Kirby's best combat and environmental stage design stuffed inside Nintendo's trademarked 'do-things-get-dopamine' skinner box. With the addition of a Z axis and bossfights with dynamic camera framing mechanisms and more organic, complex attack formations, Kirby has reached a zenith that puts it extremely close to the likes of DMC and Bayonetta - he even has witch time.
The rest of the content that populates the game is thoughtless busywork strung together by flaccid hallways. Forgotten Land doesn't really know how to balance out the relationship between its platforming flow and enemy encounters, most evident by the treatment of copy abilities. 2D Kirby's formula cemented Copy Abilities as primarily combat tools that could also be utilized for movement tech; almost every ability had some way to provide additional horizontal or vertical distance, and in turn, level hazards and enemy placement was modeled around multiple forms of attack-propelled velocity. Large move pools were necessary not just for player expression and empowerment, but so that players had a way to get themselves around faster - and if not, at least a way to deal damage without stopping in place. These have been all but stripped away in FL, leaving abilities in their place that feel compromised both for platforming and combat.
By the third world, Forgotten Land's gameplay flow becomes cyclical to the point of feeling predatory. The feeling of discovery and imagination that hooks the first few worlds wears off. The rest of the experience just feels like 'going through the motions' until you finally get to the bosses, the final stage, and later unlock the arenas. It's only the promise of stronger copy abilities, new lore tidbits and setpiece-driven moments that keeps this from being an otherwise mundane slog. HAL's innovations are commendable, but they forgot their own franchise's hallmarks along the way, leading to a game with the franchise's highest highs populating an indistinguishable clone of Mario's most boring foundations. The sequel needs to straight-up be an action game, no filler.
The rest of the content that populates the game is thoughtless busywork strung together by flaccid hallways. Forgotten Land doesn't really know how to balance out the relationship between its platforming flow and enemy encounters, most evident by the treatment of copy abilities. 2D Kirby's formula cemented Copy Abilities as primarily combat tools that could also be utilized for movement tech; almost every ability had some way to provide additional horizontal or vertical distance, and in turn, level hazards and enemy placement was modeled around multiple forms of attack-propelled velocity. Large move pools were necessary not just for player expression and empowerment, but so that players had a way to get themselves around faster - and if not, at least a way to deal damage without stopping in place. These have been all but stripped away in FL, leaving abilities in their place that feel compromised both for platforming and combat.
By the third world, Forgotten Land's gameplay flow becomes cyclical to the point of feeling predatory. The feeling of discovery and imagination that hooks the first few worlds wears off. The rest of the experience just feels like 'going through the motions' until you finally get to the bosses, the final stage, and later unlock the arenas. It's only the promise of stronger copy abilities, new lore tidbits and setpiece-driven moments that keeps this from being an otherwise mundane slog. HAL's innovations are commendable, but they forgot their own franchise's hallmarks along the way, leading to a game with the franchise's highest highs populating an indistinguishable clone of Mario's most boring foundations. The sequel needs to straight-up be an action game, no filler.