Walk the walk in Exit 8.
March 28, 2026
Author’s Note: I don’t subscribe to any online gaming membership, so I have no comment on the online gameplay and functionality for this title.
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one that was flummoxed by the announcement of Kirby Air Riders for the Switch 2. Did anyone ask for this? Did anyone really play the original on the GameCube? How out of their minds were they over at Nintendo? These and other questions were asked internally and among my gaming peers. Of course, me being a Kirby fan, I knew I’d cave. Eventually. I surprisingly held out for months; slowly accumulating game credits and coming around to the idea of having a fresh Kirby game for my Switch 2. (Kirby and the Forgotten Land is great but it’s not a brand new game). I finally got my copy and if I had to give the game one word, it’d be “unhinged.” Kirby Air Riders is part racing game and part chaos thanks to the physics that HAL Laboratory Inc. is known for. Calling it a mixture of Mario Kart and Smash isn’t even apt. And, despite my earlier reservations, I recommend it.
Kirby Air Riders has three modes: Air Ride, Top Ride, and City Trial. Air Ride is the typical racing circuit with a set number of laps and racers. Top Ride is similar, but with a top-down perspective. City Trial is the go-to mode for single player or multiplayer chaos. It starts with your chosen character moving on foot through a stage gathering power-ups. After that’s done, everyone goes ham against one another. There’s also Road Trip, which offers a simple narrative that really isn’t worth getting into. (You need to collect crystallized Memory Fragments to learn about the origin of a machine named Zorah). But, it’s there and provides a steady, one-player campaign. Speaking personally, the first mode I tried was training. I had no idea what I was getting into since I hardly dabbled in the original. The Training Modes revealed that the game has a simple foundation. Acceleration is automatic, you can flick the joystick to perform a spin attack, you can hold the B button to perform boosts, grab enemies, and perform Copy Abilities, and you can press Y button after a meter is filled to unleash your chosen Rider’s special. Other tricks include automatic rail grinding and gaining more altitude and speed while airborne. It’s a simple formula that makes it easy to pick up.
Mastering is an entirely different story. That’s because most of the courses and challenges are, as mentioned above, unhinged. There is always something going on. You’ll be running into enemies, trailing other racers, nabbing power up and abilities, ricocheting from the sides, and more. All of this happens at ample speed. Before you know it, the race is over. It’s expected to have an initial feeling of, “What the heck just happened?” Again, it’s effortless to pick up and play, but certain techniques such as mastering a boost or knowing when to time your special will take a few rounds of practice. As unhinged as it is, it rarely stops being entertaining because the races are over quickly. You don’t have to deal with the pomp and circumstance seen in other racers before getting to the next circuit. Really, my biggest gripe with the game is the sensitivity of the spin attack. I’ll admit that I never looked fully into the settings to see if there was a way to make it less sensitive.
The gameplay never grows stale. Part of that has to do with the variety of Riders and Machines. Kirby Air Riders does a great job of taking longtime Kirby fans down memory lane with its variety of characters, vehicles, and environments. Both the Riders and the Machines have their unique features and abilities, which makes it fun to find a favorite combination. A good chunk of the Riders and Machines need to be unlocked. The good news? It doesn’t take long to get them. There’s plenty to unlock, which might seem daunting, but getting the important bits (Riders and Machines) isn’t arduous.
Like the gameplay, the game’s colorful look never grows stale. I’ve come to expect lots of colors, shapes, and shine from modern Kirby titles and Kirby Air Riders is no exception. With the Switch 2’s capabilities, Kirby Air Rider is quite the sight. It’s varied, it’s polished, and it never lags. I played on both handheld and on the TV. Both were lovely. Things might move at breakneck speed, but you’ll be pleased after your eyes adjust. True to form, the sound effects from HAL are visceral and just feel good. It’s natural to feel a rush after knocking out an enemy with a spin attack or landing boost after being in the air.
The content overflows in Kirby Air Riders. After hours upon hours of gameplay, there always seems to be something new to unlock. You name it, and chances are it’s something that needs unlocking: Machines, Riders, stickers, courses, and the list goes on. Those that want everything will have their work cut out for them. Luckily, most of the time doing the tasks required for said unlockables is fun. This won’t go down in history as my favorite Kirby game. Also, I’ll continue to advocate for the pink puff because he tends to get the experimental treatment with Nintendo; getting thrown in bizarre, puzzling games that aren’t the usual platformer. But none of that stops me from my enjoying Air Riders. And, if you’re also a Kirby purist, I think you’ll feel the same. Despite a hefty price tag and some control issues, Kirby Air Riders is one of the most surprising and fun games I’ve played featuring my favorite Nintendo mascot.
Overall, 8/10: The Switch 2 version of Kirby Air Riders takes a basic blueprint from a forgotten 2003 GameCube sleeper and modifies it one hundred-fold.
