Kirby and The Forgotten Lands is a platformer action game and the first time that Kirby made the jump to 3D. The story focuses on Kirby rescuing the Waddle Dees after they were kidnapped by a group of beastly enemies. He must save them all and stop the enemies. The graphics and the art look really incredible and the very smooth transition to 3D. The post apocalypse atmosphere was perfect for the story. The cutscenes were visually stunning while the controls were easy to learn. Since its Kirby this take on the post apocalypse is cheerful and optimistic. The variety of worlds were very fun to explore with something new to discover and enhancing the replay value of the game.
As per typical Kirby games, you can copy enemies' abilities and use it to help you in combat as well as navigating around the world. You can upgrade the newly acquired abilities when find rare stars and blueprints from completing challenges throughout the worlds you visit.
New to the game is also mouthful mode which allows Kirby to swallow inanimate objects, and uses it to fight enemies and progress through the world. You can also dodge and slow down time and its especially useful for boss fights. The maps in the game have side objectives and completing them unlocks the hidden Waddledee. The game is very beginner friendly for anyone new to a Kirby franchise but it is still challenging. As you rescue more Waddledees, more places and mini-games become available.
The boss fights were really fun, especially the final boss. They were challenging and mostly fair and very satisfying to complete. There’s also an arena mode that was also really fun. You win prizes as you defeat enemies to help you on your journey.
The game’s only bugbear is its padding. You have to make sure to find as much Waddle dees as possible to unlock the next area of the game.
Although the controls were easy to lear, they felt somewhat stiff for the Switch. The mini boss fights were more or less the same with not much variation, and some of the abilities were very overpowered and unbalanced.
Overall, this was a really fun game.
It gets 5 out of 5 stars.