Kirby Star Allies is the definition of a monkey's paw game. It's easily the weakest of the Kirby games using the Return to Dreamland gameplay style, with the blame for this mostly going to the incredibly bogged down level design and mechanics that do nothing but automate the game for you. Whether it was due to a lack of time or just wanting to make the game easier for the new Switch audience, it's a real shame because it's not hard to see how this could've been a better game - Planet Robobot came out just 2 years prior and comes very close to being a perfect Kirby game for me.

Star Allies does have some very nice fanservice - bringing back the idea of playing as enemies like in Super Star as well as ability mixing from Kirby 64 (albeit not executed nearly as creatively), as well as the usual Kirby extra content like additional side modes with new level design and minigames. It's just unfortunate that most of this side content requires you to slog your way through the boring main story first.

If you're looking for a Kirby game to play with a kid or family that aren't familiar with the series, I'd probably go with this one. Otherwise there's not much here for anyone besides hardcore Kirby fans.