Kirby is far from a stranger to small, creative titles outside of the mainline platformers that most people know and love. From the earliest days of Kirby's existence we were getting all sorts of spin-offs and fans have enjoyed seeing him have fun in pinball, Tetris, racing and even his very own fighting game similar to Super Smash Bros. The latest entry into this long-running series of smaller titles is none other than Kirby's Dream Buffet. Much like some of the newer titles it's a small entry that emphasizes multiplayer, but in a much more endearing way that feels akin to something like Fall Guys but on a significantly smaller scale. The question is does it make this little title worth it or is it better off forgotten?

The brief look at any story we get for Kirby's Dream Buffet is right at the beginning, wherein Kirby grabs what's known as the Dream Fork and shrinks down dramatically in size upon the cake he was about to eat and realizes it's a dream come true with his little tiny body surrounded by a massive cake. That's basically it for story, and afterwards players are dropped right down in the menu where they can begin rolling around and checking things out. While it makes sense given that this is first and foremost a title aiming for multiplayer appeal, it's a shame that despite this it doesn't have any sort of single player campaign. Even Kirby Fighters 2 had a solo challenge mode that was a nice way to not only learn how to play, but also unlock extras for those wanting to take it on. Although there's not as much reason for Dream Buffet to have a solo campaign, it would have also bee nice for there to be a way to play some sort of story with friends either local or online, even if it was simply going up against the tried and true familiar faces like King Dedede and Meta Knight. It's a small thing realistically, but at the very least it would have been cute to have a way to see more in regards to what happens to Kirby after he's done eating this cake than just going back in and playing more.

The biggest draw of Kirby's Dream Buffet is the endearing and wonderful gameplay. Kirby is round, this is a fact no one can deny, but in Dream Buffet he can't walk or run and instead he rolls or jumps everywhere he needs to go. If there's food in his path he eats it and after a time he'll manage to grow even larger. This ties right into the main gameplay which is a mix of both a race and obstacle course wherein Kirby and three other players roll their way across various food landscapes while trying to eat the most and make it to the end to claim their strawberry cake worth the most points. Generally speaking this will be the Gourmet Grand Prix which tosses the Kirbies into a four-course meal they must compete on with two races and two minigames. The ultimate goal is to be the biggest, roundest Kirby in all the land and place first. The larger Kirby is the faster he can roll with the trade off being it becomes much harder for Kirby to recover falling off the edge the bigger he gets. The biggest draw of Grand Prix is just how short and sweet it is, with the mode usually lasting less than ten minutes a match. It goes by quickly and makes it easy to immediately jump back in for another round. While the Grand Prix is the main focus of Dream Buffet, it does have other ways to enjoy the life of being a small cute round Kirby.

Right off the bat Dream Buffet offers a free rolling mode which simply allows players to try out Kirby's various abilities and landscapes he'll encounter throughout his rolling journey. It's worth noting that while it's mostly just a training ground, it's possible to go into this mode locally with a friend and just run around together which is a nice inclusion. Outside of this players can participate in a single random race to see who comes on top as number one. They can also play a single minigame, of which most are simply trying to eat the most strawberries possible in twenty seconds. There's also the battle royale which is featured at the end of every Grand Prix wherein the Kirbies battle it out while eating and trying to defeat one another with heavy emphasis on losing and gaining points quickly. It's the mode that can most turn the tide of battle, so those in last place have a chance for a major comeback if they play it smart.

As with most Kirby entries, the visuals and attention to detail are out of this world. From the round lad himself to all the food that looks like it could be on a plate to eat, it's perfect given the bright and colorful setting and desire to eat everything just as much as Kirby himself. The main draw to continuing to play outside of the sheer fun is leveling up which offers most customization for Kirby himself from new colors to costumes he can wear that are either food relayed or similar to many familiar faces throughout the series. The music is also utterly fantastic, and most soundtracks can be unlocked through leveling as well in addition to getting freebies for any previous save data found from other Kirby titles. There are also new stages to be played on to also be unlocked, which encourages players to dig deep to see what else is in store for them and spice up their life with more variety. That said, however, the same stages over and over don't get quickly repetitive as there's a slew of paths to take and circumstances can quickly change which make it fun even on the same Waffle or Ice Cream stage time and time again. The one downside is perhaps that playing online can have varying results. While playing for the first time there was an instance in which the match froze entirely for a good amount of time, likely caused by a weak connection, but kept going after it had a moment to catch up. Obviously this will vary depending on who is playing, but it was a noticeable slowdown in an otherwise quick-paced experience.

Closing Comments:

There have been a good amount of small Kirby spin-offs throughout the 3DS and Switch lifetimes in particular, but Kirby's Dream Buffet is one of the better entries by far. Although it does lack a solid story motivator, it doesn't matter in the end as the short and sweet play session loop is addictive and fun. Whether winning or losing it doesn't matter because everyone's a winner when it comes to seeing Kirby become adorably fat eating strawberries, cherries, raspberries and blueberries like the fruit-loving boy he is. For a mere fifteen dollars this title offers a large amount of play time be it with friends or against slews of random players online and everyone looks super happy and cute all the time. Kirby's Dream Buffet is an absolute tasty delight that shouldn't be overlooked for anyone hoping to pick up a new fun multiplayer title that doesn't have the pressure of more competitive titles or the fear of missing out on content.