Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming

Kirby and the Forgotten Land gives the pink puffball a release date and a gun

DeAngelo Epps
By

Kirby and the Forgotten Land got its first official reveal in September 2021 during a Nintendo Direct. Now, the latest announcement for the game reveals that the pink puffball’s return to 3D adventuring will land on Nintendo Switch consoles on March 25, and with new powers and cooperative gameplay to boot.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Copy Abilities and Co-op - Nintendo Switch

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is Kirby’s new title and a fresh, big step for his mainline adventures. This game takes Kirby back to 3D for the first time since 2000’s Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards on the Nintendo 64.

Kirby fishes with a waddle dee in Kirby and the Forgotten Lands.
Nintendo

Unlike his last 3D title, Kirby and the Forgotten Land seems to be an open-world adventure. The latest trailer not only showcases a traversal freedom unlike any Kirby game before it, but a few copy abilities that the little guy can arm himself with throughout the game. We see the return of fan favorites like sword, hammer, and bomb, as well as a few new abilities like Gun Kirby (yes, they finally gave Kirby a gun). Another ability turns Kirby into a burrowing mole who can dig under enemies to attack.

Recommended Videos

The trailer also reveals that cooperative gameplay is returning with the latest Kirby game. A second player can join in and play as Bandana Waddle Dee. It’s unknown as of now if the game will be strictly local co-op or if it will support online as well. It’s also not shown if secondary players will have the ability to use other characters or if they’ll be tied to Bandana Dee only.

Related

Kirby and the Forgotten Land hits the Nintendo Switch on March 25 and joins the ranks of tons of other exciting titles releasing in early 2022.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
DeAngelo Epps
DeAngelo Epps
De'Angelo Epps is a gaming writer passionate about the culture, communities, and industry surrounding gaming. His work ranges…
The perfect date night game just launched in time for Valentine’s Day
A wolf and a fawn stare at each other in Blanc.

If you're a couple that games together, a good co-op experience might be part of your regular date night plans. Games like It Takes Two are excellent choices for couples, though great local multiplayer games like that aren't exactly common. Fortunately, a good option just landed on Nintendo Switch and PC in the form of Blanc.

Blanc - Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Switch

Read more
Metroid Prime Remastered gives the best video game soundtrack its due
Samus stares down Thardus in Metroid Prime Remastered.

Despite first playing Metroid Prime over 20 years ago, parts of it still came back as clear as day to me as I played through its excellent Switch remaster. I could still recall the exact moment when I experienced my first Metroid, as it bursts out of its test tube and starts wildly zipping around. I remember every camera shot leading into the Thardus battle. I’m even able to find some of its most hidden collectibles with a bit of muscle memory I never even knew I retained.

Even with so much of the first-person adventure game is branded into my brain, there’s one aspect that I can always recall with particular clarity: its soundtrack. Metroid Prime’s original soundtrack is one of the brightest highlights in a game full of them, offering players a host of atmospheric sci-fi tracks to scan and blast to. Each composition is bursting with personality, from its X-Files-like opening theme to the almost West Coast hip-hop synths of Chozo Ruins.

Read more
You’re going to love new mech ability in Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe
Kirby is dressed as a mech in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe.

Nintendo has a tricky task on its hand with Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe. The upcoming Nintendo Switch release revives a 2011 Kirby entry that was liked well enough by fans at the time, but it’ll launch in the shadow of the pink puffball’s best adventure, last year’s transformative Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Though a wave of love for Kirby should help Return to Dream Land get some extra eyes, it’ll need to do a bit more than visually touch up an old platformer to fully capitalize on that success.

The good news is that developer Hal Laboratories seems up to that task. I saw around 30 minutes of gameplay from Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, showing off some of the rerelease’s new features. While its core platforming remains unchanged, standing up as a return to form for the series, its enhancements have me excited to dive back into Dream Land -- especially once I saw Kirby’s new mech suit in action. Though I'm more interested in some genre experiments here which see Hal testing promising new 2D platforming ideas in a safe package.
Mecha Kirby
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe will be familiar whether you’ve played the original version or not. It’s a straightforward 2D Kirby game where players inhale enemies, get copy abilities, and collect a whole bunch of stuff. The added twist during the Wii era was that it featured four-player co-op, which returns here, though that’s not as much of a special selling point in 2023 as it was in 2011. There are some key new additions, though, that should entice Kirby fans back.

Read more