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Kirby Air Riders Launches on Switch 2 to Strong Early Reviews

Nintendo has scheduled a year of limited-time in‑game events starting November 27 to fuel ongoing play.

Overview

  • Masahiro Sakurai’s revival centers on four distinct modes—Air Ride, Road Trip, City Trial, and Top Ride—with minimalist, drift-focused controls and fast, party-first pacing.
  • Players can unlock a roster of about 21 riders via checklist challenges and expand a large garage of machines through Miles Shop purchases or achievements, with new legendary machines Gigantes and Leo tied to Road Trip milestones and checklist progress.
  • Vehicle customization is unusually deep, and an in‑game marketplace lets players upload and buy community-made designs using currency earned through play.
  • Nintendo’s first timed event, Everyone, to the Stadium!, runs November 27–30 as a fixed eight‑player Trial, awarding license cosmetics such as street names, stickers, and themes, with similar events planned for a year.
  • Early reviews highlight the game’s speed, varied modes, and especially entertaining online multiplayer, with critics noting Sakurai’s own framing of it as “basically Mario Kart” with added influences.