In this review
The big picture
Kirby Air Riders has a cheerful exterior and some unusual opinions about driving. Machines move forward automatically, braking charges a boost, and a race can involve careful cornering followed by a disagreement conducted with fire. It's the sort of arrangement that sounds straightforward until familiar racing habits begin filing complaints. The controls are compact; the decisions have brought considerably more luggage.
Developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo, this Switch 2 follow-up to Kirby Air Ride launched on 20 November 2025. Straight racing shares the package with scavenging, combat, compact top-down contests and a story-led tour. That variety gives different players somewhere to settle, provided they allow a little time to learn why slowing down is apparently part of the plan to arrive sooner.
Reasons to look closer
Movement has a distinct rhythm, riders and machines have meaningful differences, and City Trial turns preparation into a competitive event of its own. Road Trip gives solo players a structured way through different challenges, while local and online options support a range of group sizes. It's appealing for players who enjoy discovering what a strange machine can do, then developing entirely unreasonable affection for it despite its appearance.
Choose more than your favourite face
Riders have different statistics and individual Specials, while machine choice adds another layer. That encourages testing combinations if the first one feels awkward. Picking something because it looks charming is a perfectly understandable first step, but the machine is under no obligation to handle exactly as your affection requires.
This makes experimenting part of the package rather than an optional concern for competitive specialists. Finding a pairing that suits your habits can be a satisfying aim in itself. It also means the selection screen contains more information than a simple choice of colour. The right response to an uncomfortable first attempt may be trying another combination, rather than deciding the entire control system has personally rejected you.
Five minutes to become attached to something breakable
City Trial gives you five minutes on Skyah to collect power-ups, improve your machine and potentially change to another. Rivals and unpredictable Field Events interfere with those intentions. If your machine is destroyed, you need an empty replacement, which is an efficient way to interrupt a confident development plan. The prepared vehicle then enters a Stadium contest selected from available options.
Preparation becomes entertainment in its own right. Route knowledge and quick decisions help, but the session can change direction, and a flying-focused machine suggests different ambitions from one suited to a sprint or fight. Online City Trial supports up to sixteen players, giving the scavenging plenty of company. Compared with a more straightforward race, the result mixes more variables into the competition. It's better suited to improvisation and accepting reversals than insisting every outcome reflect one pure measure of driving skill.
Solo players get somewhere to go too
Top Ride takes a top-down view and supports up to eight online players. Road Trip mixes challenges from Air Ride, City Trial and Top Ride into a story-driven solo mode. Those options give the package more range than merely practising until the next group session. You can find your preferred corner without assuming the main race format has to provide every evening's entertainment.
The Checklist turns specific objectives into unlocks, and riders and machines aren't restricted to its Online tab. That's useful for solo and local players. Objectives can encourage sampling unfamiliar modes, but don't let the collection become a supervisor. An unlock is a pleasant incentive until it persuades you to stop enjoying a favourite activity in order to complete a less enjoyable piece of recreational paperwork.
Thirty-two in the lobby doesn't mean thirty-two on the track
Up to four people can play on one system. The online Paddock holds thirty-two as a lobby, not as a universal race capacity. Online play requires a Nintendo Account and Nintendo Switch Online. Check the per-mode numbers rather than inviting an entire crowd on the assumption that every event has room for all of them.
Updated software also supports up to four GameShare participants in Air Ride, Top Ride and City Trial. Local guests can use Switch, Switch Lite, OLED or Switch 2 alongside a nearby Switch 2 host with the game; online GameShare uses GameChat and Switch 2 only. Guest access lasts for the shared session, not as a standalone Switch edition. With those distinctions settled, Air Riders suits curious racers and groups comfortable with some disorder. Learn the movement, try a few machines and accept that carefully preparing a vehicle may be followed by urgently looking for another one.
Sources
Information checked on 16 October 2026. Features, platform compatibility and editions can change.
- Nintendo: Kirby Air Riders product listing ↗Native Switch 2 game, Nintendo publishing, 20 November 2025 release and modes.
- Nintendo: Kirby development announcement ↗Credits Sora Ltd. and Bandai Namco Studios as developers.
- Nintendo: new Kirby multiplayer and GameShare features ↗Free update adds session-only local Switch/Switch 2 GameShare and online Switch 2 GameChat sharing for up to four players in Air Ride, Top Ride and City Trial.
- Nintendo Support: Kirby multiplayer modes ↗Current per-mode player counts, local/online/GameShare distinctions and requirements.
- Nintendo Support: GameShare overview ↗Switch-family local guest compatibility; only Switch 2 can share or receive online; streaming session access, not a standalone software copy.