'Kirby Air Riders' on the Switch 2 is inspired by the Gamecube classic 'Kirby Air Ride'. — Photo: Nico Tapia/dpa
BERLIN: Kirby Air Ride on Nintendo's GameCube certainly has a devoted fan base. The racing game aimed to impress primarily with its simple controls.
Now Nintendo is following up with Kirby Air Riders, making the controls a little more complex and primarily aiming to score points with an unlockable content marathon.
The central aspect of the controls is that players – unlike in Mario Kart – don't have to accelerate because that happens automatically. Instead, they control the so-called boost, which they can also use to drift around corners.
Cute turbo rodent Rick looks like a round hamster with pink padded feet. — Photo: Nintendo/dpa
The racing game has various modes. In addition to a normal race, there's also "City Trial," for example. Here, players compete against each other in a large arena and collect power-ups that enhance their vehicle with increased speed, better boost or improved flight endurance.
Other players and characters can also be shot down, allowing you to steal power-ups from them. Once the arena time is up, players choose a competition. This can be a regular race or a test of who can fly the farthest. Choosing based on power-ups gives players a good chance of winning.
Plenty of items to unlock
In all game modes, players can work through a checklist to unlock items. Similar to achievements in other games, completing challenges fills a large grid of small images that ultimately reveal a complete picture. This is how players acquire new characters, outfits, vehicles and tracks.
Many fun playable characters await you in 'Kirby Air Riders'. — Photo: Nintendo/dpa
Some of these items can also be purchased in an in-game shop – but only with in-game currency, not real money. This pursuit of achievements is likely the game's main motivating factor. All game modes can also be customised in detail, making some difficult challenges easier.
Overall, Kirby Air Riders is a rather niche game by Nintendo's standards and its controls take some getting used to. However, those willing to persevere will find plenty of good ideas, variety, and visually stunning levels. And last but not least, you can unlock a hamster as a playable character.
Kirby Air Riders is available for the Nintendo Switch 2 for around €70/US$70 (RM298 in Malaysia) and is rated for players aged 12 and older. – dpa
