Kirby Air Riders flew under the radar until it launched on Nintendo Switch 2 on November 22, 2025, but Digital Foundry’s technical analysis reveals this is way more ambitious than anyone expected. The long-awaited sequel to 2003’s Kirby Air Ride isn’t just a nostalgia play. It’s built on an entirely new engine designed for current-generation platforms, supports advanced rendering technologies like physically-based rendering and ray tracing, and delivers one of the most content-packed racing experiences Nintendo has produced in years.
John Linneman and Oliver Mackenzie spent 45 minutes breaking down the game’s technical achievements, gameplay depth, and why this chaotic racer deserves serious consideration despite its deceptively simple appearance. For a franchise entry that had no marketing push and seemed to come out of nowhere, Kirby Air Riders is making a surprisingly strong case as an early Switch 2 essential.
The Engine Nobody Expected
One of Digital Foundry’s biggest discoveries is that Kirby Air Riders runs on a completely new engine developed specifically for current-generation platforms. According to job listings for the project, this technology supports physically-based rendering, ray tracing, and other modern rendering techniques. It’s also designed to handle open-world game types, which comes into play with the expansive City Trial mode.
This represents a significant technical leap for HAL Laboratory. The original Kirby Air Ride ran on GameCube hardware from 2003. Twenty-two years later, the sequel takes advantage of Switch 2’s capabilities with improved lighting, detailed environments, and performance targets that weren’t possible on the original Switch hardware. The engine work suggests HAL Laboratory is positioning itself for bigger projects beyond traditional Kirby platformers.
Digital Foundry notes the image quality targets 1440p resolution during standard gameplay, with rock-solid 60 frames per second performance throughout. Split-screen multiplayer maintains that frame rate too, which is impressive given how much visual chaos fills the screen during races. The only area where performance dips slightly is in City Trial mode when the entire open area fills with players and random events, but even then it stays playable.
More Combat Than Racing
The most important thing to understand about Kirby Air Riders is that calling it a racing game undersells what it actually does. While there are traditional race tracks, the core gameplay blends racing, combat, collection, and exploration in ways that make direct comparisons to Mario Kart or other kart racers misleading.
Key gameplay elements include:
- Automatic forward movement with boost and brake as primary controls
- Combat-focused mechanics where attacking opponents matters as much as racing position
- Extensive vehicle variety with dramatically different handling and abilities
- Collection systems where gathering items during races unlocks content and upgrades
- Multiple game modes that completely change how you approach each session
- Deep customization options for machines and performance tuning
Digital Foundry specifically calls out how the simplified controls hide remarkable depth. The automatic acceleration seems limiting at first, but mastering when to brake for charging boosts, how to position for attacks, and which vehicles suit different tracks creates genuine skill expression. Veterans who understand the systems can dominate newcomers, but the learning curve never feels unfair or inaccessible.
City Trial Makes Its Return
One of the most beloved modes from the original game, City Trial, returns with significant expansion. This open-world competition gives players five minutes to explore a large environment, collect power-ups, attack opponents, and find the best vehicles before being dropped into a final challenge that determines the winner.
The chaos is the point. Random events constantly disrupt the match. Meteors fall from the sky. UFOs appear and start attacking. Entire sections of the map become hazards. Players scramble to adapt while still pursuing their collection and combat goals. Digital Foundry describes it as having less of a racing component and more collection, combat, and exploration elements mixed with modifiers and random events that completely change the outcome.
This mode stresses the engine more than standard races due to the open environment and multiple simultaneous events. It’s where the technical ambition really shows, with the new engine handling complex scenarios that would have been impossible on older hardware.
Content That Justifies the Price
Reviews consistently praise the amount of content packed into Kirby Air Riders. The game includes nine new tracks and nine returning tracks from the GameCube original, but that’s just the standard racing mode. Road Trip mode adds completely different track variations. Top Ride delivers overhead perspective racing reminiscent of classic arcade games. Each mode has its own progression systems and unlockables.
The single-player campaign addresses one of the biggest criticisms of the original game, which had minimal solo content. This sequel features a sprawling story mode with multiple paths, different endings, and over 100 collectible items per mode to find. The narrative takes a surprisingly dark and serious sci-fi tone that contrasts hilariously with the colorful, cute Kirby aesthetic during actual races.
Machine customization runs deeper than expected. You’re not just picking different vehicles. You can tune performance characteristics, adjust handling, and modify capabilities to suit your playstyle. Combined with the various rider characters who each have unique attributes, the combinations create genuine strategic choices rather than purely cosmetic differences.
Technical Shortcomings
Digital Foundry didn’t hold back on criticisms despite their overall positive impression. The HDR implementation is described as oddly poor, failing to take advantage of the expanded color range and brightness that modern displays offer. This stands out as particularly disappointing given how vibrant and colorful the art direction is, where proper HDR could have made the visuals pop even more.
The chaos that defines City Trial and multiplayer races can feel aimless at times, especially for new players. The screen fills with icons, effects, and information that becomes overwhelming rather than informative. While veterans learn to parse the visual noise, the onboarding experience could be smoother. Digital Foundry acknowledges this is somewhat intentional, part of the chaotic charm, but it creates a barrier to entry that not everyone will push through.
The side games and minigames that conclude City Trial sessions vary wildly in quality. Some are genuinely fun tests of the skills you’ve developed. Others feel like throwaway challenges that exist purely for variety rather than because they’re compelling experiences. These segments can make or break City Trial matches based on which random minigame gets selected, adding an element of luck that undermines player agency.
The Masahiro Sakurai Factor
While not the primary director, Masahiro Sakurai’s involvement as the original game’s creator and consultant on this sequel shines through. The design philosophy mirrors what made Smash Bros special: accessible controls that hide tremendous depth, content that rewards dedicated players, and polish in unexpected places. Reviews consistently mention how the game overflows with Sakurai’s signature style, from the attention to detail in machine designs to how unlockables are structured to maintain player engagement.
This connection explains why Kirby Air Riders feels so different from typical Nintendo racers. It’s not trying to be Mario Kart. It’s following the design principles that made Sakurai’s other work beloved by competitive and casual players alike. The automatic acceleration that seems limiting actually enables more complex decision-making about positioning, combat, and boost management. The chaos that feels random actually has underlying systems that skilled players can manipulate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Kirby Air Riders?
Kirby Air Riders is a racing game for Nintendo Switch 2 that serves as a sequel to 2003’s Kirby Air Ride for GameCube. It blends racing, combat, and collection mechanics across multiple game modes including traditional races, City Trial open-world competition, and Top Ride overhead racing.
When did Kirby Air Riders release?
The game launched on November 22, 2025, exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2. It arrived with minimal marketing buildup, surprising many players who weren’t aware the project existed until launch week.
What did Digital Foundry say about the technical performance?
Digital Foundry’s analysis found the game runs at 1440p resolution with a locked 60 frames per second in most scenarios, including split-screen multiplayer. The new engine supports modern rendering techniques like physically-based rendering and ray tracing, representing a significant technical achievement for HAL Laboratory.
Is Masahiro Sakurai involved?
While not the primary director, Sakurai created the original Kirby Air Ride and consulted on this sequel. His design philosophy is evident throughout the game’s structure, accessibility, and depth.
How does it compare to Mario Kart?
Direct comparisons are misleading because Kirby Air Riders focuses more on combat, collection, and exploration than pure racing. The automatic acceleration and simplified controls hide remarkable depth that rewards mastery, making it feel more like a fighting game on wheels than a traditional kart racer.
What is City Trial mode?
City Trial is an open-world competition where players have five minutes to explore, collect power-ups, attack opponents, and find vehicles before competing in a randomly selected final challenge. Random events constantly change the match conditions, creating chaotic but engaging gameplay.
How much content is in the game?
The game includes nine new tracks, nine returning tracks from the original, multiple game modes with unique progression systems, a sprawling story campaign with multiple endings, over 100 collectibles per mode, extensive machine customization, and various unlockable riders and vehicles.
Does it have online multiplayer?
Yes, Kirby Air Riders supports online multiplayer across its various modes. Reviews mention the netcode handles the chaos reasonably well, though specific details about matchmaking and ranked systems haven’t been extensively covered yet.
What are the main criticisms?
Digital Foundry pointed out poor HDR implementation, overwhelming visual chaos that can feel aimless for newcomers, and inconsistent quality in the minigames that conclude City Trial sessions. The game also has a niche appeal that won’t convert everyone who tries it.
Why This Matters for Switch 2
Kirby Air Riders arriving at Switch 2 launch with this level of technical ambition and content depth sets a strong precedent. This isn’t a lazy port or a safe sequel relying purely on nostalgia. HAL Laboratory built a new engine, expanded the original concept significantly, and delivered what multiple outlets are calling an essential title for the new hardware.
The game also fills a specific niche in Nintendo’s lineup. Mario Kart will always dominate mainstream racing, but Kirby Air Riders offers an alternative for players who want something more complex and chaotic. The combat focus, vehicle variety, and mode diversity create a different experience that complements rather than competes with Nintendo’s other racing offerings.
Digital Foundry’s extensive coverage reflects genuine surprise at how good the game turned out to be. They went in expecting a simple nostalgia sequel and found a technically impressive, content-rich racing game with legitimate depth. The 45-minute analysis runs longer than most of their reviews because there’s genuinely that much to discuss about the engine technology, gameplay systems, and mode variety.
For Switch 2 early adopters looking beyond the obvious Mario and Zelda titles, Kirby Air Riders deserves serious consideration. It’s weird, chaotic, and won’t appeal to everyone. But for players who connect with its specific brand of controlled chaos, it offers dozens of hours of content with skill ceilings high enough to keep competitive players engaged long-term. Twenty-two years after the GameCube original became a cult classic, the sequel proves some Nintendo franchises just needed better hardware and more development resources to fully realize their potential.