You control Kirby and up to three friends, each inhaling enemies to copy their abilities, then combining two powers together for a stronger version, like turning a fire attack into a bonfire. Sessions are short bursts through cheerful stages with simple platforming and light puzzle solving. It leans very easy and very friendly, so it suits kids or anyone playing alongside less experienced friends more than solo veterans.
Gameplay video
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Screenshots & review notes
Overall
This is Kirby at his gentlest, prioritizing warmth and cooperative fun over any real challenge, which will delight some and underwhelm others.
Moment to moment
Combining friend abilities into elemental combos is a nice touch, though the overall difficulty rarely rises above mild even by series standards.
Art and atmosphere
The pastel worlds and orchestral remixes of classic themes are lovely, if unambitious, comfort food for longtime fans.
Worth your time?
It's tailor-made for co-op with kids or casual players, though solo veterans looking for a tougher ride may find it forgettable.
Frames captured from the gameplay video above; notes are our own take on the game.
What it's like to play
You are the pink puffball Kirby, and the first thing you do is inhale an enemy, which either swallows it whole or lets you copy its power and spit a heart instead. Throwing that heart at another enemy turns it into a friend that floats along beside you, so within a few minutes you might have a fire sword swordsman and an ice-throwing waddle dee following you into battle. You walk and fly with the left stick and a jump button, inhale and spit with another button, and the game is generous about letting you just try things to see what happens. Up to four players can join in on the couch, each controlling one of your recruited friends, and the screen quickly fills with hearts, sparkles, and cheerful chaos.
The goal on any given stage is simple: walk from one end to the other, beat up whatever blocks the path, and rescue a captured friend along the way. What eats your time is experimenting with power combinations, since holding two different abilities together can create a whole new move, like dipping a friend's sword in fire to make it burn, or freezing a bomb before it explodes. Levels rarely take more than ten minutes each, and the story mode as a whole can be finished in a single lazy afternoon. Harder content unlocks after the credits, including boss rematches and a mode where you control the bosses yourself.
Session to session this feels like a warm, low-stakes hangout more than a challenge, since even inexperienced players will rarely lose a life. What might frustrate you is that your AI-controlled friends sometimes finish fights before you even arrive, which can make solo play feel a little too easy. It is best played with family or younger kids sharing the couch, since the joy here is mostly in the company and the goofy combinations rather than any test of skill.