Kirby Air Raiders, A Flightastic Review!

Kirby is one of the few Nintendo franchises that has completely passed me by until now. It’s probably my fault, but the characters from that series have always looked to me like those quirky cartoons that start out happy and colorful, then veer into surprisingly dark horror‑comedy territory. Kirby Air Raiders is in a league of its own though.

The first thing I noticed within the first 15 seconds of going through the main menu is that behind this game are Masahiro Sakurai and the team responsible for the Smash series. The screen greets you with a flood of content: a sea of achievements, mini‑games, advanced tutorials, character and vehicle unlocks… all of it somehow screams that this is really Smash Ultimate, but on wheels. And, of course, with the already mentioned characters from Kirby’s world.

In a mood for something completely different? Check out our Keeper review!

Mastering the Three‑Button System in Kirby Air Raiders

Kirby Air Riders separates itself from most karting competition with a fundamentally different driving style. There is no gas; the game accelerates for you. You actually control the vehicle using three basic actions: turning, Boost Charge, and special attacks. That’s basically it. No gas, no brakes, no drift button – everything is condensed into those three functions. 

Want to slow down when entering a turn and then blast out of it as fast as possible? Press Boost Charge, ease off a bit, then release it. Want to attack an opponent or an NPC on the track? Just spin your character quickly left‑right. Need to suck in an opponent and steal their characteristics? Boost Charge again, then hit the Special button for special attacks.

Character Choices Shape Every Race 

No gas, no brakes, no drift button – everything is condensed into those three functions.

The gameplay was very fun, but also a bit limiting because of those three buttons. Sometimes you’d like to enter a turn more aggressively with Boost Charge, but you’ll unintentionally suck in some item or opponent you didn’t want. Or you’ll struggle to execute an attack while also navigating more challenging tracks. I understand that Nintendo wants to simplify couch‑multiplayer as much as possible so that a wider audience can play, especially with separate Joy‑Cons. 

This limitation partially diminishes an otherwise very interesting, combat‑focused approach to racing. Every time you suck in an opponent you gain special offensive abilities on the track. Whether it’s a sword that automatically attacks nearby opponents, a mini‑bomb that covers a wider explosion area, turning into a huge ball that crushes everything in front of you, or a boomerang that returns to your vehicle and slows down several opponents. This is just a part of the arsenal you can pick up, and the available options depend on the specific track and the 

Character choice also plays a big role in driving. Each of them has different top speed, acceleration, offensive and defensive capabilities, vehicle control, aerial handling, and weight. It’s up to you to decide what is a priority on which track – stability in turns, better control while flying, or pure acceleration. 

Exploring the Four Main Modes of Kirby Air Raiders

At the start of the game I had a few unlocked characters, but their number increased dramatically as I unlocked new drivers through various modes.And what would this ride be without a choice of vehicles? Here we’re not just talking about vehicles with different stats, but also completely different control styles. One vehicle is extremely light, making it ideal for flying, but opponents can easily push you out of turns.

There are vehicles that can only turn during Boost Charge, but therefore reach much higher speeds. There are kart‑monsters that accelerate by colliding with opponents, vehicles that require constant use of Boost Charge to maintain speed, as well as those that have no Boost Charge at all.

Now, when you combine different characters, the ability to use offensive abilities, and kart vehicles with different properties, you get a really wide spectrum of combinations you can encounter on the track. In a way, this refreshes the somewhat stale concept of kart games. But sometimes that variety results in so much action on screen that it’s hard to follow. This is especially noticeable in battles against real players, where the pyrotechnics are such that even the biggest New Year’s celebration wouldn’t match it.

All the mentioned mechanics I tried through four main modes. There’s the classic Air Ride mode where you can do a standard race with your own rules, try to get the best lap time, or play an online match. Top Run offers identical sub‑modes to Air Ride, but here vehicles are controlled from a bird’s‑eye view, which changes the feeling of control a bit. 

A Goofy Satellite, an Ancient Machine, and Endless Races

City Trial is a slightly odd mode where I first collected upgrades around a small city and searched for the best vehicle before time ran out, then participated in a randomly selected mini‑game. Mini‑games include races, battles against other drivers, navigating a track with lasers, a competition to see who can jump the farthest, drag races, eating as much fruit as possible, jumping from a height through hoops, capturing buttons… and yes, these aren’t all the mini‑games. I started listing them just to give you an impression of the amount of content that can await you.

The last mode is Road Trip, a sort of “story mode” where you drive along a road, collect upgrades for your character, and compete with other drivers through various races and the already mentioned mini‑games. The story revolves around Zorah, an ancient intelligent machine/vehicle that fell onto the planet Popstar. It remained stationary there for centuries, until a goofy orbital satellite called Galactic Nova appeared and began sending a flood of vehicles to Popstar.

The story is oddly arranged; towards the end it becomes its own enemy and leaves a slightly confused impression. Not the good kind of confusion where all the elements fall into place, but the opposite – the ending feels random, without a clear message and without a real purpose. The only thing I can seriously praise are the exceptionally done animations, which are sometimes so good they look like they don’t belong to this game.

Kirby Air Riders Runs Flawlessly on Switch

The game, of course, doesn’t stop at the four main modes. There’s also a very detailed tutorial that walks you through all the mechanics and vehicle types. In My Machine mode I could edit every karting vehicle, a million stickers, colors, and tiny details. All those vehicles can then be displayed in numerous garages that can be purchased additionally.

Like in Smash, there’s a kind of achievement system. And we’re not talking about 10 or 20 goals, but 150 per mode, i.e., an incredible 600 in total! In addition there are daily challenges, online mini‑game and race modes… sometimes the content feels almost too much.

And the most important thing for a ride – the game runs perfectly. I didn’t feel even the slightest performance drop, and Air Riders looks very nice. In fact, I’d dare say that visually it even looks a little better than the last Mario Kart, at least regarding track design.

Precisely that Mario Kart is perhaps the biggest thorn in Kirby Air Riders’ side. This year we already got one big karting game from Nintendo and I honestly wish there hadn’t been even half a year between these two games.

In Conclusion

Air Riders brings an unusually competitive, combat‑focused approach to kart racing, with a complex system of assembling the perfect vehicle and driver for each track. And it packs all that into an ENORMOUS amount of content that runs extremely smoothly.

It’s true that the gameplay can sometimes be overloaded and chaotic, especially when everything is limited to just two buttons. Nevertheless, it remains a very special experience for fans of the genre.

Rating: 7.8 

The game is enjoyable and packed with content, but the limited controls and uneven story hold it back from a higher score.

Recommended age: 8 years and up 

The game is colorful and family‑friendly, but the competitive multiplayer and occasional mild cartoon violence suggest it’s best for kids who can handle a bit of strategy and rivalry.

Gemini AI summary: 

Kirby Air Riders is a Nintendo Switch karting title that mixes combat with racing, offering three‑button controls, deep vehicle and character customization, and a massive amount of content across four modes. While fun and visually strong, its limited controls and confusing story keep it from being a perfect family pick, earning a 7.8/10.