Review: Kirby and the Forgotten Land

by · September 10, 2022

Level 1-1: Downtown Grasslands.

The first trailer for the Game.

When I heard Kirby was getting its first true 3D game, I was excited to try a ‘normal’ Kirby game. Epic yarn was the only game I had played, which is an outlier for the series. I recently got my hands on it, and I love the designs: the music, the scenery, the bosses, as well as the level layout.

You see, I have started to take notice in what I call “invisible handholding”. It is a term I made up to describe when a game outright tells you where to go or how to act without the use of explicit words or imagery (i.e. signs and guides). Kirby and the Forgotten Land not only was able to guide me directly to where it wanted me to be, it was also able to show me new concepts and strategies without giving me an explicit tutorial.

Stranger in an Old Land

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a platformer staring… Kirby. A vortex has opened up, transporting him and other residents from Planet Popstar to an Earth-like world. Wandering around semi-linear levels, Kirby must free as many captured Popstar natives as he can. There are three at the end of each level, while many others rest in silver cages and hidden achievements.

The first time you find a cone powerup, you come across this crack. You get coins if you slam your read into it, conditioning you to do the same for any crack you find. Credit belongs to Nintendo

For the first level, a lot of these achievements are almost handed out to you. Opening a Tulip like you deal with the flowers and the tutorial? That’s part of an achievement. Entering a room you unlocked by breaking a cracked door? There’s another one. If you fail to unlock an achievement, One will be revealed at the end of the level. I found that Kirby does its best because it is not only able to guide the player by placing groups of enemies in areas the player will want to investigate, but also by introducing key concepts before they are needed.

This turtle, which is killed via the cone item, is the exact same as the end puzzle “boss” needed to beat the level. By the time I reach it, the game has already taught me everything I needed to know to defeat this boss. Credit Belongs to Nintendo.

A Mouthful of emotions

However, the game isn’t without its faults. While the first few levels are amazing at guiding the player, later levels give barely any hints to find the optional achievements. Meanwhile, Downtown Grasslands felt a little too easy, despite picking the harder difficulty. Most achievements were gotten by reaching certain areas that most players will find by pure chance. A Waddle Dee in a silver cage appears after beating the mid-boss. I almost restarted the level because I was afraid I somehow missed three hidden cages and other hidden achievements. Spoiler alert: he was one of the optional cages. Why put a “hidden waddle dee” in the open in a spot that looks a lot like the end of a level? The solution would be that most levels have a mix of hard and easy achievements.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is an amazing game with amazing visuals and amazing level design. While it may feel too easy for anyone that is highly attentive or tends to explore every nook and cranny of a level, I can promise that the end game (which I might discuss in a later post) does it justice and makes it something that anyone can enjoy.

All photos belong to Nintendo or were taken in-game (so they still belong to Nintendo, I think).

Check out the Game Here.

Tags:

You may also like...