REACTION - Kirby And The Forgotten Land Is A Welcome Return To 3D Platforming For The Beloved Series

Shifting perspective.

By Jay Tee
01/10/21

After an extended run of 2D side scrollers / brawlers, it’s genuinely exciting to see Nintendo and series stalwarts HAL Laboratories take Kirby back into the 3D realm. After Super Mario Odyssey and Luigi’s Mansion 3, there has been a lack of splashy, Nintendo made adventures of similar ilk.

Sports spinoffs are one thing, but there is an unquantifiable charm to exploring a meticulously detailed Ninty sandbox. With The Forgotten Land embracing what looks like a sort of post apocalyptic setting, albeit one toned down to suit the characters, this reminds me of Nintendo during the GameCube era; they started experimenting with established franchises and embraced being weird (see Double Dash and Wind Waker).

Obviously there’s a lot more to see, but it’s due in Spring 2022 so probably no more than six months or so away. At a time when COVID has clearly had an impact on Switch’s first party development / release cadence, it’s encouraging to know there’s good stuff brewing on the horizon.