I’m still riding high off my first venture through Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which I described in my 2022 review as “the best Kirby I have played since Kirby’s Nightmare in Dreamland or Kirby and the Amazing Mirror” – let that sink in, three years! That game’s seamless leap into full 3D, powered by creative copy abilities like Drill, Ranger, and the ever-delightful Mouthful Mode, was a love letter to long-time fans and newcomers alike. Now, with the arrival of a new DLC for the Nintendo Switch 2—Star-Crossed World—the franchise invites us back to the Forgotten Land, adding fresh layers to the experience and polishing the 3D Kirby formula in exciting new ways. Let’s see if this entry is more than just shimmer and shine.
For my original review (and the story behind the base game), please refer to this review. In this review, I will focus on the DLC.
Review: Kirby and the Forgotten Land
The DLC’s starry narrative thread
For those wondering, should I play the base game first? Yes! Star-Crossed World picks up shortly after the events of the primary campaign, weaving a tender and occasionally touching narrative that feels both familiar and refreshingly bold. Without spoiling the core twists, the DLC introduces a stargazer companion, whose mission is to guide Kirby through fragments of constellations scattered across hidden corners of the Forgotten Land. This quest deepens the world’s lore, giving us glimpses into cosmic nightmares and starry legacies that add emotional weight to Kirby’s rescue mission. The narrative stays true to that Kirby charm—lighthearted moments peppered with whimsical wonder—yet it carries a newfound sense of stakes tied to the stars themselves. Oh, and the new stargazing companion is trying to scam us out of our hard-earned coins again, to buy figurines. Oh, there is a new series? With crystalline enemies? Take my money.
New gameplay mechanics
So, next to twelve new stages, two for each ‘world’, Star-Crossed World doesn’t add new Copy Abilities—your base toolset stays the same. The twist is three fresh Mouthful Modes that rewire how you move through levels: Spring Mouth (bounce sky-high and slam to crack surfaces), Gear Mouth (curl up to roll along walls and climb vertical shafts), and Sign Mouth (slide down slopes, spin through hazards, and launch off ramps). These transformations are threaded through a set of remixed, puzzle-denser stages that reward reading the environment and chaining movement tricks, all while keeping Kirby’s combat approachable. And on top of that, the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware adds dynamic lighting effects and smooth 60 fps performance, which make every jump, inhale, and battle feel crisp and alive. Boss encounters, especially in the DLC, benefit hugely from richer visuals and tighter controls, which made me die quite a few times. Star-Crossed World doesn’t just add more—it reinvigorates the way Kirby plays and makes me fume more than I’m willing to admit.
What the Switch 2 upgrade + DLC adds
In that same chunk of crystal, the shortcomings of Star-Crossed World aren’t really about what it does, but what it doesn’t. You can clear the 12 added stages in three to four hours tops (not 100%, but seen them all), and while each one is polished and cleverly designed, the whole thing is an extra package of levels, not as an actual expansion. There are no fresh boss fights to test your new Mouthful tricks, no Treasure Road bonus stages (a big highlight of the base game), and nothing that meaningfully changes life back at Waddle Dee Town—though there is a small bonus beyond the Starry Stages I won’t spoil here. And yes, the levels themselves are excellent, and I didn’t 100% them on my first pass. Just like the original, the thrill of hunting down every collectible gives reason to return, even if the package feels like a drop in the bucket compared to the base game’s width. As for the Switch 2 upgrade? It’s clean and looks fantastic. NPCs in the distance now animate smoothly instead of chugging along, and the bump to resolution and framerate is welcome. Still, Forgotten Land already ran impressively well on Switch 1, which is kinda hard to beat. However, the crystal infusion in the starry levels is a beautiful display of artistic freedom.
Conclusion
Star-Crossed World is more of a bonus course pack than a true expansion, and the Switch 2 upgrade, while welcome, doesn’t push Forgotten Land much further than it already stood. The dozen new stages are Kirby at his most inventive—ingenious puzzles, fun Mouthful surprises, and secrets tucked in every corner—but the absence of new bosses, bonus trials, or deeper village updates keeps this from feeling essential. On Switch 2, everything runs smoother and looks sharper, but Forgotten Land was already one of the most polished adventures on Nintendo’s first hybrid system. That leaves us with a package that’s fun, charming, and worth playing if you loved the base game, but not one that reshapes the experience. Kirby’s 3D leap still shines as brightly as it did in 2022—this DLC sprinkles a few extra stars across an already dazzling sky.
