Kirby Air Riders Reviews
Kirby Air Riders may not be perfect, but this ambitious sequel fixes the original’s flaws, adds depth, variety, and chaotic satisfaction through modes like Road Trip and City Trial, delivers strong visuals and music on Switch 2, and stands as a worthy successor—highly recommended for arcade-racer fans seeking more than standard karting, though those wanting something simpler are still better off with Mario Kart.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders doesn’t just bring back a cult classic; it elevates it to feel essential once more. This is Sora & Bandai at their most confident, blending nostalgia with modern polish and delivering a package that feels both familiar and refreshing.
I knew I’d like Kirby Air Riders, since I enjoyed the original, but I didn’t expect it to feel stronger than Mario Kart World. Switch 2 version reviewed. Review copy provided by company for testing purposes.
Plenty of modes, plenty of unlocks, this is a full and fun package of wild racing.
Although Kirby Air Riders will hardly be remembered as a true classic in years to come, it does offer a lot of fun, especially in good company.
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders delivers fun and chaos in its purest form. While the chaos often stands out and there's a feeling that some modes could have offered more content, the attention to detail and the sheer number of options, both functional and gameplay-wise, that the game offers is undeniable. Both fans of the original title and new racers will have plenty to enjoy in this sequel.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders was a surprising breath of fresh air, and its plethora of game modes can keep you occupied for a long time. Pair that with great music and satisfying steering, and you’ve got yourself an exceptional little racing game.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders starts out looking simple, but the game opens up fast once you learn how its machines really handle. Each mode brings something different without drifting away from the core idea of shaping speed instead of wrestling with it. The variety, depth, and steady stream of things to try make it easy to keep coming back. It’s a bright and fast racer with more going on than you expect at first glance.
You’ve got to give it to Masahiro Sakurai for taking a deceptively simple concept and turning it into something so engaging. Between the different game modes and the variety of challenges within each, there’s almost always something to figure out or experiment with. The gameplay can get hectic quickly, but that’s part of its appeal. With the new Road Trip mode adding a sense of progression, even if the story itself doesn’t quite grab you, Kirby Air Riders is a game where even a single race can leave you grinning and thinking about the next one.
Kirby Air Riders is a fast, fun spiritual sequel that blends arcade racing with light Smash-style chaos. Its four modes offer variety, the sense of speed is great, and multiplayer shines. The solo content is thinner and some challenges repeat, but overall it’s a joyful, polished return for the series.
Review in French | Read full review
Quote not yet available
Review in German | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders is a game that is simple to control but offers a good level of depth in its gameplay. With four game modes that interpret the design in very different ways, it is an explosive game that grabs your attention as quickly as the speed of the races.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
A chaotic, vibrant combat racer with excellent visuals and multiplayer potential, shining strongest in Air Ride and City Trial, but stumbling slightly with uneven pacing and weaker modes. Fun, frantic, but occasionally overwhelming.
Kirby Air Riders might not be for everyone, but everyone should absolutely try it. It is frantic and often a little overwhelming, but once the rhythm sets in, this is a fun and accessible racer that encompasses Masahiro Sakurai’s vast imagination.
You want a game that's fast? That pinballs you around and gets to incomprehensible speeds? Go go go go go go. That's Kirby Air Riders. It's Mario Kart on 70 shots of espresso.
Kirby Air Riders oozes Sakurais design philosophy and feels like a Smash Bros game turned into a racer. It excels at pick-up-and-play and chaotic multiplayer fun for parties but sadly runs out of steam rather quickly.
Review in German | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders is perhaps the most chaotic game I have ever played. The racing game stands out thanks to its minimalist controls, which force me to rethink my approach. The races on the crazy tracks are ultra-fast and addictive – even in the cute Top Ride mode with its bird's-eye view. The heart of the game, City Trial, is chaos in perfection. It's incredibly fun to collect power-ups and knock out opponents on the open battlefield. The feeling of having assembled an extremely powerful machine that I can barely control is priceless. The approach of doing away with annoying live service rubbish is commendable. The downside of this decision is that in some modes, I would like to see more content that will never materialize.
Review in German | Read full review
Kirby Air Riders shares a lot of the same DNA as its predecessor, and it's a sequel that belongs in this era. The simplistic controls might not be for everyone, but if you can look past that, you've got a competent racer that does its own thing instead of attempting to battle it out against Mario Kart World.