Kirby Star Allies is one of the weirdest games I've ever played because I genuinely don't know what my thoughts are for the most part. It just felt... very bland compared to most other Kirby gimmicks. At the very least some other games have a gimmick that interests me or excites me for my inevitable playthrough or replay like the Super Abilities in Return to Dream Land or the Robobot Armor in Planet Robobot. This game's gimmick just being Friends is just... not really that interesting when you consider that it's just something that already existed in Super Star. Which by the way, seems like this game took a lot of inspiration from that game because the last area before the final boss felt like Milky Way Wishes but... worse. I guess my two biggest complaints are that the level design is so easy that it can get boring at times and the pacing just seemed to be really off. Dream Land, Planet Popstar, and Jambastion were all really short while Far-Flung Starlight Heroes was significantly longer than the rest. The rematches with previous boss fights were also just, not interesting. The bosses in this game are relatively easy, actually scratch that, the whole GAME is relatively easy, so there's no challenge until Hyness Unhooded AT MOST. The game is also VERY generous with lives so even if I did lose some, I'd never run out. I guess I just would've liked the last area to be shorter because this game just really wasn't doing it for me and it felt like it was starting to overstay its welcome. It is very flawed but I wouldn't say it's the worst Kirby game, mainly because there's still some great qualities like the visuals, music, and new Copy Abilities, which are easily the best part of the game. I really like Spider and Paint, and the Power Effects (the Copy Abilities that are fused with an element) are pretty cool too. I liked running Sword a lot with any of the elements, though as a standalone, I really like Beetle a lot (though I know it wasn't introduced here). Overall, this one was just a lot more disappointing than other Kirby games, but as a whole I wouldn't say it's bad or mid, just underwhelming.

Kirby Star Allies is a really divisive title. Many fans of the series consider it a stepdown compared to other previous titles of the franchise. Other see it as a rehash of classsic ideas that are not combined together in the most effective way.

And at launch this may have been the case. However, I consider Star Allies to be my favorite Kirby game. And why is that?
Because it encapsulates everything I love about this franchise. It's a proper celebration of the over 20 years of iconicity of the squishy pink boy, brought together by a collection of playable heroes and villains of across the series, a series of great side modes that adds a lot of spice to the difficulty, and a story that opens some of the most fadcinating lore speculations I have seen in a Nintendo title (also yes Kirby Lore goes hard...)

Maybe not the best start if you are new to the franchise, but.... it's really worth cheking out if you're a fan of the series.

fairly standard Kirby game, good combat as always and set of copy abilities to use, new mechanics with the elements and the return of buddies helping you are both interesting, really fun boss-fights, the visuals and music are still fantastic, very colorful and full of charm like any previous Kirby game.

the level-design is a bit basic though and the game is extremely easy, way more than an Kirby game usually is, if you want an challenge I think it's generally better to not rely on your Helpers through the game, maybe just 1 helping you is enough even if that means that some puzzles will be impossible to complete without an group of 3.

I still think it's worth playing especially if you are looking for an enjoyable action platformer to play with your friends and family, it's the perfect game for that but in comparison to previous Kirby games such as Triple Deluxe or Planet Robobot but even more so after Forgotten Land, Star Allies is nowhere in the same level as those 3 games as whole.