The Fall Guys-Inspired Kirby Game Coming To Nintendo Switch This Year

Though "Fall Guys" is finally cross-platform and available on the Switch, players will soon have to decide where their loyalties lie. There's another cute, obstacle course-based platformer heading to the popular cordless console, and it's featuring a longtime member of Nintendo's personal club of icons. "Kirby's Dream Buffet" will see players take the reigns as colorful copies of Kirby in a downhill race to gobble up as many strawberries as possible. That said, unlike "Fall Guys," it won't be enough for players to simply reach the end of the course first. Players will be weighed and scored based on how many strawberries they gobbled up before reaching the finish line. 

It's a bit different from what players have come to expect from "Kirby" titles in the past, but if the critically praised "Kirby and the Forgotten Lands" and its experimentation with the pink puffball's first 3D adventure proved anything, it's that trying new things may not be so bad for the franchise.

While "Kirby's Dream Buffet" and its reveal trailer are drawing initial comparisons to "Fall Guys," the title looks to take a healthy dose of inspiration from oddball titles in the franchise's past. Specifically, "Kirby's Dream Buffet" looks to incorporate elements first explored in the GameCube's "Kirby Air Ride," the GameBoy Color's "Kirby Tilt N' Tumble," and the minigame "Gourmet Race" in the SNES "Kirby Super Star." 

Though only snippets of gameplay are shared throughout the short reveal trailer, there are a few instances that show players using power-ups to bring grief onto others as they race by or grab precious strawberries, not unlike tactics players could employ in "Kirby Air Ride." Not only that, but taking general gameplay from "Kirby Tilt N' Tumble" and marrying that with a modern multiplayer reimagining of "Gourmet Race" results in something that'd be a lot like "Kirby's Dream Buffet."

Despite its inspirations, "Kirby's Dream Buffet" has a few surprises it's introducing on its own — like the last round where contestants face off in a fruity final fight. Additionally, on the title's official Nintendo page, the game is repeatedly referred to as a four-player experience, so those looking for the same kind of hectic battle royale experience that "Fall Guys" delivers might be best served sticking with the newly acquired Epic Games title. "Kirby's Dream Buffet" is due out before the end of this summer, and players are bound to hear more about it soon.