Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe looks the way you imagine a classic Kirby game should look re-released for modern hardware. The main campaign floats through worlds themed after deserts, oceans, tundras, castles and factor.
Up to three players can play through the story mode in couch co-op. They can also complete the new Merry Magoland and Magolor Epilogue mini-campaigns.
The Story Mode
The story mode in Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe follows Magolor, an interdimensional traveler who crashes into Planet Popstar. As is standard with Kirby games, the campaign offers a breezy ride until a wild finale. It also introduces Mecha and Sand Copy Abilities, which expand Kirby’s moveset in creative ways (and allow him to suck enemies into his mouth for instant death).
Each world is themed differently, from forest to volcano to water to ice; the gameplay doesn’t change much from one world to the next. That’s fine, though – Kirby games aren’t designed to be terribly difficult, and finding all energy spheres quickly becomes trivial with practice.
The game also includes a variety of extra modes after beating the story, including a reworked Extra Mode that doubles as a boss rush mode and an Arena Mode where a single death causes players to restart from the beginning. Clearing all these challenges more than doubles the game’s length, so those who want to 100% this throwback adventure will have plenty to do.
The Collectibles
Unlike the more modern Kirby games that break wildly away from the formula, Return to Dream Land Deluxe is more traditional in nature. That means that the first few worlds feel almost automated as Kirby copies enemy abilities across easy to complete stages. However, the game gets more challenging in later areas with creative level design and enemies to keep players engaged.
The graphical upgrade is the biggest addition, making the game look a lot more polished than the original Wii release. Character models, environments, and cutscenes all look a bit better than 2022 Kirby Star Allies.
Kirby fans will also be pleased to find that this version of the game adds a few extra features. For one, the game now supports multiplayer co-op in which two players can split the included left and right Joycon that comes with every Switch system. Additionally, the game now has a series of party games that can be played with up to four people at once.
The Boss Fights
Kirby’s been on quite the journey in the Switch generation. Between mainline games and free-to-play spin-offs, the little pink puffball has had his share of ups and downs. Last year’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land saw him take a big leap into three dimensions, while this year sees him return to his roots with a remake of one of his classics.
While the game certainly leans into sentiment, it also focuses on what Kirby does best: two-dimensional platforming stages stuffed to the brim with uniquely “Kirby” mechanics. The game even adds a Helper Mode featuring Magolor, who tosses Kirby helpful items (including health-doubling potions) and saves him when he falls into bottomless pits.
Beyond that, there are plenty of challenges and collectibles to occupy players’ time. From the energy spheres that scatter the stages to the various secret challenge modes, there’s no shortage of ways to test players. There are even Super Abilities that give Kirby powers on steroids if he inhales enemies, adding a good amount of depth to an already surprisingly deep game.
The Multiplayer
Aside from some HD up-res and quality of life improvements, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is largely the same game we first played on Wii. That’s not a bad thing, and it’s hard to imagine a better way for Nintendo to celebrate the launch of the Switch than by releasing this tasteful collection of classic Kirby levels.
What this version does do differently is offer more of a challenge to players. It adds a series of minigames, challenges, time attack modes and even a Magolor epilogue that give this re-release the feel of a project party game.
The re-release also includes new Super Abilities that make use of the series’ gimmicks. Kirby floats and sucks up enemies as usual, but by swallowing certain enemy types he can gain access to upgraded power-ups that can wreck enemies and destructible walls with ease. The Super Abilities also work with boss fights, creating a unique take on the tried and true strategy that most Kirby games employ.