Kirby Air Riders Review

I have no idea what I’m doing most of the time in Kirby Air Riders, which is how I feel when I’m playing any version of Smash Bros. Yes, I understand the concept. Yes, I get the buttons you must click. No, I have no idea how I did that thing before, or how you did that thing just there, but it did look and feel cool.

Kirby Air Riders is a racing game in the sense that there’s a starting line and a finish line; everything in between doesn’t compare to any other racing game I’ve played, so I do find it hard to call it a racing game truly, but it also doesn’t really fit into any other genres, so here we are. Kirby rides air!

The other confusing part about Kirby Air Riders, and something as someone who hasn’t played the original game, Kirby Air Ride, and never dove into the length Nintendo Directs on the game either, is that the game is played with basically one-button inputs. The ‘machines’ that characters like Kirby ride in the game move automatically, and players use one button to initiate drifting, absorb enemies, and steer with the analogue stick, while having to use one more button to use special attacks. You can initiate a spin-attack, but because the game is not willing to go past the two-button inputs, doing that requires you to waggle the analogue stick back and forth in quick motion, while you’re still steering, of course.

Kirby Air Riders is split into a couple of modes. There’s a battle royale-inspired City Trial, Top Ride, which changes the game into a 2D micro-machines racer, Air Ride, which is your core ‘racing’ experience, and then Road Trip which is almost like the game’s campaign mode in which you complete races, yes, but also an assortment of challenges and mini-games, gt some cinematic cut sscenes, and along the way can upgrade your machine, and even unlock others and swap out all togerher.

Each track in Kirby Air Riders is a visual feast; you’ll be annoyed you’re moving so fast that you can’t quite enjoy it at your own pace—just more reasons to keep playing the game. There’s always something happening around, and the power of the Nintendo Switch 2 means that, especially when it comes to a Nintendo game, the sixty frames and speed of the machines feel great here. Genuinely, as much as in a screenshot it could look like a slightly different take on Mario Kart, this is a very, very different game in all manner of ways.

There’s a ridiculous amount of achievements and things to unlock here that’ll keep players busy for a long time, as was the case with Director Masahiro Sakurai’s past game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. I wish everyone going for 100% all the luck as they chase everything down.

(Review code provided to Explosion Network.
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