Kirby Air Riders Reviews
Still, while Kirby Air Riders won’t be remembered in the countdowns of Nintendo’s greatest games, and certainly won’t have the longevity that Sakurai brought to Smash Bros., it’s a fun distraction and the kind of thing that you’ll pick up every six months or so for a quick blast and laugh. And sometimes that’s all a game needs to be.
Open Critic: Whether you fall in love with this game depends on how much the City Trials mode appeals to you and whether you have people to play against locally.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders is a colourful, chaotic and surprisingly tactical racing game that won't be for everyone, but if you like this unusual driving model, you can get stuck into it for hours on end. It works best with family or friends, offering lots of fun and great replayability.
Review in Polish | Read full review
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Review in Italian | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders is a fun and addictive racing game with simple yet deep controls, featuring a variety of game modes, unlockable characters and vehicles, and a charming visual style that, combined with its smooth performance, delivers excitement and adrenaline in every race.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders is so full of variety, hearty challenges, and pure joy that I highly recommend it to anyone who relishes unconventional gaming experiences. Plus, its online component is so well implemented that it may just be my new go-to game for multiplayer fun. ⭐
Despite a simple control scheme that occasionally hits its ceiling, the game offers endless meaningful unlocks that keep you coming back to play more.
Kirby Air Riders attempts to scratch an itch that wasn’t much there in the first place. It’s technically sound and has that Sakurai auteurship that Super Smash Bros. and Kid Icarus: Uprising fans will be familiar with, but that spark doesn’t quite execute itself well enough here. If anything, a lot of it feels a bit shoehorned in. But is it fun? Yeah, absolutely! You’ll have a good time with Kirby Air Riders and with the amount of content here, you’ll be getting your money’s worth, that’s for sure!
Kirby Air Riders may fall short in terms of track selection compared to Mario Kart World, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t the best racing game released this year, and one of the best first-party Nintendo games to launch on the Nintendo Switch 2.
Kirby Air Riders is not trying to be Mario Kart: it blends speed, combat, and stat management into a frantic, deep, demanding evolution that can hook players for months.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders picks up exactly where the GameCube title—Kirby Air Ride—left off. This Nintendo Switch 2 spin-off improves and expands upon the core gameplay with useful additions like a story mode and even more customization options for each mode. The title really shines in multiplayer, as the fun factor is immense and the variety of game modes ensures it doesn’t get boring too quickly. City Trial offers a completely new gaming experience with every run thanks to its numerous random elements and events. The selection of tracks, bikes, and riders is sufficiently large without being overwhelming. Kirby fans will discover plenty of Easter eggs and references to older titles in the franchise, and a smile is guaranteed. Just before the end of the year, Nintendo, together with Masahiro Sakurai, delivers another must-have title for a great multiplayer session with friends and family.
Review in German | Read full review
In summary, Kirby Air Riders is part party game and part kart racer, and a game I would have happily skipped if I were playing exclusively solo. On the other hand: If you're lucky enough to have friends you feel like falling out with, playing Kirby Air Riders co-op or against friends locally on your couch is one of the best and "just one more game"-games you can play on Switch 2 right now.
Review in Unknown | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders on Switch 2 is a successful revival of a beloved cult classic. The game excels in charm, speed and the phenomenal City Trial, but misses opportunities in terms of content and online refinement. Fans of the GameCube version will immediately feel at home. But those who are looking for a racer with long-term progression may be a bit hungry. Give me a new platform game starring my pink friend...
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders vindicates the original Kirby Air Ride‘s vision completely. What critics dismissed as a failed experiment now stands revealed as an ahead-of-its-time gem that needed refinement to fully blossom. This isn’t a game that clicks immediately with everyone. It demands patience, practice, and willingness to engage with unconventional systems. Expecting Mario Kart with a Kirby coat of paint guarantees disappointment. But meet the game on its own terms, and you’ll unlock one of the most rewarding and distinctive racing experiences available.
“The joy of slipstreaming.”
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders is a unique concept that's committed to its oddities in the best sort of ways, and, as far as racing games go, the easy-to-pick-up-and-play but hard-to-master mantra is truer here than most games.
Kirby Air Riders might not be the best game in Masahiro Sakurai’s career, especially when compared to his groundbreaking work on Super Smash Bros. Nevertheless, it remains a unique and exceptional title in his extensive portfolio, and a rare arcade-style racing experience in today’s gaming market.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders is unusual, but it’s also brilliant - The controls take a little time to grasp, from the frantic racing to the one‑button input, but once it clicks, you unlock a world of content and hours of fun.
[Kirby Air Riders] ... is a wonderfully fun game that I will keep playing for many hours more, both alone and as a shared experience. An absolute must buy for Switch 2 owners!
Kirby Air Riders is the kind of sequel that feels impossible: a game that completely respects the original’s spirit while expanding it into something bigger, bolder, and more polished. It’s accessible without being shallow, chaotic without being frustrating, and packed with enough content to keep fans playing for months. Whether you love the silliness, the speed, the competition, or the sheer unpredictability, this is easily one of the Switch 2’s standout titles.