Kirby’s Dream Buffet (2022) [Switch]

He chonk.

-Anonymous

Kirby’s Dream Buffet is more like cold gas station sushi than an all-you-can-eat five-star feast, but if you’re hangry for more Nintendo IP with icing and warts and all, then look no further. The Kirby series itself seems to go through periods of ups and downs, though the lows are never really that low and the highs are sometimes among the best on their system. Star Allies wasn’t much to write home about, evidenced by the fact folk said, “Well, it’s for kids…” as if that’s satisfyingly dismissive of its blandness, but then came Forgotten Land which, in my view, seemed much more ambitious while still maintaining that balance of accessibility Kirby represents. Next in line, though not strictly “mainline”–whatever that means for this series–is Kirby’s Dream Buffet.

It’s almost evocative of a larger Nintendo trait in game design, almost the antithesis of the formulaism they are known for. Dream Buffet is a neatly packaged, bright, fun little party game held back by some uneven online multiplayer on Nintendo Switch and by supporting only 2-player head-to-head local multiplayer, unless of course you have two Switches and two copies of the game.

2-player local battles seem pretty anti-formula when Nintendo has typically and historically been known for supporting 4-way local multiplayer throughout their history, from Mario Kart 64 way back on the N64 to GameCube with its four controller ports, the party games of the Wii and Wii U family, and even on the Switch itself. Why this game in particular, which is about as simple as many of the mini-games in a title like Super Mario Party (which did support 4-players locally) does not include 4-players locally is a mystery.

Online play so far has not been great, either. It’s about as broken as a McDonald’s ice cream machine. I’ve been paired up with strangers and sometimes the frame rate has waffled between 1 and 3, moving as slowly as one might expect a gigantic pink puffball stuffed with cake might move. Playing the game in slow-motion just kind of sucks the fun out of the literally candy-colored world, particularly frustrating in a competitive game. Hopefully, this is remedied soon, but it’s the cross the Nintendo Switch has had to bear with many of its online games thus far, a stain on what is otherwise a really enjoyable system to game on for young and old.

Speaking of young and old, let’s get to the positives. In the spirit of Kirby’s simplicity, the game is accessible to new players and veterans thanks to simple goals and few power-ups. The game itself moves at a brisk pace (when not online). Selecting its Grand Prix will drop players into a series of races and mini-games where the object is to eat as many strawberries and miscellaneous fruit on a mad dash to the finish line where great cakes await the victor.

The mini-games are also simple enough and fortunately keep the strawberries around for clarity: knock opponents out of the ring and eat, or knock out enemies and also eat. You don’t have much time to react to a new race track or new mini-game, but keeping the goal of each consistent minimizes confusion. Missing the point of a new round quickly evaporates, at least in my playtests with my own family members. At the end of the series of races and mini-games, each player is weighed and the heaviest takes home the medal.

It wouldn’t be a Kirby game without copy abilities, but since Kirby’s Dream Buffet is all about eating sugar and carbs, you gain special abilities through Mario Kart-esque mystery blocks. Kirby can randomly gain the donut ability that functions like the classic wheel, the cupcake ability that sets Kirby spinning like his old cyclone whirl, or a hot pepper ability that resembles his iconic flaming comet attack. Each of these and more can be used to disrupt your opponents, move through obstacles, and reach the finish line first. There is just the right number of abilities, in my view. Any less and the game could get boring quicker. Any more and the game could catch players forgetting what the difference is between a crepe and a pancake.

Unlockables such as costumes, colors, and cookies, plus music from other Kirby games you’ve played on your account, tie the series of races and mini-games together. It’s not enough to just play the game and kill a few minutes. Now you’ve got collectibles to collect. That at least gives you something to work toward that’s a bit more substantial than a high score. Plus, fans of Banana Waddle Dee don’t need to feel so left out.

Kirby’s Dream Buffet seems like a cute but somewhat awkward speed bump in Kirby’s long career. It nails the ease of play that Sakurai’s character has always represented but I don’t think this is seriously going to be Nintendo’s answer to the Fall Guys phenomenon. With wrinkles ironed out of the online mode, maybe a more robust pre-matchmaking social lobby, or, miracle of miracles, 4-player local battles getting dropped, this could not just be a better game but a more playable one. It exudes the kind of childlike wonder, innocence, and charm you expect from a Nintendo world, a valuable foil for the grimdark games the rest of the industry can be obsessed with. It just needs that cherry on top of the cake that seems to be missing.

My word to you? Unless you’re a diehard Kirby fan, pass on this chonkalonka desert for now until a sale rolls around.

BROKEN PIXEL

Not Recommended

Red formerly ran The Well-Red Mage and now serves The Pixels as founder, director of content, lead writer, and podcaster. He has undertaken a seemingly endless crusade to talk about the games themselves in the midst of a culture obsessed with the latest controversy, scandal, and news cycle about harassment, toxicity, and negativity. Pick out his feathered cap on Twitter @thewellredmage or Mage Cast.