Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a 2022 platform game made by HAL Laboratory and released by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the 13th main game in the Kirby series and the second Kirby game on the Switch. It is the first Kirby game in full 3D, except for spin-off games like Kirby Air Ride, Kirby: Battle Royale, and Kirby's Blowout Blast. In the game, players control Kirby as he travels through the forgotten land to rescue Waddle Dees who have been captured by the Beast Pack. To finish each level and save the Waddle Dees, Kirby can use many special powers to fight enemies and move forward in the game.
Critics praised Kirby and the Forgotten Land for its graphics, level design, gameplay, music, and amount of content. Some called it one of the best games in the Kirby series. A few critics noted that movement controls were limited and some mini-bosses repeated too often. The game sold more than 7.52 million copies by March 2024, making it the best-selling Kirby game and one of the best-selling games on the Switch.
An improved version of the game, called the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Forgotten Land, was released for the Nintendo Switch 2 on August 28, 2025. This version includes better performance and a new story campaign called Star-Crossed World.
Gameplay
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the first game in the series with 3D graphics. Players help Kirby move through different areas to rescue Waddle Dees at the end. Like other Kirby games, Kirby can jump, slide, and suck up enemies or objects. He can spit them out as weapons or swallow them to copy their powers. This game adds two new copy abilities, Drill and Ranger, and a new feature called "Mouthful Mode," which lets Kirby swallow and control large objects like cars and vending machines. Similar to Kirby Battle Royale and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, a second player can join as Bandana Waddle Dee, who attacks with a spear.
Copy abilities can be improved at Waddle Dee's Weapons Shop in Waddle Dee Town, the main area of the game. Upgrades make the abilities stronger and add more attacks. To upgrade, players need Rare Stones, which are earned by completing special levels called Treasure Road. After finishing the game, Rare Stones can be used to increase the power of a copy ability, making it deal more damage.
Each stage’s goal is to save Waddle Dees by finding them trapped in cages or completing stage-specific tasks. Once rescued, the Waddle Dees return to Waddle Dee Town. As more Waddle Dees are saved, the town grows, unlocking new activities like fishing, working at a café, and a puzzle game similar to Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble. The game also works with Amiibo figures.
Plot
One day on Planet Popstar (Kirby’s home), a dark vortex appears over Dream Land, pulling everything into it. Kirby is caught in the vortex and lands in a new world filled with ruins from an ancient civilization. He learns that the Waddle Dees from Dream Land are being kidnapped by the Beast Pack, a group of native creatures. Kirby finds the destroyed Waddle Dee Town and meets Elfilin, a chinchilla-like creature who once helped the Waddle Dees settle there. After Elfilin is rescued from the Beast Pack, he tells Kirby that he and the Waddle Dees tried to fight back but were defeated. Kirby agrees to help Elfilin save the missing Waddle Dees, and the two travel together, with Bandana Waddle Dee optionally joining as a second player.
As Kirby and Elfilin rescue Waddle Dees and defeat members of the Beast Pack’s high council, they discover that King Dedede is acting aggressively and helping the Beast Pack for unknown reasons. After Kirby defeats Dedede, the king captures Elfilin and escapes. Kirby follows Dedede and fights him again. By breaking a hypnotic mask Dedede is wearing, Kirby frees him from the Beast Pack’s control. Kirby then enters the Beast Pack’s base, Lab Discovera, to find Elfilin. A recorded message in the lab explains that a powerful alien called ID-F86 once tried to invade the new world. It was captured by the planet’s former inhabitants and placed in the lab, where scientists studied its ability to create space-time rifts. Thirty years later, an experiment went wrong, splitting ID-F86 into two parts: Elfilin, who escaped, and Fecto Forgo, who was placed in a frozen state inside the lab’s Eternal Capsule.
Kirby meets Leongar, the Beast Pack’s leader, who is holding Elfilin captive. Leongar explains that the planet’s former inhabitants used ID-F86’s power to travel to “a land of dreams” and that he plans to do the same by reuniting Fecto Forgo with Elfilin. After defeating Leongar, Fecto Forgo awakens and reveals that it used Leongar to control the Beast Pack, hypnotized King Dedede, and kidnapped the Waddle Dees to help its invasion. Fecto Forgo breaks free from the Eternal Capsule, consumes Leongar and the Beast Pack, and pursues Elfilin. When Fecto Forgo captures Elfilin, the two combine into their original form, Fecto Elfilis. Kirby weakens Fecto Elfilis enough to free Elfilin, but Fecto Elfilis creates a vortex that sends it toward Popstar, setting it on a collision course with the new world. Kirby defeats Fecto Elfilis by crashing a semi-trailer truck into it, and he and Elfilin return to Dream Land, where the vortex is still open. Elfilin uses his power to seal the vortex between the two worlds, leaving Kirby behind. In the credits, it is shown that Elfilin can open a vortex to Popstar, and the people of both worlds become friends.
However, Leongar’s soul remains trapped in an alternate dimension called Forgo Dreams, created by Fecto Forgo’s psychic power and filled with phantoms from its memories. A Beast Pack member named Clawroline finds a rift in Waddle Dee Town that leads to Forgo Dreams. Kirby and Elfilin enter this dimension, rescue Leongar, who is possessed by Soul Forgo, and defeat the possessed Leongar. Soul Forgo is separated from Leongar’s body, but before they can attack, a scarlet butterfly absorbs Soul Forgo and transforms into Morpho Knight, a warrior who feeds on souls. Kirby defeats Morpho Knight, and Leongar is fully freed. Soul Forgo takes some of Morpho Knight’s power and disappears.
Later, a mysterious portal opens in Waddle Dee Town’s colosseum. In an optional final battle, Kirby fights the phantoms of Forgo Dreams and then battles Chaos Elfilis, a new form of Fecto Elfilis. Kirby defeats Chaos Elfilis, and a remnant of its soul approaches Elfilin. Elfilin accepts it, allowing his two halves to reunite.
While exploring the new world, a meteor crashes into the ocean, forming a volcanic island. The meteor splits into fragments, and Kirby meets Astronomer Waddle Dee, who explains that the meteor, called the Star of Darkness, contains an evil entity that was sealed away. Kirby travels across the new world to gather Starries, spirit-like creatures, to restore the seal. Meanwhile, the meteor’s fragments create crystalline formations that empower the Beast Pack. After collecting the Starries, the Star of Darkness breaks free, absorbing the Starries and revealing Genwel Meteonelfilis, the older brother of Fecto Elfilis. Kirby defeats Genwel Meteonelfilis and reseals the evil entity. The Starries take the meteor back into space.
Development
HAL Laboratory began hinting at a new Kirby game in 2020. General director Shinya Kumazaki called it a "new phase" for the series and said it would "combine the best parts of Kirby." Game director Tatsuya Kamiyama explained that the team worked to make the game easy to learn, even with the change to 3D gameplay, while still being fun to play. The shift to 3D was very difficult, as HAL Laboratory had tried and failed multiple times to create a 3D Kirby game since the 2000s, including during the early development of Kirby's Return to Dream Land. Kamiyama eventually created a detailed plan for a 3D Kirby game that solved problems related to character design, gameplay, and other aspects, allowing development to begin. Vanpool helped create the game.
Early testing by Nintendo found that the large 3D environments made the game too easy, as players could avoid enemies by moving away. Nintendo suggested adding more enemies, but HAL Laboratory refused, stating they did not want to "make Kirby feel uncomfortable" or stop players from exploring the game world peacefully. To help players see where attacks hit, the game changed how hit detection worked. If an attack appeared to hit an enemy from the player's view, it would count as a hit, even if the attack did not physically connect.
A month before the September 2021 Nintendo Direct, the official Kirby website updated with placeholder text, suggesting a new game was coming. The game was first officially shown during the Nintendo Direct on September 23, 2021, even though it was briefly previewed on the Nintendo website six hours earlier. A second, more detailed trailer was released on January 12, 2022, which shared more details about the game and announced its release date of March 25, 2022. A free-to-play demo was available on March 3, 2022.
In April 2025, an improved version of the game, Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World, was announced for the Nintendo Switch 2. The Switch 2 Edition includes better performance and adds Star-Crossed World, a new story campaign.
Reception
Kirby and the Forgotten Land received "generally favorable" reviews, according to Metacritic, a website that collects and summarizes game reviews. Critics praised it as one of the best Kirby games ever made.
Many reviewers highlighted the game’s exploration-based level design, noting that optional challenges, collectibles, and the Treasure Road feature made each level feel more complete. The ability to upgrade Kirby’s copy abilities and the Mouthful Mode were also praised for adding variety to gameplay while staying central to the game’s design. These features kept combat and platforming enjoyable throughout the game. Boss fights were also praised for requiring players to use copy abilities, with some reviewers noting that the game was more challenging than earlier Kirby games. The game’s visuals and level themes were commended, especially the creative post-apocalyptic style. Local co-op gameplay was described as fun and easy to play with younger players. The Waddle Dee Town hub was praised for encouraging exploration and offering a rewarding experience.
Car-Mouth Kirby, often called Carby, was well-received by fans. Shortly after being revealed, it was added to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe through an unofficial mod.
Some critics noted that Kirby’s movement felt limited and "sluggish" at times, and that grounded environments and recurring mini-bosses were less exciting to some players.
Looking back, Heather Wald of GamesRadar+ ranked Kirby and the Forgotten Land as the best Kirby game in the publication’s list of "The 10 Best Kirby Games to Adventure Through."
Kirby and the Forgotten Land debuted at number one in the UK, becoming the first Kirby game to reach the top of the charts and the fourth best-selling Kirby game in the region. It also debuted at number one in Japan, achieving the series’ best physical sales debut with 380,060 copies sold in two days. The game sold 2.1 million units in two weeks. It became the 14th best-selling game of 2022 in the US.
As of March 31, 2024, Kirby and the Forgotten Land has sold 7.52 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling game in the Kirby franchise.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land was one of ten games to receive an Excellence Award at the Japan Game Awards 2022. It was also nominated for Nintendo Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards and won Best Family Game at The Game Awards 2022.