Kirby and the Forgotten Land review – pink, blobby caper is a sliver of weird joy in dark times

Nintendo Switch; HAL Laboratories/Nintendo
Overgrown theme parks feature in this kid-friendly, cinematic romp through a cutesy wasteland

As I start this latest cutesy adventure with the adorable pink blob Kirby, I've just returned from a journey of my own - and with an unwelcome stowaway, in the form of whatever variant of Covid I picked up on the trip. As Kirby is whisked away to an overgrown world that looks eerily like a post-apocalyptic Earth, the skies outside my flat turn an ominous grey. Happily, Kirby's colourful capers prove to be just the tonic I need. From an opening sequence in which our perky pink blob transforms into a car and cruises along to a Japanese pop song (complete with karaoke-ready lyrics) to the bouncing ball's signature level-completion moonwalk, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a delight from start to finish.

What I really enjoyed about this kid-friendly adventure is that Nintendo gets endearingly weird. Throughout the 10-hour romp, there are several moments where I have to double check I'm not having a Covid-induced fever dream. One moment I've become a walking vending machine, leading a gaggle of happily waddling ducklings back to their concerned mother, the next I'm thrown into a post-apocalyptic shopping mall, cleaving snarling creatures in two with a gigantic sword.