Recently, I reviewed the demo for Kirby Star Allies.  As charming as it was, it didn’t offer enough unique content to make it stand out from countless other Kirby games.  Fortunately, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a completely different story.

I’m not the only person who thought that a 3D Kirby game would make for a grand adventure indeed.  But when the formula had remained 2D for decades, I didn’t expect it to change anytime soon.  Fast forward to the announcement of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and I was rather excited, to put it lightly.  And now that I’ve played the demo, I’m all the more eager to play the full game.

The demo includes a handful of early levels, including a boss fight against a huge gorilla.  Initially, I thought we’d get the same level of freedom as Crash Bandicoot perhaps, but to my great surprise, our beloved pink puffball got even more room to explore than I had expected.

Gameplay is still similar to classic 2D Kirby games, where Kirby can eat enemies and gain their abilities.  He can no longer fly to any height, but he can hover a set distance above the ground, a change that makes sense considering the new gameplay style.

New features include Mouthful Mode, where Kirby can eat and control larger objects.  For example, he can drive around with a car, shoot soda cans from a vending machine, and pound the ground with a pointy traffic cone.  There are also different goals to work towards, and there appears to be a Waddle Dee town later on where you can spend coins and upgrade abilities.

In short, this game looks amazing.  It’s surely one of the most unique Kirby games to date, which is especially important for a series where many of the entries feel rather similar.  I don’t think I’ve  bought a new Kirby game since Kirby’s Return to Dream Land in 2011.  After an 11-year wait, it’ll be a momentous occasion indeed to embark on a new adventure with my favorite pink puffball!