Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe review – a pleasant respite

Fans of the long-running Kirby series are in for a treat. Last year we saw a very successful game subtitled Forgotten Land that made a significant transformation into the third dimension. Subsequently, a smaller spin-off in the form of Kirby’s Buffet was released, and now another equally enticing title. This is Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, a remake of the game originally released on the Nintendo Wii in 2011. The new version for Nintendo Switch promises not only better graphics, but also a solid portion of additional content. So how did she turn out?

• Platform: Nintendo Switch
• Publication date: 24.02.2023
• Developer: HAL laboratory
• Publisher: Nintendo
• Genre: Platformer
• Czech localization: No
• Multiplayer: Yes (locally, up to 4 players)
• Data to download: 5 GB
• Game time: about 10 hours
• Price: €59.99 (Nintendo Store)

Back to basics

To begin with, I must say that, unlike Forgotten Land, this is a return to the classics – a 2D or 2.5D display. On the contrary, the content as such is basically similar, you gradually go through different worlds and separate levels in them. The goal, of course, is to reach the end of the level, which is always very linear, but there are some obstacles along the way.

Enemies are varied and, of course, you will use Kirby’s main ability – sucking the enemy and being able to use his attacks. It’s always a great gameplay refresh as each skill works differently: lasso, fire, or even jetpack. This can make each level very unique. The game leaves you free to choose most of the time. The truth is that sometimes it specifically requires a certain ability, which is only good, because it motivates you not to stick to one that you like, but to try all the variety. The only complaint I have in this regard is that certain abilities make levels too easy to complete (like flying), but of course it’s up to you to “abuse” these features.

Ageless Formula

So the level design still works great today despite the age of the original game. Not only does the visual environment change, but various new mechanics are gradually being introduced, such as shooting Kirby with a cannon, moving objects, water, wind, or my favorite levels in the dark, where Kirby has to use a candle. And yet the levels are not without errors, I see a weakness in the placement of checkpoints, or rather in their complete absence, which in places can be a little frustrating. Especially if the game “locks” you and you cannot return for some secret.

Yes, the journey from point A to point B is, of course, not the only content of the main part of the game. Collecting secrets is a big part of the gameplay, even if it sometimes requires a bit of attention and skill. Sometimes the path leads to them through time-limited levels, at the end of which a mini-boss awaits you. Unfortunately, boss fights are one of my main gripes. In particular, there is only one mini-boss in the hidden levels, so the fight against him is extremely repetitive. And the types of other mini-bosses are not very great either. It’s definitely better with the main boss fights at the end of each world, which are original and fun, although they usually don’t pose much of a problem. This is a fact that applies, with exceptions, to the entire game. If you’re looking for a challenge, Kirby isn’t exactly for you, it’s more of a relaxation.

More beautiful and fuller

Where the title really stands out is in audiovisual material. The graphics are cleaner compared to Forgotten Land, and the whole game offers a really diverse range of colors that look nice on the Switch’s OLED display. The soundtrack is just fantastic, both in quiet passages and when passing levels and boss fights. Many tracks I play even after they are finished, the music has already become an integral part of Kirby for me. After all, they really made a bet on it, you won’t even hear any other sounds in the cutscenes, which is a kind of hallmark of this series. Personally, I’m not a big fan of this, but it’s really a matter of taste. In addition, the game has an absolute minimum of cutscenes, the plot is very simple and hardly plays second fiddle. But Kirby was never about it.

Conversely, side content is what Kirby mainly does. In addition to the already mentioned hidden locations, you will find a completely new epilogue that was not even in the original game, various challenges and, of course, many fun mini-games. You can, like the whole main part, also play in multiplayer, which I personally tried. I must say that at two it’s generally perfect and can be beautifully added, but at 4 (this is the maximum supported number) the screen is already such a mess that you won’t get much pleasure from the game. Therefore, I would recommend in this issue only the mentioned mini-games and go through the story part alone or together. In any case, the positive thing is that the controls are very simple and even a person who is not very fond of video games can play the game without problems.

Overall, Return to Dream Land Deluxe Edition is a great addition to the series. It doesn’t reach the quality of last year’s Forgotten Land, but it’s still just a remake, not a new game. The title performs well in this respect, it offers really nice graphics and the newly added content is great. If, like me, you want to take a break from more demanding games from time to time, Kirby is perfect for that.