Kirby and the Shattered Mirror starts off similar to other games in the series, there is an opening level that shows off the basic mechanics of the game, as well as setting up the story before dropping you into the main hubworld. The first thing you will notice are the multiple Kirbys that follow you around at the start, these are non-playable characters that you can call at any point for assistance during boss fights, to help hit switches, or for a quick health boost. Their actual usefulness can vary since you are unable to issue them any kind of commands, making it somewhat frustrating as you watch them aimlessly hop around, when all you want them to do is hit a switch to open a blocked path. I’m sure that this mechanic was great when playing multiplayer, but in single player mode it just comes off feeling a bit undercooked.
In most of the previous games you could revisit levels to find hidden areas and items, but they were mostly always the same standalone linear experience. In Kirby and the Shattered Mirror the levels criss-cross into each other as you open up new pathways, making them all connected to each other in some way and creating an almost maze-like world. Unfortunately, this level design is also the game’s biggest fault, since progressing through the game can be confusing thanks to the unintuitive in-game map, making navigating through each level more complicated than it should have been. With all of the different pathways you can take and shortcuts to unlock, it can be easy to find yourself running around in circles and having a map that is difficult to read destroys any sense of direction, leaving you feeling lost most of the time.
The Kirby franchise is no stranger to mixing things up and a Metroidvania styled adventure is a pretty obvious choice for the series and has great potential, but unfortunately Kirby and the Shattered Mirror misses the mark. While the game still retains the usual charm the series is known for and the basic mechanics are as good as they’ve ever been, some of the other gameplay elements are a bit lacking. The multiple Kirbys do not add much to the single player experience and the hard to read map makes the maze-like level structure harder to navigate than it needed to be, resulting in a game that could’ve been a classic feeling like a real missed opportunity.
