Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe
MSRP $59.99
“Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is an exceptionally well-handled rerelease, bringing new content that enhances the Wii classic.”
Pros
- Base game is as fun as ever
- Fantastic art upgrade
- Smart experiments in new content
- Great minigame implementation
Cons
- Lacking challenge and variety
- Magolor Epilogue is light
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a classic example of “right place, right time.”
In the age of double-dips, video game rereleases can often feel a little random. It’s great that we got a full remake of Dead Space in 2023, but why now? How is the 2008 game enriched in a new modern context? Not every remake or remaster has a real answer to those questions, but Kirby’s latest Nintendo Switch adventure certainly does. On the heels of 2022’s excellent Kirby and the Forgotten Land, the pink puffball found himself riding a new wave of adoration from both old fans and young ones meeting him for the first time. Now was as good a time as any to bring back one of his best 2D adventures — a Nintendo Wii classic that had nearly been lost to time – and Nintendo has gone above and beyond in doing so.
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is even more charming now than it was over a decade ago thanks to an excellent visual makeover that makes classic platforming feel modern again. Though what’s especially impressive here is the package’s brand new features, which double the amount of content and give developer Hal Laboratories space to experiment with ideas that could radically reinvent Kirby’s next mainline adventure.
Reason to return
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land originally launched in 2011 for the Nintendo Wii and has since been hailed as one of the series’ finest