Kirby Star Allies

Kirby Star Allies expands the classic ability to inhale and copy enemy powers with the Friend Heart mechanic, allowing Kirby to turn defeated enemies into temporary allies controlled by AI or by up to three additional local players. This cooperation opens up interesting ability combinations — when two differently gifted companions team up, their elemental powers can merge into a stronger effect, for example a flaming sword coated in ice creates steam, or an electric attack combined with water hits a wider area. A number of obstacles and hidden paths are built directly around these combinations, so the player has to think carefully about which allies to bring along.

The story revolves around a mysterious heart-shaped meteor that shatters friendships among the inhabitants of Popstar and turns them into aggressive puppets controlled by a malevolent entity called Void Termina, blocking Kirby and his newly gained allies on their way to the planet's core. The game also features a host of returning characters from the series' history, such as Meta Knight, King Dedede, or Bandana Waddle Dee, who become playable companions with their own arsenal of abilities once enough hearts have been collected. After release, Nintendo expanded the game with several free updates adding more iconic characters from Kirby's back catalog as well as crossover guests like Rick, Kine, and Coo.

Visually, this is one of the most colorful games on Switch, with soft, pastel backdrops and fluid animation, accompanied by rearranged melodies from across the series. Star Allies is a more relaxed, cooperatively focused platformer well suited for family play, where a more experienced player can take control of Kirby while a less experienced one plays one of the allies, though some critics noted lower difficulty compared to earlier entries in the series. The real challenge only appears in the unlockable bonus modes.