Kirby And The Forgotten Land Switch Review

Easily one of 2022's best games.

kirby and the forgotten land
Nintendo

Rating: ★★★★½ (Review copy provided by Nintendo)

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You are not ready for Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

Since playing and finishing this game - especially its ending - I'm getting the Roy Batty energy.

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe"...

Because Nintendo and HAL Laboratory didn't just capitalise on 30+ years of fan demand for a fully fledged 3D Kirby platformer. Oh no. They went so much further. What Kirby IS as an entity; what he can do; what a "Kirby game" can even be?

It's all blown apart in the best way possible.

When I say that Kirby's 2022 release has one of the barmiest *action set pieces* this side of Resident Evil Village, you better believe it.

Honestly, where to even begin.

Clearly, Kirby's messianic depiction in Smash Bros is a major influence, crafting a character that's 90% charm offensive, 10% ruthless badass.

kirby and the forgotten land
Nintendo

2022 Kirby will literally chew you up and spit you out. He'll steal your personality and defining traits, he'll look better than you while he does it, and in this case, he might end up driving your car and rearranging your staircase while waving maniacally at the neighbours.

This is a Kirby for another 30 years. A character who's as all-powerful as - if not more than - Superman, but who just happens to fit under a tiny fishing hat. A being you don't control, but aim him at the problems of the world, watch him go to work and hear him occasionally screech "HAIII!!" at whatever wants to be his friend.

Nintendo's spherical god-sim is every bit the enemy-copying gameplay sandbox you'd expect, with Kirby routinely swapping between breathing fire and flying with dragon wings, skating on ice he's conjured himself, morphing into an all-consuming tornado, or just blowing up into a ball of spikes, ensnaring the local populace and flinging them at one another.

Every last ability is a blast to use, performance on Switch is outstanding, and while enemies almost universally go down in single hits, I'd encourage swapping frequently, just for the sheer enjoyment of what's on offer.

kirby and the forgotten land
Nintendo

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Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.