Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a refreshed version of a fun but frustratingly uneven Kirby platformer that takes a little too long to reach its potential.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe brings a cheerfully gentle Wii-era platformer to Nintendo Switch with smart additions and a big new epilogue.

The best way to play this game seems to be in multiplayer, perhaps with a younger person on the team who can appreciate the novelty of the decor and combat without getting stuck. While the subgames and epilogue mode do provide more content, they don’t actually add much substance. For those who missed the game on Wii and want to try out the co-op, it provides a variety of ways to do so. But if you’ve experienced the original, Deluxe is just a larger version of the same — a little flashier, a little longer, but nothing unmissable.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe is still an enhanced remaster of a 12-year-old Wii game, but it effectively brings forward one of the pink puffball's best outings, complete with meaningful additions. The result is a game worthy of sitting in the Switch catalog next to last year's superb Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

This colourful multiplayer platformer was largely ignored when it first came out in 2011 – is it worth a second look?

Whether you've played the Wii version or not, this remaster offers enough content to keep both newcomers and veterans busy for a while.

A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a fantastic remake of one of our favourite Kirby adventures. With slick new visuals, some meaningful gameplay tweaks and two excellent new modes to dig into, this is a big, loud and colourful celebration of all things Kirby that should delight new and returning players alike. Magalor's Epilogue is a surprisingly chunky addition to the core action that gives the campaign a nice boost, whilst Merry Magoland ensures that you and your pals are kept busy with plenty of minigames, missions and online challenges to best once you're done with the main story mode. It's another win for everyone's favourite pink puffball.

Kirby has really been on a roll lately, and it seems like he isn't likely to stop anytime soon. If Return to Dream Land Deluxe does anything, it shows us that the era of Kirby is firmly upon us, and it leaves me eager to see what else Nintendo and HAL Labaratory has planned for everyone’s favorite pink puffball in the future.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe is an exceptionally well-handled rerelease, bringing new content that enhances the Wii classic.