Kirby and the Forgotten Land Review – Fun for Everyone

We have also prepared a review for you in the form of a video, which you will find above.

I definitely don’t need to introduce you to a long series of Kirbys. While not the most popular brand on Nintendo consoles, the little pink balloon has managed to find a lot of fans. And now, 30 years after the release of the first volume, we are witnessing a real revolution. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the first major 3D game in the series.

• Platform: Nintendo Switch
• Publication date: March 25, 2022
• Developer: HAL laboratory
• Publisher: Nintendo
• Genre: Platformer
• Czech location: Not
• Multiplayer: Local cooperation
• Data to download: 5.7 GB
• Game time: 15+ hours
• Price: CZK 1,599 (Xzone)

When a complex story is not needed

Its premise is really simple. Kirby finds himself on another planet where a rift caused the apocalypse and tries to save his friends Waddle Dis. From a story point of view, don’t look for anything more complicated here, because practically the only events that occur in the game are the beginning and the end. The ending itself ended up looking pretty interesting to me, but if you suffer from a well-developed plot, this game will not satisfy you too much.

Kirby is mostly about gameplay, and that part is doubly true. You will spend most of your playing time on the classic levels, which are scattered across 6 completely different and mostly well-designed worlds. You must defeat various enemies, reach the end, and ideally save the hidden Waddle Dees or complete various challenges. To fight here, Kirby uses his classic ability to drain an enemy so he can copy their attacks. And there really is plenty to choose from. Sometimes you need a certain ability to find some secrets, but otherwise you have complete freedom in choosing them, and this is one of the big advantages of this game. In addition, good level design contributes to the overall experience, and passing individual levels is a real pleasure.

In the end, I found one drawback here, and it concerns a fuzzy connection with the game. Some levels are not complete without loading screens (albeit very short ones) and when passing some, there may be no way back. Sometimes it happened to me so inadvertently that I missed the secret because I thought I would get to it anyway, but then my path was blocked. However, later in the game I adapted to the design and it didn’t cause me such a problem. The mess around the camera is a little worse. Sometimes the events on the screen are quite chaotic and it took me a few seconds to find little Kirby.

The game is available to everyone

But back to the fights. I already said in the preview that it’s not very difficult to fight enemies, and this goes for the later stages of the game, except for the last world, which, unfortunately, I’m not allowed to talk about. It must be said that the difficulty is gradually increasing, but it is still a title absolutely suitable for both hardcore players who want to take a break from a more demanding game, and for absolute non-players.

The controls are very easy to understand and if, despite the very low difficulty, the fights give you problems, there is nothing easier than reducing it in the settings. Also, you can play with two people because the title allows for local collaboration. I still think that too low difficulty in the first worlds is more harmful and still could have at least one extra level to choose from, but as a result it did not spoil the overall impression of the game so much.

The bosses are a little more difficult, and they also gradually become more difficult to defeat. Don’t really expect any Elden Ring, but these strong enemies can sometimes torment you, which has always been a welcome change after clearing relatively trivial levels.

In addition, in the game you will find the so-called Treasure Roads, where you fight against time. You must reach the target within the set limit and you can only use the ability determined by the game. I also absolutely loved this mode, and it turned out to be a great addition to the classic levels. Time limits are usually relatively generous, at least the basic ones. But each Treasure Road has a flat bonus, a much lower time limit, and it’s a real challenge to get through.

However, by far the game’s biggest selling point is the Mouthful mode, which has been flooded with the internet since it was announced. Kirby’s ability to absorb various objects and, in fact, turn into them is incredibly fun and brings the necessary variability to the game. The developers were able to use it in very original, sometimes even absurd ways. But he just belongs to this game.

And even here the HAL Laboratory studio did not end with the content. In addition to most of the levels, the game has a village that you will often return to as the game progresses. Here you can improve your skills, relax, buy items, fight in the arena and most importantly play a bunch of mini-games where you can easily spend even less hours. Whether you choose fishing, a buffet or something else, I can guarantee that you will have a good time.

Award winning music

In addition, the excellent impression is enhanced by an extremely successful soundtrack. I liked all the songs in the game and enjoyed playing some outside. What was not very pleased was the lack of sounds in the cutscenes, although I understand that this is some kind of legacy of the series. And it is music that often saves such situations.

In terms of graphics, the game is relatively solid, especially thanks to the successful visual style, which, of course, you will like best on the OLED model. Anti-aliasing isn’t exactly perfect, however, and even in handheld mode, sharper edges are known. The performance of the Nintendo Switch is far from today’s standards. After all, you have to put up with only 30 FPS, but, fortunately, I got used to it very quickly and after about an hour of playing it didn’t bother me at all. In addition, the frame rate is stable, and dips occur only in exceptional cases.

In short, Kirby and the Forgotten Land not only lived up to my expectations, they far exceeded them. If you’re looking for a deep story and a more challenging challenge, this game is definitely not for you. But if you want to have a good time and enjoy a variety of mechanics, you definitely can’t go wrong with Kirby.