Kirby Star Allies Review

Kirby’s first appearance on the Switch is a charming little adventure filled with gorgeous locations and relaxing gameplay that falls a little flat in some areas. It may suffer from a little bit of an identity crisis. Is it a platformer or a party game?

Graphics 9.5

• This game oozes cuteness from every corner from characters to each level.
• The beautiful levels are a joy to look at and really have that Nintendo charm to them.
• The variety of animations and attacks while combining with allies did not disappoint.

Sound 9.5

• The music is classic Kirby with an updated twist.
• Explosions from bombs to the whooshes of swords this game nails it in the sound department

Story 7.0

• The story in this game takes a backseat to the gameplay, but accomplishes what it sets out to do, here’s a bad guy, go stop him.
• There’s no in-depth character development here, a floating wizard explodes a dark heart sending shards throughout the land Kirby and his new found friends must stop him!

Content 6.5

• The campaign lasted me around 8-10 hours grabbing a few secrets along the way.
• A handful of mini-games that can be played against the computer help shore up a relatively short campaign.
• After completing the main campaign a couple more modes unlock that could take up hours of your time if you’re into speed running and playing through stages without Kirby.

Control 8.0

• Controls are on point for a Kirby game! I ended up using Control Type B so I could jump with the B button instead of the A button, it felt more natural to me that way.
• Each character has a unique move set and by learning the moves you can take this game beyond just a button masher. It adds a little depth for more advanced players while still letting novice or younger gamers enjoy the simplicity of a one button attack.

Gameplay 7.0

• It wasn’t until the later levels that this game really began to shine. Early on the lack of puzzles or platforming challenge left me wanting more. The later levels really shine in my eyes, but showed up a little later than I would have liked.
• Four player co-op has its ups and downs, it can be tough to see where your character is on screen.
• Whoever controls Kirby can keep the progression moving, any player lagging behind will be teleported to player one.
• Having four CPU players is great when you need a certain ability to solve a puzzle, but they will also take care of everything on screen including bosses. Again, this felt cheap at the beginning of the game, but the latter bosses didn’t go down quite as easy.