KINGDOM HEARTS Uχ Dark Road

About

"Kingdom Hearts Ux: Dark Road" is a Role Playing Game with delightful mechanics, splendid graphics, and a phenomenal soundtrack, but is marred by excessive grinding, annoying ads, and frustrating bugs. Its service has ended, leaving only an offline version, but it still offers an intriguing and wholesome story for players to enjoy. Overall, the game has its strengths and weaknesses, but it remains a memorable addition to the Kingdom Hearts universe.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 9,979 reviews

story624 positive mentions

monetization62 negative mentions

Engaging storyline that expands on the Kingdom Hearts lore.
Fun and addictive gameplay with a variety of characters and medals.
Good balance of free-to-play options, allowing players to progress without spending money.

Heavy reliance on pay-to-win mechanics, making it difficult for free-to-play players to compete.
Frequent crashes and technical issues, especially after updates.
Slow updates for story content, leading to frustration among players.

story
1,786 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
61%
4%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players praising its depth and connection to the larger Kingdom Hearts narrative, while others criticize the slow pacing and excessive filler content. Fans appreciate the emotional and engaging storyline, which is essential for understanding the overarching plot of the franchise, but express frustration over the frequent need for grinding and the pay-to-win mechanics that hinder progress. Overall, while the story is compelling and integral to the Kingdom Hearts lore, the gameplay experience can feel repetitive and overly reliant on microtransactions.
- “The story is fantastic, and it is now 100% free to experience the main story.”
- “This game is hands down one of the greatest stories ever told; everything is done to perfection. I love every bit of this game.”
- “The story is engaging and this is absolutely an important part of the Kingdom Hearts storyline.”
- “The old game had it set up where you could feel like part of the storyline, but the new version is just a game with premade decisions and a basic storyline done a million times in this franchise. Just bring the old one back.”
- “The story progression is still slow as molasses. Once you've played the first 20 missions, you know what you're getting out of the next 780+.”
- “The story is surprisingly emotional and is told well through the sprites, but the pacing is painfully slow after 200 chapters; almost nothing worth noting happens.”
gameplay
451 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
45%
8%
The gameplay of the Kingdom Hearts mobile titles has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and overly reliant on gacha mechanics, leading to a "pay-to-win" environment. While some appreciate the simplicity and accessibility of the controls, others criticize the lack of depth and strategy, often describing it as monotonous or akin to an auto-play experience. Despite these criticisms, fans of the series enjoy the story and character customization, indicating that the narrative elements often outweigh the gameplay shortcomings.
- “The gameplay was unique, collecting medals and customizing your character was loads of fun, and ranking up in PvP felt like an accomplishment.”
- “The gameplay is fun and challenging and a treat to all Kingdom Hearts fans.”
- “The gameplay is great too.”
- “This is not a good substitute, and the gameplay is repetitive and tiring, something I don't usually associate with the Kingdom Hearts name.”
- “The gameplay is incredibly boring.”
- “The gameplay is stale as it was ported from an old browser game.”
graphics
258 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
26%
3%
The graphics of the game have received largely positive feedback, with many users praising the cute and colorful art style, which is often described as adorable or charming. While some players express a desire for more realistic graphics akin to console versions, the overall consensus highlights that the visuals are well-executed for a mobile game, contributing to an enjoyable gameplay experience. However, a few critiques mention that the graphics can appear simplistic or chibi-like, which may not appeal to all fans of the franchise.
- “I love the graphics, the gameplay, everything!”
- “The graphics are adorable, and the gameplay is surprisingly solid.”
- “Amazing graphics and awesome gameplay.”
- “The story is so basic and broken it's horrible, the gameplay is boring, the art style is terrible, the gacha is greedy.”
- “I was kind of expecting Opera Omnia or FF Mobius graphics, but got Paper Mario and weird maneuver controls.”
- “This game is nowhere near as good as the original Kingdom Hearts and the graphics are terrible; the gameplay is also laggy.”
monetization
123 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
34%
50%
The monetization model of the game has been widely criticized as excessively reliant on microtransactions, with many players labeling it a "cash grab." While some users appreciate that in-app purchases are not strictly necessary to enjoy the game, they often feel that the high costs and paywalls create an unbalanced experience, particularly in competitive modes. Overall, the consensus is that the aggressive monetization detracts from the enjoyment and accessibility of the game.
- “It's also nice that you can get a lot of good medals in the game and do well without having to spend money--and there are no ads whatsoever.”
- “While in-app purchases are possible, they aren't necessary, and I've made it a couple of years without paying any money.”
- “Best of all, the game can be enjoyable without in-game purchases.”
- “But I can't recommend this to anyone because of its absurd microtransactions and VIP that you'd need to buy weekly to keep up with the game.”
- “Literally just a cash grab; you can have a trial of sorts where the missions are easy, but soon the monsters become unbeatable unless you throw money at the game to buy the best medals, which literally just recycle animations from other metals and recolor them.”
- “The monetization for this game is horrible.”
grinding
112 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
99%
The reviews consistently highlight that the game is excessively grindy, often to the point of tedium, with many players feeling that the grinding detracts from the overall enjoyment of the storyline and gameplay. While some appreciate the challenge and find the medal collection engaging, the overwhelming amount of grinding, especially for new or returning players, is frequently criticized as repetitive and frustrating. Overall, the game's grind-centric design is seen as a significant barrier to enjoyment, particularly for those not deeply invested in the Kingdom Hearts franchise.
- “Not very grindy to get good medals.”
- “Dark Road requires an absurd amount of grinding to complete, to the point where I was already having to farm BP before every quest as early as the second world.”
- “The game is extremely tedious, frustrating, and overall pointless.”
- “The game's story is decent enough, but it's just so needlessly grindy that it's hard for me to enjoy the game.”
music
63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
37%
5%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty, nostalgia, and integration with the Kingdom Hearts franchise, enhancing the overall experience. Many players find themselves captivated by the soundtrack, often listening to it outside of gameplay, while some express frustration over loud intro music and a lack of voice acting. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal despite some criticisms regarding other aspects.
- “The music is beautiful and there's a lot of good moments of laughs.”
- “I love the music in this game, it's calm and rich and has a sense of adventure all the while keeping you wanting to keep going. I give it a 5-star purely out of the music and simplicity.”
- “Great music, graphics, and gameplay.”
- “The music is torture for the metal list and other areas of the game.”
- “The fact that the game boots up with a super loud musical intro anyway is a very annoying oversight which prevents me from playing it whenever I want.”
- “The only thing gold about this game is the music; besides that, the game is trash and now that the gameplay changed to cards, it's even worse than ever.”
emotional
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
91%
9%
The emotional aspect of the game is highly praised, with many players expressing deep investment in its storytelling, which evokes strong feelings and even tears during key moments. The narrative is described as both beautiful and heartbreaking, resonating particularly with fans of the series who appreciate the emotional depth and artistry involved. While some players find the gameplay simplistic, the emotional journey and connection to the characters are highlighted as standout features that enhance the overall experience.
- “The story is surprisingly emotional and is told well through the sprites.”
- “I've never been so emotionally invested in a mobile game before.”
- “This game is absolutely amazing and pulls every last bit of emotional string you ever felt while playing Kingdom Hearts growing up.”
- “I just can't imagine going through the whole tutorial and all the easy, boring story quests all over again. I never pay real money, but I would pay real money to at least skip the tutorial.”
- “Hamburger graphics, boring storyline, zero voices, and paywall.”
stability
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
82%
The stability of the game is a mixed bag, with some users reporting smooth performance and no glitches, while others experience frequent loading freezes, crashes, and significant bugs that hinder gameplay, particularly during critical moments like downloading updates or completing missions. Despite the enjoyment of the game, many players express frustration over persistent issues that detract from the overall experience, leading some to consider uninstalling until fixes are implemented.
- “Runs great on both my tablet and phone with no lag, love the artwork, the gameplay, and the ability to customize the keyblades to make them more powerful through upgrades of the keyblades themselves and upgrading medals.”
- “This game runs great.”
- “I have KHDR, it's playing well with no glitches on my PS4. I have the whole KH series.”
- “My only issue is the loading freezes constantly and I have to restore resources from the title screen in order to play again.”
- “I've restarted my Kindle multiple times, updated the OS, and uninstalled then reinstalled the game to see if it made a difference, and nothing.”
- “Not what I expected... I went through gameplay to a point where it said I had to download to keep going, tried, and it goes to 80-90% on 2/16 then freezes and causes my phone to turn off. I can't play it at all now, so I am uninstalling it. Maybe if the issues are fixed, I can try it again.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding it genuinely amusing and entertaining, while others express frustration over technical issues and the game's monetization strategies. Overall, many users appreciate the comedic elements, particularly in relation to its unexpected themes and the irony of its target audience.
- “Funny part is, that game is the reason I downloaded this one.”
- “Well, it is a good game and I thought it was the real Kingdom Hearts; I was laughing so hard.”
- “The game is fun and funny.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
Overall, the game's optimization is praised for its smooth performance and good graphics, particularly on devices like the Galaxy S8+. However, some users have reported issues with medal optimization and purchasing jewels, indicating that while the game runs well, there are minor complications that could affect the user experience.
- “So far, everything related to performance and quality is just awesome.”
- “A bit complicated when you get medals you can't use, but it runs smoothly and I haven't had any other issues.”
- “So far so good; it's a great game with simple controls, good graphics, and it runs smoothly. Some people say it's bad, but that's just due to their poor phones.”
- “I have a Galaxy S8+, so performance shouldn't be an issue.”
- “I wish they had medal optimization as a choice; trying to figure out what goes with which and not looking like a moron is hard.”
- “The game has potential, but the optimization is lacking, making it frustrating to play.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is highlighted by its appealing and cute character designs, which enhance the overall experience. Players enjoy the opportunity to interact and form friendships in multiplayer modes, although some note that the gameplay can become repetitive. Overall, the character designs contribute positively to the game's charm and social aspects.
- “The character designs are cute and cool, and it's nice to meet people in the multiplayer modes, interact, and make friends.”
- “I love the cute character design; it's easy to play and enjoyable.”
- “Amazing character design and fun gameplay, even if it can be a bit repetitive.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players express a desire for increased replayability in Kingdom Hearts 3 through the addition of more playable characters and multiplayer co-op options, suggesting that diverse character choices could enhance the game's longevity and enjoyment.
- “The lack of diverse playable characters in Kingdom Hearts 3 really limits its replayability.”
- “Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back and play through it again.”
- “The story is engaging, but the linear gameplay makes replaying it feel more like a chore than a choice.”