Kirby And The Forgotten Land Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World review – extra suck

The best Kirby game in years gets an upgrade on Nintendo Switch 2, with new levels, new bosses, and improved performance.

One of the most important achievements of the original Switch is that it hosts what are wildly considered to be the best – or close to it – entries in almost all of Nintendo’s major franchises. Not only that but many of them, from Zelda to Fire Emblem, achieve that status by diverging radically from the series’ norm. That includes Kirby, with 2022’s Kirby And The Forgotten Land being not only one of the pink blob’s best games but one that is significantly different to his usual adventures.

This is that same game but not only is it enhanced for the Switch 2, it also includes a brand new expansion. The Nintendo Switch 2 Editions come in two tiers, with the cheaper ones, for games such as Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, merely upgrading the graphics but the more expensive ones, like Super Mario Party Jamboree, adding new content.

Since the Switch 2 Editions are more expensive than the Switch 1 versions that managed to make Jamboree a less appealing prospect than the original, but Kirby’s game is a less ambiguous improvement. Assuming that you actually want more Kirby…

While most of Nintendo’s output can be fairly described as family friendly, Kirby is the most prominent first party franchise that is aimed squarely at children. It’s not that it can’t be enjoyed by adults, but all the games are extremely easy, to the point where you barely have to do anything but grip the controller to win – in part because Kirby himself is so grossly overpowered compared to his enemies.

What’s always frustrated us about the series is the fact that the mainline ones are 2D platformers that are so similar, and lacking in distinguishing features or gimmicks, that they all blur into each other. Up until now all our favourite Kirby games have been spin-offs, like Tilt ‘N’ Tumble, Power Paintbrush, and Epic Yarn (but definitely not racing game Kirby Air Ride) but The Forgotten Land is different… or at least a bit different.

It’s a smidgen more difficult than usual and instead of being a 2D platformer it’s viewed from a top-down, isometric camera angle. Everything else works in broadly the same way as usual, with Kirby able to jump and float for long distances, as well as suck up enemies and either spit them out as projectiles or swallow them and steal their abilities – from breathing fire to using a sword.

The levels still tend to lack focus, compared to most 3D platformers, but overall it’s easily our favourite Kirby platformer. The entirety of the original game is included here, and it now runs at 60fps and 4K when docked or 1080p in handheld mode, although it’s not as if the original version had any real performance issues.

Much more significant is that the Switch 2 Edition comes with a new expansion entitled Star-Cross World. This involves an evil meteor hitting Kirby’s world, scattering creatures called Starries that need to be rescued. As a result, 12 new levels pop up, that use existing ones as their foundation but are something like 80% new. So while one might begin in the same spot, it quickly segues to a different route, such as climbing a skyscraper instead of just going around it.

Mechanically, the new levels are largely the same, but the crystalline nature of the meteor means a lot of items and areas are hidden until you activate special flowers that reveal more of the background. It’s a minor thing but, along with enemies and bosses that are stronger because they’ve got crystals growing out of their heads, there is an attempt to distinguish the new levels from the old.

There’s also a selection of new Mouthful Mode items. These are large inanimate objects that Kirby can swallow and while things like the Car and Scissor-Lift Mouth are still used there’s a number of new ones, including a gear that can dig into the side of walls, and which moves with a satisfying solidity.

There’s also Spring Mouth, which allows you to jump abnormally high, and Sign Mouth, which effectively turns you into a sled and is used for a couple of mildly difficult (in terms of getting all the collectibles along the way) downhill races.

The new levels are amongst the best in the game but even with the harder enemies you’ll still breeze through them all in two or three hours, potentially not even dying once. Of course, they’ll be more challenging for younger players but what they’re going to think when they come up against the final boss we don’t know.

As trivial as the normal levels are, the boss battle at the end is surprisingly complex and has multiple stages. But, in terms of difficulty, it feels like it’s been beamed in from a completely different game. It’s not exactly Malenia from Elden Ring, but there’s a baffling dichotomy between the two halves of the expansion, that makes it very unclear what Nintendo is trying to achieve with the difficulty level.

This is undoubtedly a superior version of Kirby And The Forgotten Land but the problem is that nothing it adds is of any particular significance and £17 is quite a lot for just four hour or so of entertainment. For that reason, we’re keeping the score the same as the original version, even though this is the definitive edition.

We’d say that makes us look forward to what Nintendo does next with Kirby but since we know that’s Kirby Air Riders, that would be a lie. But perhaps this is the point at which the franchise flips its usual modus operandi and in the future it’ll be the platform entries that will be more entertaining and the spin-offs not so much.

Formats: Nintendo Switch 2
Price: £66.99 or £16.99 upgrade pack
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: HAL Laboratory and Vanpool
Release Date: 28th August 2025
Age Rating: 7

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