I think the most critical thing I can say about Forgotten Land is that after having gotten 100%, I would greatly recommend that new players do not strive to do so. It by no means a time consuming task (clocked in between 15-20 hours) nor is it an overly challenging one (though post game does get tougher). The reason I make this recommendation is that overall, it makes what is otherwise a wonderfully pleasant experience a repetitive and tedious one.
The level design and gimmicks throughout each world are often fun and you have a nice variety of upgradable powers for Kirby to choose from. All of them feel good to use and have their own niche. For example, the ice ability allows Kirby to skate along any surface as if it were frozen, including water or sludge. Mouthful mode too is a cool gimmick on top of the copy abilities, even if still a little unsettling. I would even say that every boss encounter is well designed and I don't really have any complaints other than some of them dragging on a bit. Waddle Dee town is a tremendous idea and is host to a bunch of fun minigames, the colloseum, the sound test, and more.
All of that being said however, the problems come if you are trying to 100% the game. The objectives you need to fulfill to free each of the waddle dees (your main collectibles in each level) are hidden upon your first time through. Sometimes they're awarded for things you'll probably do through natural exploration (like find a secret room off the beaten path), but almost always each level has a curveball (like beat a boss using a specific weapon, or pose in a certain spot) which can and often will lead to most levels requiring two, three, or even four playthroughs as any objectives you don't complete are revealed one at a time. It greatly diminished the experience for me, because levels I initially came away from thinking they were nice, ended up with a feeling of "c'mon let's just get this over with" as I delved into multiple playthroughs. Speaking also of repetition, the game repeats boss encounters more often than Elden Ring. A lot of the design choices outside of moment to moment gameplay really feel like an effort to pad it out, like they wanted to make a Kirby game longer than 8 hours without actually making one longer than 8 hours.
All in all, there really is a lot to enjoy in Forgotten Land and it does capture everything great about Kirby - I just wish I didn't need to see it all three plus times.
The level design and gimmicks throughout each world are often fun and you have a nice variety of upgradable powers for Kirby to choose from. All of them feel good to use and have their own niche. For example, the ice ability allows Kirby to skate along any surface as if it were frozen, including water or sludge. Mouthful mode too is a cool gimmick on top of the copy abilities, even if still a little unsettling. I would even say that every boss encounter is well designed and I don't really have any complaints other than some of them dragging on a bit. Waddle Dee town is a tremendous idea and is host to a bunch of fun minigames, the colloseum, the sound test, and more.
All of that being said however, the problems come if you are trying to 100% the game. The objectives you need to fulfill to free each of the waddle dees (your main collectibles in each level) are hidden upon your first time through. Sometimes they're awarded for things you'll probably do through natural exploration (like find a secret room off the beaten path), but almost always each level has a curveball (like beat a boss using a specific weapon, or pose in a certain spot) which can and often will lead to most levels requiring two, three, or even four playthroughs as any objectives you don't complete are revealed one at a time. It greatly diminished the experience for me, because levels I initially came away from thinking they were nice, ended up with a feeling of "c'mon let's just get this over with" as I delved into multiple playthroughs. Speaking also of repetition, the game repeats boss encounters more often than Elden Ring. A lot of the design choices outside of moment to moment gameplay really feel like an effort to pad it out, like they wanted to make a Kirby game longer than 8 hours without actually making one longer than 8 hours.
All in all, there really is a lot to enjoy in Forgotten Land and it does capture everything great about Kirby - I just wish I didn't need to see it all three plus times.