A huge change to the usual Kirby formula is the introduction of power-ups for your power-ups; traditional copy abilities like Fire and Cutter can be upgraded to deal more damage and have bigger areas of effect. Whether or not these will be necessary to progress remains to be seen, but visually they look really cool.
The main gimmick of this game seems to be Mouthful Mode, where Kirby inhales large objects and can use them for a number of platforming purposes; swallowing a lightbulb to illuminate dark areas, a vending machine to attack with juice cans and even a car for speeding through levels. Between copy abilities and inhaling large objects, Kirby has heaps of options for getting through levels here.
The story, as you’d expect of a Kirby game, is simple; the Beast Pack have imprisoned the Waddle Dees, and it’s Kirby’s job to free them. Whether or not we’ll see King Dedede, who rules the Waddle Dees, remains to be seen.
Similar to Super Mario 3D World, this game appears to have individual levels, but also a world map that you can move around. Some levels appear to have a similar design philosophy as well, with geometric paths, though some look larger and more free, akin to the levels seen in Bowser’s Fury. Where this game differs from the Mario series is its hub world, Waddle Dee Town. The more Waddle Dees you save, the more this town begins to thrive.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land releases on the 25th of March exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
