This review looks at Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star-Crossed World, which bundles the upgraded Nintendo Switch 2 version of the original Switch game with the Star-Crossed World expansion. The expansion is also sold separately. Here we’ll focus on the new features and upgrades, while our original review still applies to most of the game.

In my review of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, I said the game was “the best Kirby game I’ve ever played.” With time and reflection, I think that probably still holds true — but just in case there was any doubt, the Switch 2 Edition of the game comes along and impresses me all over again… and brings with it a new DLC expansion that I’m a little more mixed on. 

Putting aside the expansion for a moment, Kirby and the Forgotten Land’s Switch 2 Edition is a nice upgrade. It looks better, runs better, and is in general better in every way. But that’s what we’ve come to expect in upgrades like this, with increased resolution and frame rates making already great games shine even more. I could be imagining it, but it does seem like there have been some improvements to lighting, too, but maybe I’m just misremembering — it has been over three years since I played Forgotten Land. 

The real reason to upgrade, though, is the Star-Crossed World DLC, which is included in the Switch 2 Edition or upgrade pack. It essentially acts as an expansion to the base game, adding new levels and experiences for Kirby and co. to explore and complete. 

Like the base game, these new levels have missions to complete and little guys to find, though in this case the guys are not Waddle Dees, but Starries. Starries are not Lumas from Super Mario Galaxy, and you shouldn’t say that they’re Lumas, but, well, they are star-shaped little guys from outer space, so you’ll have to draw your own conclusions. Either way, they act the same way that Waddle Dees do in the base game: you’ll need to find hidden Starries throughout each stage, and you’ll also earn some at the end of a stage. Get enough and good things happen. 

The stages themselves are lovely, both in concept and in execution. There aren’t really “unique” stages in the Star-Crossed World DLC — instead, you’ll be thrown into twisted and transformed versions of stages you played in the base game. Crystals grow over landmarks and features, changing the level geometry and effectively turning it into a whole new stage.

I do like these new Star-Crossed stages. There are some really fun and inventive ideas, and it’s clear that having an existing concept and stage to start with and build upon has led to some excellent creativity from the game’s level designers. They do fascinating and enjoyable things the entire time you’re in them, and the missions, while basic, are fun and challenging, too. 

My biggest point of contention with Star-Crossed World is that it is very samey. New copy abilities are pretty much absent, save for a few new Mouthful Mode forms that, while fun, are obviously limited in scope and can only be used in very specific areas. The stages are fun and very well-designed, but they’re still just Forgotten World levels, with very little to separate them from the base game. They do have some quirks, like a reliance on new stage objects being spawned when smashing certain flowers, but for the most part they play just like any other stage in the game. 

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. As I said, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the best game in the Kirby series, and on Switch 2 it’s even better. But I would have liked to see a little more — slapping a crystal on an awoofy’s head is cute, but it’s still just an awoofy. When Star-Crossed World does something new, or when it transforms the stage, Super Mario Wonder-style, it’s fantastic, but those moments are few and far between. It’s still, at a base level, an exceptionally good game, it’s just not an exceptionally different game from Kirby and the Forgotten Land. 

It’s important to keep those expectations in check — this is not a different game or a different experience from Kirby and the Forgotten Land, it’s just more Kirby and the Forgotten Land. That’s mostly a good thing, and hopefully it means the Kirby team is saving its best, freshest ideas for a sequel, but if you go in expecting more than a decently-sized collection of great new stages then you’ll come away disappointed. 

Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World takes the best Kirby game ever made and builds on it, cementing the game’s place as the turning point for the series towards loftier goals. Improved graphics and a bump in frame rate make the game’s already excellent art style look and feel even better, and the new stages, while more of the same, are even more fun than the base game. It’s a brilliant game made better in just about every way, and well worth the upgrade. 

Rating: 4.5/5