Kirby Air Riders is an extraordinary racing game that is filled to the brim with content and surprises. It’s deceptively simple to get the hang of and incredibly fun to dive deeper into as you play more and more, with the core gameplay loop even entrancing someone like me, who typically doesn’t get much out of racers. Basically, this is another brilliant Switch 2 title.
Kirby Air Riders
Developer: Sora Ltd., Bandai Namco Studios
Price: $100 CAD, $70 USD
Platform: Nintendo Switch 2
MonsterVine was supplied with a Switch 2 code for review.
I played a good bit of the original Kirby Air Ride with friends as a kid and thought it was great, but never expected we’d get a sequel over 20 years later. And yet, nearly half a year into the Nintendo Switch 2’s life, Kirby Air Riders has arrived, promising to improve upon the original in every aspect. Impressively enough, it succeeds in this, serving as another brilliant addition to the Switch 2’s ever-expanding library.
Right off the bat, you take part in a mostly optional tutorial that is both remarkably comprehensive and pleasantly quick. You don’t have to hit too many buttons to control your character, as the vehicle moves on its own, so you mainly focus on drifting, braking, spinning, and occasionally using a special attack. At first, I worried this simplicity might hurt the game, but I never found it overly streamlined, and there was a suitable amount of complexity hidden beneath the basic controls.
There are several modes in Kirby Air Riders, each offering a completely unique experience. The straightforward Air Ride mode lets you race against others on tracks, which is a great way to learn the tracks and play with friends. Then there’s Top Ride, a fittingly top-down slot-car-style racing mode. It’s a less involved kind of race with fewer contestants and smaller, tabletop-esque courses, but I found a good deal of enjoyment in these tiny races.
“I was concerned before playing that the screen might feel busy with all that was happening at any given time, but I ended up impressed by how manageable everything was.“
Road Trip is a mode I actually didn’t even know about, and it’s totally new to Kirby Air Riders. You partake in several short roguelike challenges to build up your racer as you progress down several paths and experience the game’s narrative. It’s not overbearing and has plenty of neat little moments filled with cinematic flair. It’s a lot like other Kirby stories, where there’s a good balance of cool and charming moments with a surprising amount of thought put into them.
City Trial certainly stands out as one of the best parts of the package, as it did in the original. Within a certain time limit, you’re let loose to free roam around a large hub area as you clash with other players while attempting to acquire stat-boosting items and a better vehicle for yourself. Once time runs out, you face off against the others with your souped-up ride in any one of numerous different competitions. City Trial feels limitlessly replayable, as contending with crazy events and aggressive players while exploring such a huge area is a blast, especially thanks to the creative paths and theming that permeate the hub. The numerous competitions are all thrilling and encourage you to make the best stat build you can, and the process of unlocking things only makes it all better.
Kirby Air Riders has a huge breadth of content.
There’s so much to do and unlock in Kirby Air Riders, as everything you do goes towards earning new characters, courses, titles, and more. This is a recurring thing in games Masahiro Sakurai directs, from numerous Super Smash Bros. titles to Kid Icarus: Uprising, and as is always the case, having a board of challenges to complete incentivizes unique playstyles and makes you fully explore the game in a way you might never have otherwise. Plus, the range of playable characters spans the entire Kirby franchise, so it’s always a pleasant surprise to unlock a character from your favorite past game.
The music and visuals of Kirby Air Riders are, as expected, excellent, and I never ran into any performance issues. I was concerned before playing that the screen might feel busy with all that was happening at any given time, but I ended up impressed by how manageable everything was. Even in the busiest and most hectic situations, I could always figure out what was happening on screen. I’m not sure how the devs pulled this off, given how chaotic the game so frequently gets.
The Final Word
Kirby Air Riders is further proof that Masahiro Sakurai and his team just can’t go wrong. The racing mechanics are incredibly satisfying, there’s no shortage of content to enjoy, and it always feels like you’re accomplishing something and unlocking new things. Even if you’re not too into racing games, I implore you to give Kirby Air Riders a try, as it’s fun in its purest form.
MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
