Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World impressions – A streamlined and beautiful return to the Forgotten Land!

Our Senior Editor, Flynn, covered the review for Kirby and the Forgotten Land when it came out on the Nintendo Switch, giving it a lovely score of 90! After playing through with the Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade, I can say I agree with the score and points made from the review done for the Switch Edition. The game is full of fun and adventure, but some of the aspects aren’t fully fleshed out, such as the post-apocalyptic setting not being used to its fullest extent. The Nintendo Switch 2 version does a great job of moving the game onto the newer console and giving us faster load times, cleaner graphics, a one-stop shop for all things Forgotten Lands, and a genuinely good time.

The game works and feels amazing. You never have to wait too long to start completing content. I don’t think I was able to put the Switch 2 down for the first six hours of playing through the game because everything flowed so well, and the lack of load times makes it even easier to just breeze through whole sections of the game without realizing it. I was impressed with the lack of lag during combat; regardless of how many objects were on the screen, it made it easy to fall into a flow with Kirby.

The graphics are stunning. From the opening cutscene to the gameplay to the transitional areas and HUB worlds, everything is polished and smooth, letting Kirby look the best he has in 3D! 

If you haven’t played Kirby and the Forgotten Land or the Star-Crossed World DLC, here’s your chance in an easy package. I haven’t played a true Kirby game since the Game Boy Advance. This brought me lots of Nostalgia Bombs (those little moments of remembering your childhood) while giving me lots of “new” and excitement. I really loved the Kirby dance making it back (you know the one, Kirby fans), as well as some of the classic power-ups! Meanwhile, you’re getting the new powers, such as the car, vending machine, traffic cone, and more. 

The Star-Crossed World DLC takes everything to the next level, unlocking after you defeat the first area of The Forgotten Land. This DLC takes us on a trip with Kirby and the gang as they help figure out the mystery of the asteroid that fell to The Forgotten Land and has started to change areas you’ve played before. This opens a second mission for almost every area you passed in the first part of the game, leading to familiar/not-so-familiar areas to rescue Starries and get things back to normal. These levels are a bit more difficult, but not so much that you or your kids will have much trouble together. 

Speaking of together, co-op is fun but a little underwhelming for the second player. While it’s fun to be involved, this does feel like a bit of “hand this to your little sibling so they feel included” at times. Doesn’t take away from fun, but expectations should be set. 

As someone who came in fresh to this game and the DLC, it was a lot of fun to return to the character of Kirby and have not only nostalgic moments, but moments of brand new kinds of fun! If you haven’t played a Kirby game in a few years, Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World is a lot of fun for any age!