Kirby and the Forgotten Land Review | Caught a Vibe

Everyone’s favorite pink puffball Kirby is back with another adorable adventure. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the latest game in the Kirby franchise and is an excellent place for newcomers and veterans alike. 

Let’s start with the goods though, and talk about the newest mechanic that Kirby and the Forgotten Land bring to the table. Mouthful Mode lets Kirby inhale large everyday objects like a car, water towers, giant tires, and so much more. These objects contort Kirby in bizarre ways giving players even more tools to solve puzzles with. 

Kirby and the Forgotten Land Review | Caught a Vibe

Use the car to drive headfirst into brick walls to clear obstacles in your path, or maybe swallow a disc that allows Kirby to glide through the air like your favorite Mario Party minigame. It’s a welcomed addition and helps break up the action.

The formula in Forgotten Land is the tried and true experience you know and love. Levels consist of solving puzzles ranging from simple to slightly more involved to collect every hidden Waddle Dee in a level. Oftentimes this requires multiple playthroughs of a stage to collect all of them if you’re looking for a completionist run. 

Each level is tied together through an overworld map where Kirby can fly around and choose which stage to tackle next, or even go off the beaten path to take on separate challenges that focus on one of the many copy abilities in Kirby’s arsenal. 

For instance, early on you can take on the bomb challenge, which features Kirby trying to use the bomb ability to make it through a set of challenges as quickly as possible. Succeeding will net you a rare star that can be turned in at the hub world for a permanent upgrade to one of the copy abilities. 

This is just one of the many ways Kirby and the Forgotten land feels like a real evolution of the series. Waddle Dee Town is the main hub of the game and will evolve over time as you rescue more of them from each stage. 

What starts as a lonely and broken-down town will eventually grow into a vibrant bustling city filled to the brim with shops, new townsfolks, and minigames for Kirby to participate in. Not every mini-game is great or really even fleshed out, but it’s something you can relax with after a long hard day of saving Waddle Dees.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land looks great on Switch most of the time. I spent the majority of my playthrough in docked mode, and pretty often I could see enemies in the background become incredibly framey and objects become a little pixelated when blown up. Handheld mode removes some of these issues, but overall it does not detract from the joy and chill nature of Kirby. 

Kirby isn’t a game that’s going to challenge you, even on its harder difficulty mode, but instead offers you around ten hours of chill vibes with cute characters, fun boss fights, and some really interesting and colorful levels. 

The level design in Forgotten Land is a true evolution for Kirby. Featuring a ton of secrets, branching paths, and plenty of enemies with exciting abilities new and old for Kirby to use. Stages range from abandoned and overgrown shopping malls to bright and exciting amusement parks. All feel distinct and bring something new to the table.

It marks an important entry in the franchise offering a lot more customization in your abilities and more open space to explore. If Kirby keeps pushing in this direction the franchise is only going to get bigger and more inventive. 

Mouthful Mode is a wonderful addition that doesn’t feel like a cheap gimmick but rather a new way for Kirby to suck up more objects and play around with them in a new and inventive way. 

If you’re looking for some relaxation or maybe a vacation, taking a trip to the Forgotten land isn’t a bad way to spend your time. It also features local co-op so if you’re friend or child wants to play with you it’s a great bonding experience.

Pros

• A relaxing time with a good atmosphere
• Fun Abilities
• Mouthful Mode isn’t just a cheap gimmick

Cons

• Mini-games feels undercooked
• Graphics look a little stretched when playing in Docked mode

Score: 9.0

A copy of this game was provided to Prima Games for review. Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

---