, where director Tetsuya Nomura informed fans that the update was dropping, and that the team have “changed things up” in regards to the mode compared to how it functioned in previous games. 

Greetings, it’s been a while since I last posted. Spring is here, and I hope everyone is doing well. #KingdomHearts III's long-awaited Critical Mode is available as a free update tomorrow (PT).

We’ve changed things up from the previous games, so I hope you enjoy - Nomura pic.twitter.com/Npz8FeKmCK

— KINGDOM HEARTS (@KINGDOMHEARTS) 22 April 2019

In this new mode:

• Maximum HP and MP are halved
• The frequency of situation commands and magic is lowered
• Sora can perform new abilities exclusive to this harder difficulty mode

This update also adds the feature for players to carry over their Keyblades to a new game, where they will return to their default strength, but allows players to use Keyblades from later in the game.

Kingdom Hearts III is available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.