Kirby and the Forgotten Land review: Waddle Dee-lightful

Is there any video game series as joyful as Kirby? The second I booted Kirby and the Forgotten Land up for the first time, I broke out into a cheerful grin. After a month spent exploring post-apocalyptic wastelands, I was happy to watch the pink puffball pitter-patter around colorful landscapes without a care in the world. Hilariously, Kirby and the Forgotten Land actually is a post-apocalyptic game. Kirby is sucked into another world filled with decaying shopping malls and abandoned amusement parks from a seemingly dead civilization. Its world actually isn’t too far off from that of Horizon Forbidden West, just swapping robots for dastardly foxes. The difference is that the setting doesn’t stop Kirby from treating it like his own personal playground — and buffet. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is an adorable platformer cut from the same cloth as Nintendo’s finest. The game’s absurd Mouthful Mode is an especially strong gimmick that lets developer Hal Laboratory get more playful and come...

Hilarious Mouthful Mode; Mysterious world; Neat ability upgrades; Waddle Dee Town is quaint;

Runs out of ideas; Co-op play is limited;

Kirby and the Forgotten Land review

Kirby and the Forgotten Land (for Nintendo Switch) Review

Mario made the jump from 2D to 3D in 1996. Link did it in 1998. Samus Aran switched over in 2002. For Kirby, that year is 2022. Kirby and the Forgotten Land ($59.99) for the Nintendo Switch is the first main series Kirby game to feature fully 3D action, after over three decades and 12 non-spinoff games (16 if you don’t count Epic Yarn, Mass Attack, and Canvas/Rainbow Curse as spin-offs). Kirby makes the transition to 3D with aplomb, but it isn’t the sort of revolutionary step that Super Mario 64 or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time represented. This is the same enemy-swallowing, ability-copying, stage-exploring platforming we’ve come to expect from a Kirby game, just with more mobility and slightly simpler powers. Exploring the Forgotten Land Kirby and the Forgotten Land starts with a vortex that mysteriously appears on the planet Popstar, and sucks in Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight, and a bunch of Waddle Dees. Kirby finds himself on a strange world surrounded by conspicuou...

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the series' first real step into 3D action, and the game deftly makes the transition with its many challenges and secrets. However, there's less ambition on display than you might expect.

Makes the jump to 3D, while keeping the classic games' appeal; Numerous activities to undertake; Lots of secrets to find; Mouthful Mode is interesting, if potentially visibly upsetting

Mechanically simpler than other recent Kirby games; Fewer copy powers