4/5 ★ – Manic_Zucc's review of Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe.

Finally got around to playing this one. Return to Dream Land is a great little experience. It doesn’t do anything to reinvent the series but simply polishes what makes these games fun. The level design is solid and the large variety of power ups really help to move things along and make sure no section feels too repetitive. I also adore the visuals, they have this almost comic book look that was really appealing to the eye and really made the game’s color pop. The Ultra abilities, this games main gimmick, were fun though I wish the sections that used them were more interactive. They tended to be a bit more style over substance the majority of the time but rarely lasted more than a couple minutes so I can’t complain. I really enjoyed the Merry Magoland side mode and think it’s easily the best way sub games have been implemented into a Kirby game period. The sheer number is great and it serves as a great way to have Return to Dreamland function as a party game on top of a platformer. (SOME SPOILERS) Also have to give a shoutout to Magalor: The Interdimensional Traveler. Past Kirby games have included modes like Meta Knightmare and Dededetour where you play through an abbreviated version of the main story as a different character. I assumed this would be the case but was surprised that Magalor’s story was completely different in both mechanics and level layout. The upgrade system here worked wonders and I love that using Magic Points to upgrade Magalor’s abilities serves as a motivator to do well in levels. Magalor’s move set is quite varied and dynamic so playing as him never got old. In fact my only complaint would be that this mode was too short. I’d take a whole Magalor game with mechanics like this. On top of this the story does wonders for his character without any dialogue, love to see this little guy get a redemption and follow in Kirby’s footsteps by slaying an Eldrich god beyond my comprehension. Return to Dreamland is the classic Kirby formula done right. It won’t light the world on fire, but it will be a dang good time from start to finish. Definitely check it out.