What better way to start winding down from a busy week of Switch 2 news than with a look at the ever-adorable Kirby and the Forgotten Land, now strikingly remixed as part of an expanded edition coming to Nintendo’s new console later this year? ‘Go outside!’ you might suggest, or ‘Lie on my face and hum!’, but for the purposes of this story it’s Kirby, and we now have a clearer idea of what’s coming to his previously announced Switch 2 enhanced edition.
Nintendo’s calling its Switch 2 spruce-up Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World (let’s be thankful we aren’t getting tariffs on letters too), and it includes everything seen in the original Switch release – which we gave four stars to back in 2022 – alongside a bunch of new stuff. On the technical front, Kirby also gets a bump from 30fps to 60fps, and it’ll be play at 1080p in handheld mode and 1440p docked.
The real draw, though, is the new content, which takes the form of a remixed campaign known as Star-Crossed World. As revealed during Nintendo’s Treehouse livestream, this begins with a choice of difficulty – Wild Mode or Spring-Breeze Mode – with an on-screen message warning it’s “a bit wilder and more challenging” than the base game. On the plus side, it rewards more coins. And, it’s worth noting the new content is fully playable in co-op – one player taking on the role of Kirby, the other Bandana Waddle Dee – just like in the original version.
Star-Crossed World essentially play out across the base game’s map, albeit with each level apparently heavily remixed to suit the expansion’s ‘mysterious crystal comet comes crashing down causing havoc’ theme. Once again, for instance, Kirby’s adventure begins on the shore of a sandy cove, but now it’s littered with star-like crystals – and some these, crystal flowers, cause previously unseen pathways to form when struck.
Before long, Treehouse’s demonstration reaches the overgrown city seen in the base game. Only this time – after a massive meteor crashes into a towering skyscraper – the streets are corrupted with shimmering blue hues and crystal protrusions. Some of them have even infected familiar enemies, giving them dainty little crystal mohawks and tougher attacks. And it doesn’t take long for the new content to diverge from the original stage’s route; rather than leading Kirby through the now-blocked streets, he follows a path of winding platforms up the exterior of a skyscraper, until the city – and the base game’s familiar path – stretches out far below.
It’s a similar story for the remixed version of the dilapidated fairground level shown next, which soon takes players away from ground level onto a vast crystal rollercoaster track winding high above the park. At one point, we see the return of the Mouthful Pipe power-up, as Kirby hurtles with increasing speed along the coaster’s dips and rises, but the Treehouse crew stressed new power-ups also come into play. There’s an adorable Mouthful Spring power-up transformation, for instance, letting Kirby bounce much higher than usual and slam heavily down.
Star-Crossed World also features new mini-bosses alongside tweaked variants of familiar foes, and it all points to an expansion that looks to diverge in some surprising ways despite it utilising existing levels. It’s not entirely clear whether every base game stage has been remixed for the new campaign or if it’s just a small selection, but Treehouse notes it’ll be possible to access both variants on the overworld map once unlocked to make it easier to switch between modes.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World comes to the new console on 28th August, and it’ll also be available as a paid upgrade for anyone that owns the Switch original – although prices have yet to be confirmed. It’s just one of several games getting the enhanced Nintendo Switch 2 Edition treatment, with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom also confirmed, alongside Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Super Mario Party Jamboree, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Free (albeit less substantial) Switch 2 updates are also promised for some other Switch 1 games.
So that’s that. And if you’ve yet to catch up with the deluge of Switch 2 news announced this week, why not put the kettle on, grab yourself a custard cream, and settle down to read everything we’ve learned about Switch 2 so far? And if you’re hungry for more after that, Eurogamer’s Switch 2 hands-on impressions are over here.