Kirby Star Allies Review – The power of friendship

Few characters are as recognisable as one of Nintendo’s mascots. Mario, Samus, Link, Donkey Kong and that tiny little pink blob with an appetite for literally anything, Kirby. Unfortunately while iconically recognisable, Kirby has never quite managed to have a massive hit game with western audiences like the rest of his peers. Now with the Switch reinventing all of the big names it was Kirby’s turn to try something new, so enters Kirby Star Allies with a cast of new and old friends.

The importance of keeping an entourage of different and up to date enemies is that each one will bring new and exciting skills. Kirby retains his iconic specialty and will be able to inhale enemies to steal their powers, but by keeping a team of different oddities you’ll be able to coordinate with your companions to modify your skills. Calling on the powers of your friends you’ll be able to turn your boring old sword into a flaming sword, ice sword, electric sword and so on.

Your time in Kirby Star Allies won’t be taken up with just picking which friends make you look best, in between casting for your personal chorus line you’ll also be partaking in a spot of platforming and puzzle solving. While the puzzles won’t bend your brain too much and the characters you need to solve them are almost always close at hand, it is always important to remember that a lot of Kirby titles are made with younger audiences in mind. This does mean that as an older gamer you can feel a little underwhelmed with the level design.

Kirby Star Allies makes up for its somewhat easy platforming though with the bedlam of four characters dashing around the screen. The ease with which other players can jump in and out of your game means that someone can pop in for a long stay or a short one. At the same time if you are looking for a little alone time the games AI won’t leave you high and dry, watching your back and jumping at the chance to do their part in puzzle solving.

Kirby Star Allies also offers plenty of collectibles to find along the way, from puzzle pieces to snacks that you’ll store and then feed to injuries heroes to heal them—like a mother bird, fun. Amongst these are special characters who can only be found in hidden areas. Once or twice I did find a new friend to join my team only to find that they either felt only useful in particular situations or had an identical replacement. I found that I would unlock slightly more special team mates only to swap them out shortly after getting them as they were really just taking up space.

While there seems to be plenty put into the mix with Kirby Star Allies it does feel a little bit like you’ll be doing the same thing over and over and that the variety in levels doesn’t feel as dramatic as something like New Super Mario Bros Wii. While other platforming titles are accessible to children, they still have a skill ceiling that adults could enjoy; that skill ceiling feels like you have to duck to enter the room though with Kirby at the helm.