Kirby and the Forgotten Land review: cute, simple, monotonous

This was what my college favorite professor once said to me. Totoro, My NeighborThis is without having to gag. KirbyThe Forgotten Land gives Totoro a run for his money on cuteness — but what happens when the cute starts to run out?

The adventure that began as one of discovery and wonder quickly turns into a slow grind. Forgotten LandI was able to use simple and familiar skills to solve common puzzles. YetKirby and The Forgotten Land’s new 3D camera perspective, its creepily cute Mouthful Mode, and adorable art direction, the game failed to show me anything new after its opening hours. Even Kirby’s adorable world couldn’t save him from monotony.

Forgotten Land The story begins with the pink puffball being transported from Planet Popstar to a more Earth-like planet. But this isn’t New Donk City, and there are no weirdly realistic humans crowding the sidewalks. No, this is an Earth-like planet far past its prime — urban buildings overtaken by plant life, factories overflowing with unused lava, a slightly haunted amusement park. And each nook and cranny is hiding one of Kirby’s friends: the recently kidnapped Waddle Dees.

The secretive level design is what you want. Kirby and The Forgotten Land It works well, even if only for a few seconds. I found all the hidden objectives in a new place and was focused while navigating it. Unfortunately, the hidden nature of these quests — some of which are only revealed after I finish a mission — meant that I occasionally got to the end of a level only to learn I’d missed something, prompting an immediate, cloying replay. After giving up trying to complete every stage, I found myself falling in love with each secret alley. Others lead to difficult puzzles. Some others can lead to amazing upgrades.

Image: HAL Laboratory/Nintendo

Post-apocalyptic settings also offer many benefits. Forgotten LandThe levels give you an oddly tranquil sense of place. Using puffs of air to push a boat around a half-submerged building makes for an unexpected scene when paired with the game’s cutesy art style. Because it’s Kirby, the post-apocalypse is never sad; it’s just a bright take on a planet where Something It went horribly wrong. Kirby doesn’t seem to care what happened here (outside of his friends being kidnapped), and I don’t really, either. The world has been retaken by nature from any society that built them. Kirby and The Forgotten LandThis is the beauty of brightly colored flowers.

ExploreKirby and The Forgotten LandIt’s compelling but it is difficult to move from one enemy encounter into another. Kirby games have always kept the gameplay simple to make juggling the hero’s wide variety of powers easier — for the most part, Kirby’s abilities only have two moves, depending on whether you’re in the air or on the ground. It’s still true today. Kirby and The Forgotten LandHowever, the power is drastically decreased.

Kirby can only access 12 copy abilities. Two of these disappear once they have been used: Sleep or Crash. Most of the other abilities are old favorites, but there are a few brand new ones. Sword, Bomb, Hammer and Bomb all exist, as well the Ranger power that grants Kirby a gun. You won’t find some of the iconic and beloved powers such as Plasma, Wheel and Beam.

Image: HAL Laboratory/Nintendo

In other Kirby games, it was rare to run into a foe I couldn’t absorb a power from. In Kirby 2, however, it is rare to run into a foe I couldn’t absorb a power from. Kirby and The Forgotten LandThis is the normal for power-lacking enemies. Because enemies with power are very rare, I try to absorb their powers as often as possible just so that I can have a little bit of something new. Without the variety I’m used to from a Kirby game, the simple act of mashing the A button to slice through the 10 enemies in a battle grated on me quickly, especially in marathon sessions.

The new Mouthful Mode vehicles can be used to supplement this power gap. These vehicles are sort of giant copy abilities. Kirby can suck up cars or big lightbulbs to solve environmental problems. However, because the items are too big, Kirby can’t fully absorb them, so they act more like temporary vehicles than powers you can carry throughout the level — for those familiar with 2016’s Kirby: Planet Robobot, they’re like far less flexible (but cuter) versions of Kirby’s mech in that game. It’s an adorable and hilarious visual, watching Kirby’s little feet trail behind a moving car, or stretch out on the sides of a stairwell. Unfortunately, the Mouthful moments are few and far between. By the third, Forgotten LandHe had showed me nearly every new item I could inhale. It was an intriguing feature that quickly became boring.

In 2017, Nintendo’s own Super Mario Odyssey — arguably the best Kirby-like game in years — consistently delivered new enemies to possess, even in its final levels. The Kirby series has used an extensive range of abilities in order to provide dopamine throughout all their worlds. So it’s here that Forgotten Land It is those who stumble the most. It is the monotonous, simple gameplay that kills pace. With nothing new to look forward to and such a small number of tools at my disposal, I can’t focus on the majesty of the world or how cute its protagonist is.

Always Kirby and The Forgotten LandThis was a new experience for me, it was amazing. When Kirby was made a traffic cone and threw his gob into a water tower, it brought me a huge smile to my face. I loved that opening moment in each new area where I could run around the overworld and get peeks into the new areas I’d be venturing into. These cutscenes look amazing, and Kirby’s and his friends taking a break in their little home is charming (as it always has been). However, Kirby and The Forgotten LandIt burns too brightly and too quickly, so that the initial joy is difficult to remember by the end of the credits.

Kirby and The Forgotten Land On March 25, the following information will be available: Nintendo Switch. Nintendo gave us a pre-release downloading code to review the game. Vox Media is an affiliate partner. They do not affect editorial content. However, Vox Media might earn commissions for products bought via affiliate links. Here are some links to help you find. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.