Mario Kart World launched this summer. Sonic Racing: Crossworlds arrived this fall. Now, after more than two decades, Kirby Air Riders reaches the finish line as the long-awaited sequel to the 2003 GameCube racing game. Director Masahiro Sakurai returns to the franchise he created, bringing his signature design philosophy from Super Smash Bros. to this Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive that launched November 20, 2025.
The game maintains the original Air Ride’s core principle: constant forward acceleration controlled entirely through braking, drifting, and boost mechanics. Players steer with the left joystick while holding nearly any button to brake and charge a boost gauge. Release the button to dash forward. Tap instead to inhale enemies with copy abilities, or waggle the joystick to spin into opponents for speed boosts. This radically simple control scheme extracts varied playstyles from minimal inputs, with each of the 20+ vehicles handling differently based on unique stats and special moves.
The Switch 2’s performance capabilities enable the game’s smooth frame rates during intense 16-player City Trial sessions, where participants collect stat upgrades across the floating island of Skyah before competing in randomly selected mini-game stadiums. Air Ride mode offers traditional racing across 18 tracks (9 returning from GameCube, 9 new), while Top Ride provides overhead perspective racing similar to classic arcade titles. Road Trip serves as the single-player campaign, presenting a roguelike progression through branching paths with stat-building challenges and boss encounters across runs taking approximately two hours each.
Core Game Statistics
The game includes a comprehensive Checklist feature with 750 achievements distributed across five categories: 150 each for Air Ride, Top Ride, City Trial, Road Trip, and Online modes. Completing these challenges unlocks characters, vehicles, cosmetic options, music tracks, and other content. Players earn Miles currency through gameplay, which can be spent in the Miles Shop on machine customizations including decals, accessories, patterns, and special effects. The Machine Market allows players to list customized vehicles for sale using in-game currency and purchase designs from other players.
Online functionality includes a Paddock lobby system supporting up to 32 players, where participants can cycle through emotes, spectate other matches, and customize their driver’s license profiles with backgrounds and titles before entering races. The game supports both casual and ranked online matches, with City Trial accommodating 16 players online or 8 via local wireless. Air Ride races support 6 simultaneous racers. Nintendo Switch Online membership is required for online features.
Game Modes Breakdown
Competitive Comparison
- One-button control system with automatic forward acceleration
- 20+ vehicles each with distinct handling characteristics and special abilities
- City Trial mode supporting 16 players online, 8 local wireless
- 750 achievements distributed across 5 game modes
- Machine customization via Miles currency system with player marketplace
- 18 Air Ride tracks compared to larger selections in other major releases
- Traditional racing controls familiar to broader audiences
- Larger track selection with established franchise courses
- More accessible pick-up-and-play design
- Less vehicle diversity in handling characteristics
- More conservative approach to experimental mechanics
- Players may continue with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe instead of upgrading
Recent gaming industry developments have seen multiple racing titles competing for market share. The controversy surrounding AI-generated assets has affected several major releases this year, though Kirby Air Riders avoided such issues through traditional art production methods. Meanwhile, the shutdown of XDefiant after 7 months despite 15 million players demonstrated the challenges of maintaining online multiplayer games, a consideration for Air Riders’ long-term support plans.
The game’s development team at Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. utilized the SOL-AVES engine created specifically for this project. Pre-production started in 2021 following discussions between Nintendo EPD executive general manager Shinya Takahashi and HAL Laboratory president Satoshi Mitsuhara, with full production commencing April 2022. Two extensive Nintendo Direct presentations totaling 107 minutes aired on August 19 and October 23, 2025, detailing the game’s features before launch. A Global Test Ride demo ran November 8-9 and 15-16 for Nintendo Switch Online members, allowing players to test Lessons, Air Ride, and City Trial modes with rotating character and vehicle selections.
Vehicle Strategic Diversity
Critical Reception
Metacritic aggregated 62 critic reviews at launch, resulting in a 78 score representing mostly favorable reception. Reviews praised the game’s depth beneath simple controls, comprehensive achievement system, and City Trial’s chaotic multiplayer. Critics noted the steep learning curve, with some finding the control scheme initially frustrating before mechanics clicked. The Road Trip mode received particular recognition for replay value through branching paths and character-specific completion requirements.
Online multiplayer features received extensive coverage in reviews. The Paddock lobby system was highlighted for allowing 32 simultaneous players to socialize between matches. Machine customization options through the Miles Shop and Machine Market were noted as significant additions over the original GameCube game. The amiibo functionality enables training Figure Players by scanning Kirby Air Riders series dual-pack figures featuring swappable riders and machines with magnetic attachments.
The Arc Raiders server outage affecting 60,000 players on November 19 served as a reminder of online infrastructure challenges facing multiplayer-focused titles. Kirby Air Riders’ launch on November 20 proceeded without reported server issues, though long-term online population remains to be determined as players complete single-player content and settle into preferred modes.
Additional Resources
Kirby Air Riders launched November 20, 2025 as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive at $70 USD. The game was developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. under director Masahiro Sakurai, marking his first Kirby game direction since the 2003 original and his first non-Super Smash Bros. project since Kid Icarus: Uprising in 2012.
The coverage discussed the game’s core mechanics including automatic acceleration, single-button controls, 18 Air Ride tracks, 20+ vehicles with distinct handling, City Trial mode supporting 16 online players, Top Ride’s overhead perspective, and Road Trip’s roguelike campaign structure. The 750-achievement Checklist system, Miles currency economy, Machine Market player trading, and comprehensive online features via Paddock lobbies were detailed. Critical reception averaging 78 on Metacritic and pricing at $70 were noted alongside the November 20 release date.